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3mo ago

Ousted UCP MLAs Launch Signature Drive to Revive Alberta PCs

Gathering 8,819 signatures by November offers a path to register a centrist conservative alternative under the original PC banner.

Then-Minister of Infrastructure Peter Guthrie is sworn into cabinet, in Edmonton, Friday, June 9, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson. Lesser Slave Lake MLA Scott Sinclair, right, speaks with members of the media at the Alberta legislature building in Edmonton on Monday March 10, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jack Farrell
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks to media at a press conference on Wednesday, July 2, 2025.
Peter Guthrie, the former infrastructure minister, is one of two ousted United Conservative members who plan to re-register the PC party that ruled Alberta for more than four decades.

Overview

  • Guthrie and Sinclair must collect at least 8,819 valid signatures by a November deadline under Elections Alberta rules to formalize registration of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta.
  • Elections Alberta has reserved the party’s name, giving the duo six months to meet the signature requirement for official status.
  • The former MLAs pitch the revived PCs as a moderate alternative for Albertans disillusioned with Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party and the NDP.
  • Premier Smith has warned that any split in the conservative vote is likely to benefit the NDP in the next provincial election.
  • The initiative follows Guthrie’s February resignation from cabinet over alleged interference in health-care procurement and both MLAs’ expulsions from the UCP caucus.