Two independent MLAs are working to bring back the PC Party, a move that has sparked mixed reactions from former political leaders in St. Albert.
Peter Guthrie, MLA for Airdrie-Cochrane and a former United Conservative Party (UCP) cabinet minister, confirmed the effort during a July 2 interview on the "Real Talk" podcast with Ryan Jespersen.
Guthrie and Sinclair have until Nov. 26, 2025, to recruit a third sitting MLA or complete a petition containing 8,819 signatures of eligible voters. Elections Alberta has confirmed the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (PCAA) name is currently reserved and eligible for reactivation, pending completion of registration requirements.
The Progressive Conservative Party governed Alberta for 44 years, from 1971 until it was defeated by Rachel Notley's NDP in 2015. The following year, the PC party merged with the Wildrose Party to form the United Conservative Party.
Mary O'Neill, who represented St. Albert, as a Progressive Conservative MLA from 1997 to 2004, said she's proud of the party she served under but is unsure of what this new version will stand for.
"I very happily and very committedly believed in the Progressive Conservative Party," she said. "But until we see the full the full vision – we don't know now whether they want to establish it, reclaim it, whether they want it to go back to exactly what it was, whether they want to fit it into the current scenario of Alberta and profile of Alberta, which has changed, both in size and in profile."
O'Neill explained that she would like to know more about what the party will represent, as they have yet to release their plan.
"I'd like to know what their understanding of 'Progressive Conservative' is. People need to know that," she said, explaining that she had read an article where Guthrie described the new party as "centrist," "fiscally conservative" and "socially reliable."
She said that until they release the whole plan, it will be challenging to know if reviving the PC party is viable.
Former St. Albert mayor Richard Plain believes the PC brand still holds deep meaning for many Albertans. "The PC party between 1971 and 2015 was our longest continuous running political party in Alberta," he said.
Plain said reintroducing the PC Party could appeal to voters dissatisfied with the UCP's direction.
"I think that [a revived] PC party as a living, breathing political entity with reasonable leadership would be very attractive to a large segment of the population," he said. "But you have to raise the funds and resources and do all the things you need to build a party and rebuild the party. It's one thing to be able to use the PC brand. It's another thing to build a new party under that old brand name."
He explained that people could vote for members of the PC party due to brand loyalty. However, he also said that bringing back the party could cause vote splitting, like we saw in the past with the PC party and the Wildrose Party.
Malcolm Parker, former city councillor and former president of the St. Albert UCP and Wildrose constituency associations, expressed concern about vote splitting.
"We've already been there and done it," he said, referring to the previous split between the PC party and Wildrose party. "The vote was getting split. That's what helped the NDP (New Democratic Party) get elected for the one term that they formed the government."
He explained that vote-splitting is something Albertans need to be aware of when voting, as Alberta "is basically a two-party system," made up of the NDP and the UCP.
"I think the same issue will probably prevail, you'll have people say, okay, whatever that new party is, it's kind of conservative," Parker said. "Then there'll be the UCP, and we're going to have the same thing all over again, and as they give it time to take place, the same concerns might surface and we're splitting the vote again."
He said one thing voters need to be aware of is who they are voting for and why.
"So what I've learned is the voters, first of all, should be out voting, and when they do, they gotta become informed," said Parker. "What we're really lacking everywhere is that we're not electing people that have the credibility to do the job."
