Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Bruce Rowe says his decision to leave the Wildrose caucus to sit as a Progressive Conservative was not a betrayal of his party but rather a move to help strengthen the government.
“I still don't view this as crossing the floor,” Rowe told the Gazette. “This is reuniting the conservatives of Alberta. That's the way I view it. To be honest, maybe I'm trying to make myself feel good about this, because it's the toughest decision I've every made.
“I don't see the point of two staunch conservative parties beating the hell out of each other in the legislature. We've done what we set out to do. We changed this government. Premier Prentice wouldn't be there if we hadn't done our job as an effective Opposition.”
Alex Pratt, the president of Rowe's former Wildrose Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills constituency association, says Rowe's defection came without adequate consultation with the board or constituents.
Rowe joined former Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith and seven other Wildrose MLAs in crossing to the PCs on Dec. 17.
In an interview Thursday, Rowe said his decision to cross over came following a closed-door meeting with Premier Prentice in Edmonton on Dec. 16.
“He told us what his vision was and where he wants to take this PC party,” said Rowe. “I sat elbow to elbow with him for two hours. He did not promise anybody any cabinet positions or anything like that. When the meeting was over, I said, ‘I think I'm in guys.'
“If he's the kind of premier that (Peter) Lougheed was, he just wants to do the right things and get this government back on track. And that sold me.”
Rowe said he asked his Wildrose caucus colleagues to defer a decision on crossing the floor until a full Wildrose membership vote could be held.
“I said, ‘I don't want to do this right now. It is not the way to do it. We need to back off. We've got six weeks before session starts again. Let's have a membership meeting and let's put it to the membership, and let's lay it out on the table. But I was told, ‘We can't do that Bruce, because the party constitution says we have to give 120 days for an emergent resolution.' That was very disappointing.”
Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills Wildrose constituency association president Pratt says board members are not pleased with Rowe's defection.
“Of course we are not happy that Bruce has done it,” Pratt told the Gazette. “Bruce called me last night (Dec. 16) and he told me, ‘This is the hardest decision I've had to make'. I said, ‘You have to look at your face every day in the mirror and live with it, and you have to live with the people who voted for you in this constituency and how they feel about it'.
“It would have been nice for Bruce to have come to the board and explain his rationale for crossing the floor. The people are pretty bitter because they voted for a Wildrose candidate and a Wildrose government, and I think they were all ready to stand behind the candidate in the next election.”
Rowe did not “formally consult with our board before making his decision, and he did not hold consultations with constituents,” he said.
The association plans to find a new candidate in the riding to fight the next provincial election, now scheduled for 2016, he said.
“We will step back, find a new candidate and be ready for the next election,” he said. “The constituency is well rounded and we've been getting different fundraising events and we are in pretty good shape for fundraising.
“We are here for the long haul. I've been president of the constituency association since 2003 and I don't plan on going anywhere.
“Mr. Rowe's decision to cross the floor is not part of a merger of the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties. Our local Wildrose board's operations continue. The Wildrose party will have a candidate on the ballot in the constituency in the next election. It will not be Mr. Rowe.”
Asked if Rowe's defection will hurt fundraising by the party in the constituency, he said, “I would hope not. We are always fundraising and always there for the public,” he said.
Asked for his comment on former Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith's call for the Wildrose and the PCs to merge, Pratt replied: “That will never happen as far as I'm concerned.”
Asked for his reaction to Pratt's comments that he did not adequately consult the board, Rowe said he did in fact speak to Pratt before crossing over.
“I was very disappointed in Alex making that statement because it is not true,” said Rowe. “Admittedly I didn't get a hold of all the board members; I just didn't have to do that.
“I wish the timing was better. I wanted to have a vote at the end of January so I would have had the time to go and talk to people and consult people and lay all the cards on the table, and I wasn't given that opportunity.”
Rowe said he plans to run in the riding in the next election.
He said he has offered to meet with the Wildrose constituency board to explain his decision.
"I don't see the point of two staunch conservative parties beating the hell out of each other in the legislature."Bruce Rowe, MLA
