In what is being called the biggest betrayal in political history, nine members of Alberta’s official opposition party crossed the floor to join the governing party.
Former Wildrose leader Danielle Smith joined Progressive Conservative premier Jim Prentice in a joint news conference to announce a “unification” of Alberta’s conservatives.
“It is a significant step to reuniting the conservative family in Alberta,” said Prentice.
Smith said: “When I became Wildrose leader more than five years ago, I did so with one singular objective in mind: to return to government the conservative values and principles that I had spent my life defending. Under premier Prentice’s strong leadership, I believe we can work together to lead Alberta with a renewed focus on the values and principles that we share.”
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Prentice said the nine new members of the party create a stronger government.
“Alberta is stronger today with these committed people working together,” said Prentice, adding it is good news that so many members from the Wildrose caucus will lend their skills for excellence in government.
In her final act as leader, Smith requested that the Wildrose party hold a members meeting to pass a reunification resolution.
The nine members include Wildrose leader Danielle Smith (Highwood), Rob Anderson (Airdrie), Gary Bikman (Cardston-Taber-Warner), Rod Fox (Lacombe-Ponoka), Jason Hale (Strathmore-Brooks), Bruce McAllister (Chestermere-Rocky View), Blake Pedersen (Medicine Hat), Bruce Rowe (Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills) and Jeff Wilson (Calgary-Shaw.)
Last month, Kerry Towle (Innisfail-Sylvan Lake) and Ian Donovan (Little Bow) crossed the floor from Wildrose to the PCs. Joe Anglin (Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House- Sundre) left the party to sit as an independent.
In a news release Anderson said he is rejoining the PCs because he has spent his entire life fighting to elect a leader like Prentice.
“I am not going to spend my efforts opposing the very kind of premier I and many others have worked so diligently to see elected,” he wrote.
Anderson said he left the PCs in 2010 to join the Wildrose party to help elect a leader committed to conservative values.
The remaining opposition members in the provincial legislature include five Wildrose and five Liberals, four NDP and one Independent member.
In a blog post, former federal Conservative MP Brent Rathgeber and now an independent MP said: “I am in shock that a leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition is so disloyal to the party she helped construct that she would floor-cross and join the governing party,” he said.
“A strong opposition, sadly, is now a memory in what is left of democracy in the One Party State.”
