On Thursday, October 6 the UCP selected a new leader and today Alberta has a new premier.
Danielle Smith captured the leadership after a contentious leadership race. She secured the win with 54 per cent of the UCP membership’s vote on the sixth ballot. The next day, MLA for Drumheller-Stettler and Minister of Forestry and Agriculture Nate Horner attended a caucus meeting with the new leader and said it was unifying.
“It was positive and optimistic, she was grateful with thank-yous to all the leadership candidates,” said Horner. I think she really said the right things.”
“One of the premier designate’s greatest attributes is how she talks to people and how she addresses people, she has a great one, and it is going to be really great to work with her. She seems to know she has a strong team, and she is looking forward to leveraging that, so we are all very optimistic as to what comes next.”
He expects to see the government follow the path it has already laid out going into the fall sessions.
“It sounds like she would like to get a seat in the house, so we are expecting session to be delayed until the middle of November,” he said.
On Friday, Smith expressed her intention to run in a by-election in Brooks-Medicine Hat after MLA Michaela Frey resigned her seat.
With a race of six leadership hopefuls, former Finance Minister Travis Toews captured 46 per cent of the vote. Horner was surprised it went to the sixth ballot.
“It was pretty close…it kind of played out like the best polls said it would. But yeah, it was a tight race 54-46 right to the end,” he said. "I hope it just means there were good viable alternatives. If you are a pessimist you might say it was fairly polarizing, but I would just say there were capable candidates and people felt strongly about them.”
He looks forward to her leadership as the government heads into the next session and a spring election.
“She seems to really embrace the strength of her team, there has been a lot of work done over the last three years that hasn’t taken off yet, that needs to be pushed ahead now, and she seems to be debriefed on all of these items and is really looking forward to giving them a push.”