INNISFAIL - Despite recent controversy surrounding the provincial PC leadership race in Alberta, members of the Innisfail-Sylvan Lake Progressive Conservative Constituency Association are split between Jason Kenney and Richard Starke.
The leadership race between Kenney, a former federal Conservative Party minister, provincial MLA Starke, and Calgary lawyer Byron Nelson will conclude next month when a new PC leader is chosen March 18 in Calgary.
"I would say people really are all about defeating the NDP," said Mike Walsh, president of the Innisfail-Sylvan Lake constituency association. "I think Jason Kenney, his whole proposal, his whole campaign, is about how to defeat the NDP, and I think that's been very attractive to people."
Walsh said Kenney's efforts to unite the right may resonate with constituency members.
"A lot of people feel like it's time to put differences between the Wildrose and the PCs aside and come together as a conservative family," he added.
In a nearby riding, the majority of members of the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills PC constituency association are throwing their support behind Kenney and his vision of unity.
"I think that there is strong concern across all of Alberta about how to ensure that a conservative party is elected in 2019," said Rob Smith, president of the association. "I think that they do want to see the right as an ideology come together.
"What unites us is greater than what divides us and my thought is, let's put the past in the past and figure out how to move forward," he added.
In November, 15 delegates from Innisfail-Sylvan Lake were chosen to attend the leadership convention. One of them is past association president Dennis Cooper.
"Some of the (delegates) are already committed to Mr. Kenney and some are already committed to Mr. Starke," said Cooper. "Our delegate selection happened a long time ago and a lot of things have happened. I think a lot of delegates are going there with an open mind."
Recent allegations that Kenney breached the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta's (PCAA) constitution and that he is trying to undermine the party are unfounded, noted Walsh.
The vice-president of the PCAA, Darcy Schumann, called an emergency meeting of the board of directors last week. Less than 24 hours later party president Katherine O'Neill ruled the bid to hold an emergency meeting out of order, and restated that the next meeting of the board will take place March 19 after a new leader is chosen.
"This is the second attempt in about a week to disqualify Mr. Kenney," said Walsh. "The VP is well within his rights as a member, per our constitution, to bring this forward, but the fact is just a week ago the election committee dismissed all the (allegations) against Mr. Kenney.
"We really need to start putting a positive spin back on the PC party and the brand."
Walsh said exactly what the future of the PC party of Alberta will look like may not be clear until a new leader is chosen.
"If there is agreement on both sides to unify in some way, the next step for (Kenney) is to decide if he wants to run for the leader of the new party," said Walsh. "You have Brian Jean on the other (Wildrose) side as well.
"There's a whole bunch more hurdles for everybody to get through before it all comes together."
With files from Doug Collie.
Mike Walsh, president
"A lot of people feel like it's time to put differences between the Wildrose and the PCs aside and come together as a conservative family."
