Alberta’s United Conservative Party has secured an endorsement from former Prime Minister Stephen Harper weeks ahead of a provincial election in which the party is seeking to attract moderate voters.
The message could help persuade the progressive conservative faction of the party who supported Jason Kenney, but are still unsure of new premier Danielle Smith.
Harper tells voters that Alberta’s economy is finally hitting its stride again and employment is booming. He argues that this “could all be derailed if the Notley NDP wins the election in May.”
“It took years to recover from the last NDP government. We can’t risk going backwards again.” Harper said in the message. “Vote for Alberta; vote Conservative.”
Harper emphasized that the NDP’s “job-killing, tax-hiking, and anti-energy policies” would lead to mass layoffs, business closures, and a recession.
The UCP says the video message is being sent to Albertans via text. The UCP and Alberta NDP are neck-in-neck in recent polls.
Smith was the leader of the Opposition Wildrose Party from 2009-2014, until she crossed the floor to Premier Jim Prentice’s Progressive Conservatives. The move was widely condemned, and the PC’s lost the election to the NDP the following year, while Smith lost her riding nomination.
Alberta Conservatives eventually reunited under the UCP banner, with Kenney winning the new party’s first leadership contest and going on to form government in 2019.
Smith, meanwhile, left politics to host a radio show until she put her name forward to run for the UCP leadership in 2019. Since being elected in October, she’s apologized to the unvaccinated for the discrimination they faced from vaccines and pledged to seek pardons for those charged for breaching pandemic rules — a promise she’s since walked back.
To form government, Smith must attract moderate voters in swing ridings in Calgary and outside Edmonton — including those who would have agreed with Kenney’s approach to pandemic policy.
In a statement on Tuesday, Smith said she welcomed Harper’s support.
“Stephen Harper is an exceptional leader with an unwavering commitment to economic growth, job creation, and Canadian energy,” she said in a statement. “I look forward to working with all Albertans to keep Alberta moving forward.”
Albertans will head to the polls on May 29.
