Independent MLAs say work has already begun to rebuild Progressive Conservative Party

Andrew Jeffrey · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 05, 2025 7:52 PM EDT | Last Updated: 19 minutes ago

Two autarkic Alberta MLAs revealed much details connected Saturday astir their enactment to resurrect the Progressive Conservative brand that held government successful Alberta for 44 years.

After announcing their program to re-register the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta earlier this week, Peter Guthrie and Scott Sinclair held what they billed arsenic an authoritative relaunch of the enactment successful Calgary connected Saturday. They explained their purpose is to connection an alternate blimpish dependable that falls person to the governmental centre than the governing United Conservative Party oregon the absorption NDP.

Work has already begun, the MLAs explained, to unafraid signatures to registry the party. But Alberta's PC revival isn't authoritative conscionable yet. The enactment volition request to unafraid 8,819 signatures, representing 0.3 per cent of the province's voting population, by precocious November.

Guthrie argued their propulsion for a caller enactment is to correspond what helium sees arsenic the mainstream governmental beliefs of astir radical successful the province, aft proceeding from a increasing fig of frustrated voters who felt they didn't person a governmental location successful Alberta.

"We person an NDP that seems to beryllium focused connected 20 to 30 per cent of the colonisation connected the left, and we person the UCP that seems to beryllium focused connected the same-sized radical connected the right," said Guthrie, a erstwhile infrastructure curate who's served arsenic MLA for Airdrie-Cochrane since 2019.

"Alberta is and ever has been a progressive blimpish province. One wherever radical worth liable government."

The governing UCP are nary longer a existent blimpish party, Guthrie argued, and the PC enactment he's pitching volition connection a much applicable and principled voice, helium said.

Conservative credibility successful opposition

Guthrie and Sinclair person taken up the PC mantle aft some were ousted from the UCP earlier this year.

After serving arsenic an MLA successful the enactment for astir six years, Guthrie resigned from Premier Danielle Smith's furniture successful February citing concerns with the government amid the contention implicit procurement practices astatine Alberta Health Services (AHS). He was past expelled from caucus successful April, aft pushing for a nationalist enquiry into the AHS issue.

Sinclair, connected the different hand, was a first-term MLA representing Lesser Slave Lake for the UCP, who was kicked retired of caucus successful March after publically criticizing the provincial fund for forecasting important deficits while spending excessively heavy connected Alberta's large cities alternatively than its agrarian communities.

Lori Williams, an subordinate prof of argumentation studies astatine Mount Royal University, said Guthrie and Sinclair are presently the astir vocal, and perchance the astir effective, absorption members successful the legislature.

Their presumption arsenic erstwhile enactment members adds credibility to their criticism, Williams said, adding that careless of however galore seats their enactment wins, their critiques could beryllium the largest situation they contiguous to the existent government.

"When a blimpish is saying a blimpish authorities is entitled and corrupt, that's going to resonate successful a mode that wouldn't for radical who either don't person that wrong accusation oregon that estimation for being committed, principled conservatives," Williams said.

The viability of the PC label

The Progressive Conservative marque is well-known for holding powerfulness successful Alberta's legislature from 1971 to 2015, and being led by longtime premiers similar Peter Lougheed, Don Getty and Ralph Klein.

But its popularity dipped successful its last years, and the enactment faced disapproval for its perceived entitlement, leading to the enactment winning conscionable 9 seats successful the 2015 Alberta election. Two years later, caller enactment person Jason Kenney struck a woody with the Wildrose Party to merge and signifier the UCP.

Sinclair argued helium and Guthrie person made principled stands resulting successful their departure from the UCP, and helium drew parallels betwixt criticisms some the existent provincial authorities and the PCs of old faced astir excessive spending and investigations into the government.

"We were asking questions astir accountability, fiscal oversight, worth for money, bloated contracts, and it got america precisely wherever we are today. I would accidental determination are a batch of parallels betwixt the precocious PC days … and talking astir this existing premier," Sinclair said.

But earlier this week, Smith threw cold h2o connected whether the PC marque could legally beryllium revived successful Alberta.

Smith argued elections instrumentality states caller parties can't usage the sanction of the erstwhile bequest parties that merged to signifier the UCP, to debar confusing voters.

"We expect the instrumentality to beryllium followed, and we're going to beryllium pursuing up with Elections Alberta accordingly," Smith said.

On Saturday, Guthrie said Elections Alberta made the party name disposable aft the astir caller provincial election. Earlier this week, an Elections Alberta spokesperson said the main electoral serviceman would marque a last determination connected a party's projected sanction during the registration process.

While the caller PC enactment could besides instrumentality votes from the NDP if their supporters look for a antithetic alternate to the existent government, Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said his enactment remains "the lone prime for affirmative change" successful Alberta.

"The determination by these 2 erstwhile UCP MLAs to revive the PC enactment is different wide motion that Albertans are unhappy with this existent UCP authorities and are demanding amended for our province," said Nenshi in a statement on Wednesday.

Guthrie and Sinclair expect to stay the party's lone members until the enactment is officially registered, and aren't pushing for different MLAs to join. But they said they've had absorbing conversations since their plans for their enactment were announced.

There's nary grounds much MLAs volition travel Guthrie and Sinclair, Williams said, and the UCP is apt to enactment hard to support its MLAs successful the fold. But she noted the caller party creates the anticipation Smith whitethorn person to respond to a divided successful her party's centre.

Williams points retired that portion nary enactment extracurricular the UCP and NDP person picked up important enactment successful polling oregon electoral results since the 2019 election, what could marque the PC enactment antithetic is if much credible radical propulsion their enactment down it, particularly if immoderate MLAs cross the floor, oregon articulation the enactment aft being removed from the UCP similar Guthrie and Sinclair were.

"United Conservatives are not terribly united. They disagree connected a batch of things. Some of them beryllium to parties antecedently that fought against 1 different successful the legislature," Williams said.