Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
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Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta
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| Active provincial party | |
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| Leader | Ric McIver (interim) |
| President | Katherine O'Neill |
| Founded | September 1, 1905 |
| Headquarters | 1000 9 Avenue SW Suite 300 Calgary, Alberta T2P 2Y6 |
| Ideology |
Progressive conservatism Red Toryism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| Colours | Blue, orange |
| Seats in Legislature |
8 / 87
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| Website | |
| www |
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The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (often referred to colloquially as Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta) is a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta. The party formed the provincial government, without interruption, from 1971 until the party's defeat in the 2015 provincial election. With seven Premiers and at 44 years, this was the longest unbroken run in government at the provincial or federal level in Canadian history.
The party was created from the Northwest Territories Liberal-Conservative Party that existed from 1898 to 1905. Unlike its predecessor party, who formed government during its entire existence, the Alberta Conservatives were a marginal party for most of the first 60 years after Alberta became a province. In the province's first election, the 1905 election, the Conservatives, led by future Canadian Prime Minister Richard Bennett, won only two seats and were barely able to improve on that in subsequent elections. The main policy difference between the Tories and the Alberta Liberal Party was over the Tories' belief that the province should control its natural resources, which the province had been denied. However, those concerns fell on deaf ears in the midst of an economic boom. Additionally, the Liberals had the advantage of incumbency; they were in office on an interim basis pending the first election.
In the 1913 election, the Tories achieved a breakthrough, winning 18 seats and 45% of the vote. Despite this result, and an even better result in the 1917 election, they were still unable to beat the Liberals. The Tories then split into 'traditional' and 'radical' camps. The party collapsed, and was unable to run a full slate of candidates in the 1921 election. Only one Conservative Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) was returned to the Legislative Assembly in this election, in which the new United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) defeated the Liberals, and took power.
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