Despite his party getting shut out of four provincial byelections on Oct. 27, the Wildrose MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills is pledging his support for party leader Danielle Smith.
“I think Danielle Smith is our greatest asset. We'll see what the membership says at the annual general meeting in a couple of weeks and we'll just go forward from there,” Bruce Rowe told the Gazette Friday.
Following last week's byelections, Smith called a leadership review, which will take place November 13 – 14 in Red Deer.
The man who wants to become the next Wildrose MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre is also backing Smith.
“I stand with Danielle Smith. She's the reason I joined the Wildrose Party. I believe in her vision for Alberta and I'm proud to campaign with her in the future,” said Jason Nixon, who won the riding's nomination in July to run in the 2016 provincial general election.
Nixon added his support for Smith is unqualified.
“Absolutely. Danielle Smith is an excellent leader of our party and I'm proud of her,” he said.
Joe Anglin, Wildrose MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre did not return repeated calls at press time seeking comment on the byelections and the leadership review.
Kerry Towle, Wildrose MLA for Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, was out of the country last week and could not be reached for comment.
Oct. 27 saw the ruling Progressive Conservative Party win all four byelections, retaining seats for Premier Jim Prentice in Calgary-Foothills, Health Minister Stephen Mandel in Edmonton-Whitemud, Education Minister Gordon Dirks in Calgary-Elbow, and Mike Ellis in Calgary-West.
The Wildrose Party finished third in two ridings: behind the Alberta Party in Calgary-Elbow and behind the NDP in Edmonton-Whitemud.
Nixon downplayed the party's defeats, saying they were held in traditional PC Party strongholds.
Throughout the byelection races, the Wildrose Party campaigned on the rallying cry to “Send the PCs a message.”
Even though voters responded by electing the PCs instead of the Wildrose, which has billed itself as the government in waiting, Nixon said the party still managed to achieve that goal.
“We made them very nervous. They spent a lot of time door-knocking, sending out cabinet ministers and lots of MLAs. The message is we're going to be competitive in every riding in the province going forward,” he said.
For his part, MLA Rowe said his party's campaign did not rouse public support, with feedback suggesting that it was too negative.
“Obviously the message did not get through, so we'll just have to step back and we'll just go forward,” Rowe said.
It was a mistake for the party to run attack ads during the byelection races, he said.
“In retrospect, probably it was, yes,” he said. “We need to be more positive in our message. We need to put out our platform we think Alberta needs to have to move forward. So obviously that's the message we'll work to get out in the future.”
In his own prospective riding, Nixon said his party will continue to press for action on a few key issues: flood mitigation in Sundre, a need for a hospital in Rocky Mountain House, and infrastructure upgrades in Rimbey.
“We have to go out and show not only the legitimate problems that exist within the PC government, but we need to show Albertans what we would do different and why we're a government in waiting and not just opposition,” he said.
"I think Danielle Smith is our greatest asset."Bruce Rowe, MLA
