Quote:
Originally Posted by getbak
The reality in Alberta is that we're more likely to start a new party and vote for it than we are to elect the Liberals.
It has been a full century since the Liberal Party held the majority of Alberta's seats in the House of Commons (1911 election). Since that time, 3 separate grass-roots parties have emerged and claimed the majority of Alberta's seats in a Federal election (often sweeping the Province) -- the Progressives, the Socreds, and the Reform/Alliance.
There's a pretty long history of "Western Protest" parties forming when the people on the prairies start to feel exploited, marginalized, and ignored by the Liberals and/or Conservatives.
After the First World War, it was the United Farmers and Progressive parties that emerged. The CCF (the precursor to the NDP) was founded in Calgary in 1932. Social Credit also emerged in Alberta in the 1930s. Then, in the late 80s, Reform came along.
Maybe what needs to happen is a bunch of disgruntled Alberta Liberals to band together with Libs in BC, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba (where they're also marginalized) and basically do for the Liberal Party what the Reform did for the PCs. Hell, they could even resurrect the Progressive Party name, since it was also formed from disgruntled Liberal supporters.
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I'm going to start the Alberta First Party.
Frankly I have come to the conclusion that after all of these pages in this thread and through talking to others that the Federal Liberals are a lost cause in Alberta, the NDP is even farther from legitimacy and the Greens are only a protest vote. If they ever came close to actually mattering then the moratorium on the oilsands would crush them (and rightly so!).
I really don't know what the Conservatives stand for anymore either: they are not fiscal conservatives and their past five years shows that pretty clearly; they are no socially conservative if we're to believe their recent campaigns. I can't figure out what they're actually trying to "conserve" actually?
The Alberta First Party doesn't necessarily want to separate, we just want a seat at the table. We'll look to get elected so that we can campaign strictly for the interests of Alberta, and basically seek to make sure that we are getting our fair share from Ottawa. Sure its only 28 seats, but just think - a federal leader will actually be campaigning here in Alberta for your votes! We'll attend forums, and finally Albertans won't have to worry about the poor representation we've received from our federal MPs over the years. if you're tired of being taken for granted then the Alberta First Party is your home.
Tired of playing second fiddle? Vote Alberta First!
(I'm really only half joking...)