'Time is of the essence': Brian Jean calls for merger within six months

If Alberta's political right wants to unite to take on the NDP it had better do so quickly, says Wildrose Opposition Leader Brian Jean.

If some united movement formed from relics of the Wildrose and the PC parties wants a chance to topple Premier Rachel Notley's government, Jean said, a merger would have to happen within the next six months.

"This is not a situation where we can take our time," Jean said Friday in an interview with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM. "We can't afford to see conservatives fighting each other. That's not the best use for our money. We need to make sure that we concentrate on fighting the NDP." 

Jean sharply refocused the debate about right-wing political unity Thursday when he told party members that if they approve a merger he would be willing to step down as Wildrose leader to campaign for the leadership of a united conservative party.

'Time is of the essence'

Despite the ongoing tumult on the right side of the political spectrum, Alberta's conservative movement cannot afford to be caught off guard by an early election call, Jean said.

"We are under a time a crunch," he said. "Time is of the essence. We need to make sure we have efficient timelines, because we've seen cynical behaviour from politicians in Alberta in the past, when they've called snap elections when the opposition parties aren't ready. And we can't afford to have that." 

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Jean wants his party to hold an annual general meeting to approve the merger by June, so that a leadership race could begin the following month and leader could be in place for the fall legislative sitting.

He told the CBC he is acting on the wishes of party members who have told him over the past year that he should pursue unity, but only in a way that honours the Wildrose commitment to grassroots democracy.

"If the PC members select a dance partner that we've been looking for," Jean said, he and his caucus members will attend town-hall meetings to gauge the level of interest and attain a clear mandate to hold such a vote.

Jean announced intentions in group email

The man who has led the Wildrose since March 2015 made his announcement Thursday in a group email sent to party members and in a video posted on the party website.

Brian Jean hopes to lead a united conservative party

8 years ago

Duration 1:07

In a prepared statement, Wildrose Leader Brian Jean announces his intention to run for a unified conservative party.

If Jean has his way, the framework of the Wildrose party will remain intact. Otherwise, he said, the party could undermine its own play for political power. 

"If the two parties did decide to blow it up and start a new party, we would have six to eight months of fundraising that would be gone, and the NDP would have a significant advantage over us.

"We are the only party with a good war chest set aside to fight the NDP in the next election."

PC leadership contender Jason Kenney lauded Jean's announcement, saying it was time "to bury the hatchet, park the egos, park the brands and labels and get past a decade of division."

But Kenney's plan for unity differs from Jean's.

Kenney said if he wins the March 18 vote among delegates at the PC leadership convention, he would seek a mandate to dissolve the Progressive Conservative party and merge it with a dissolved Wildrose party to create a new conservative entity, possibly called the Conservative Party of Alberta.

Asked about Jean's plan to keep the Wildrose framework and funding intact, Kenney said that could be sorted out.

"I'm not going to get into legal argy-bargy at this point," he said. "The fundamental question is whether or not we seek unity."

'Rachel Notley's time is done' 

There is appetite for unity among Albertans with conservative views, especially if it means the NDP government is ousted from office, said Blaine Calkins, the Tory MP for Red Deer-Lacombe.

Calkins said his constituents are frustrated by policies that have been "devastating" to the province's struggling economy.

"People in Alberta are clearly looking for an alternative to Rachel Notley's politics and the NDP policies," Calkins said in an interview with CBC News during the federal Tory winter caucus meeting in Quebec.

"And I think whatever happens, whatever comes of this, Rachel Notley's time is done."

The fate of Alberta's conservative movement should be decided by party members, said Lakeland MP Shannon Stubbs.

Her view of the political landscape in northern Alberta is that there is growing unrest with the status quo.

"I know the vast majority of the people that I represent want to get rid of the NDP government," Stubbs said. "They know it's doing damage to the Alberta economy and they want to see a broad-based, small-c conservative government in power in Alberta … to turn that province back into the economic engine that it's always been."