(Calgary) Albertans will learn who the province’s new premier will be this Thursday.
Posted at 6:14 a.m.
Indeed, United Conservative Party MPs will vote to choose Prime Minister Jason Kenney’s successor.
The latter announced in the spring that he is resigning after obtaining 51% support for the party leadership.
The vote to elect his successor is open to 124,000 eligible activists, many of whom have already voted by post.
It is also possible to vote in person on Thursday at one of the polling stations located in five locations across the province. The winner of the United Conservative Party of Alberta leadership race will be announced that evening in Calgary.
There are seven candidates running, including four former members of Jason Kenney’s cabinet, but former Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith is seen as the frontrunner in this race.
The race for the leadership of the United Conservative Party of Alberta was dominated by the issue of wanting to assert greater independence for the province from the federal government.
Political observers and pollsters say, however, that whoever wins this leadership race will have to start talking about the issues that matter most to Albertans.
Pollster Janet Brown and political scientist Lori Williams said Albertans are most concerned about inflation, long waits for health care and crowded hospital emergency rooms.