The last Progressive Conservative leadership forum focused on the province's two biggest ticket items: healthcare and education.
The candidates stayed away from personal attacks in their last appearance before Saturday's vote, but they tried to draw distinctions between themselves on how the province pays for, manages and maintains healthcare and education.
Ted Morton argued for public healthcare, but said the system can deliver services more efficiently.
"We have to find more efficient ways to deliver publicly-funded healthcare," he said. "Efficiencies can be gained."
Rick Orman also stressed the need to find value in the money already being spent.
"It is so important to the people of Alberta that we spend that money efficiently," he said.
Local MLA Doug Horner said the province has to set the example with a well-run and managed healthcare system.
"This is not rocket science," he said. "You can't incent good behaviour when we are not managing the system efficiently."
Allison Redford said she would not allow private payment for healthcare.
"The signal to Albertans is we are abandoning the public healthcare system. I do not believe Albertans want that and it is not my value," she said.
Gary Mar, who has earlier hinted some support for private insurance in healthcare, attempted to make it clear his focus is on making the system better.
"If you look on our website, all the focus is on improving the healthcare system that is public," he said.
Doug Griffiths stressed his plan to restore personal responsibility to the system, so Albertans use it appropriately and take care better of themselves.
"The biggest challenge we have in healthcare is we have eliminated every last bastion of personal responsibility for our healthcare," he said.
The healthcare debate also touched on seniors care, with all of the candidates insisting the province can do more.
"There is enough money available to make sure we take care of our seniors," said Griffiths.
Many of the candidates focused on allowing more seniors to get the care they need in their homes.
"The number one priority for me is to find ways for government to take care of seniors in their homes or their families' homes," said Orman.
Redford argued that, in order to deal with changing demographics, the government has to learn more about how seniors want to live.
"This is a great example where government has to understand how people are living their lives," she said.
Education focus
All the candidates argued the government should be doing more on education and that a strong commitment to post-secondary education was essential for the future of the province.
Morton pushed his plan to make tuition tax-deductable and said it would be the first thing he would tackle.
"Make me premier and it will be Bill 1 in February," he said.
Griffiths said the province needs to expand its offerings so students with the right grades all have an opportunity.
"We should not be turning students away from post-secondary institutions because we don't have the spaces for them," he said.
Redford said it was important for the province to focus on trades education as well as universities.
"There are a lot kids in high school that need to know that choosing to go into trades, choosing to go to technical schools is a viable option," she said.
The Morinville secular education issue surfaced in an indirect way, as one questioner asked if any of the candidates favoured abandoning the two school board system and uniting all the schools under one public board.
Every candidate responded that the idea wasn't one to consider.
"We would never do that — any of the candidates up here — because it is unconstitutional," said Morton, echoing the statements of the other five.
Federal relationship
With an Albertan leading a majority government in Ottawa, the issue of inter-government relations also surfaced.
Griffiths said Alberta should work with the neighbouring provinces to push a Western agenda.
"It is time for us to lead," he said of the Western provinces. "We have nine million people and the hardest driving economy in the nation."
Horner promised to forcefully push the province's agenda.
"I am not saying I am going to go after them with a baseball bat. I am going after them with a carrot-flavoured stick, because the reality is we are the economic engine of Canada," he said.
Redford argued that, before Alberta starts trying to exert political influence on a national scale, the government has to work to change how other political leaders and ordinary Canadians perceive Alberta.
"We don't get to pound the table and say we write a really big cheque, so listen to us," she said.
Votes in the race's first ballot take place today and local party members can cast their votes at Servus Credit Union Place if they live in the St. Albert riding or at the Salvation Army headquarters on Liberton Drive if they live in the Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert riding.
