Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta leadership election, 2006
| Date | Nov 25, 2006 (1st ballot) Dec 2, 2006 (2nd & 3rd ballot) |
|---|---|
| Resigning leader | Ralph Klein |
| Won by | Ed Stelmach |
| Ballots | 3 |
| Candidates | 8 |
| Entrance Fee | $15,000 |
| Spending limit | None |
The 2006 Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership election was held in November and December 2006 to choose a new leader for the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (and consequent Premier of Alberta) to replace the retiring Ralph Klein. Ed Stelmach emerged as the winner of an eight candidate field, despite placing third on the first ballot.
On March 14, 2006, 16 days before the PC Convention and leadership review, Klein announced his plan to tender his resignation on October 31, 2007, but remain as Premier for several months until a leadership election in early 2008. However, at a party convention March 31, he received only 55.4% support from party delegates, and consequently decided to submit his resignation September 20 and to leave office as soon as a successor was chosen.
Shortly after announcing his timetable with regards to stepping down, the Premier instructed all current members of the Albertan Cabinet to resign and move to the backbench by June 16, 2006, if they wanted to run for the leadership. Premier Klein's request is not unusual or unprecedented on his part - former Albertan Treasurer was required to resign as Treasurer upon declaring his candidacy for leadership of the Canadian Alliance in 2000. However, the lengthy notice Klein has demanded has proven controversial - after announcing his own resignation Klein's predecessor Don Getty also required cabinet ministers who wanted the leadership to resign, but Getty requested their resignations only a few months prior to the vote.
On March 31, 2006, Premier Klein faced a mandatory leadership review when party delegates voted on the question of whether he should continue as leader of the party and, by extension, as premier. Although Klein was not widely expected to lose this vote, he had said he would resign leader quickly if he did not get an overwhelming majority. Klein had not publicly divulged what this threshold would be, but most political observers pegged it at 75%, far more than the 55.4% the premier actually received. In previous years, Klein had scored as high as 97% in support of his leadership.
There was known to be pressure from within the party to force Klein out sooner than planned. On March 23, 2006, Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Lyle Oberg was suspended from the party's legislative caucus for six months and dismissed from the Cabinet after he told constituents in Brooks that he would not urge delegates at the March 31 leadership review to support Klein. Oberg had been considered a contender for the leadership prior to this decision, but described the premier's directive regarding the June 1 deadline as a "bombshell" and infuriated fellow Tories when he told constituents "If I were the premier, I wouldn't want me sitting as a backbencher... I know where all the skeletons are." Despite this, Oberg pressed on with his leadership campaign and was re-admitted to caucus on July 25, 2006.
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