Ted Morton believes he is a more complex figure than the right-wing character he is portrayed as and his platform is a mix of conservative ideas and progressive ones.
Morton made the comments in a meeting with the St. Albert Gazette editorial board as he continues his quest for the Progressive Conservative party nomination.
Morton came to the board with local MLA Ken Allred, who has endorsed him in the race. St. Albert has elected Liberal and New Democrat MLAs in the past, but Allred said he doesn't think that means the riding won't support a strong conservative.
"I think St. Albert has a lot of highly professional people, very well educated, and I think they are very pragmatic. They examine the issues and look at the choices. I don't think they are too ideological," he said. "Certainly, it was a very good stronghold for the Reform party," the banner under which Allred ran in the 1988 federal election.
Morton said the issue of same sex marriage is in the past and, while he stands by his position against it, he doesn't see it as factor.
"The issues that were beating around in 2005-2006 have been resolved, and obviously I opposed same-sex marriage as did most Albertans, but it has been decided, so for better for worse, I think that issue is behind us."
Morton said he doesn't believe he is the type of Conservative that won't have an appeal to more progressive or red Tories.
"I think I present kind of a more complex or multi-dimensional candidate than just a social conservative or a blue Tory," he said. "I am little hard to pigeonhole as just a blue Tory. I think my commitment on conservation and environmental stewardship is not typical and is pretty progressive."
Morton has committed to using lottery revenues to increase funding for environmental conservation, creating new parks and reserves. He has also pledged to help create urban natural areas and supports the plan for Edmonton's River Valley.
Another progressive position he highlights is his plan to refund tuition through tax credits up to $20,000 for students who work in Alberta.
Lessons learned
Now in his second race for PC leader, Morton said he's determined to avoid the pitfalls that might have hurt him the last time around. He said the last leadership campaign turned negative and divisive, costing both him and Jim Dinning.
"I think Ted Morton and Jim Dinning made a huge mistake in the last leadership campaign in getting way too negative," he said. "I think the personal negativity that occurred in the last election was really the main reason that Ed [Stelmach] won, and I am not going to go there this time."
Morton said Alberta is very well positioned for the next decade. He said the Conservative majority government in Ottawa would give Alberta a chance to work out some longstanding differences.
"Historically Alberta's relationship with Ottawa has been very adversarial, on the transfer side, on the resource side, on the energy side and before his current job, Stephen Harper and I wrote some things about this."
He said, if he wins the race, Harper wouldn't help Alberta just because he knows Morton, but because it is in the country's best interests.
"We understand each other, but it is not about friendship. Stephen is not very sentimental. It is about self-interest," he said. "His self-interest is he wants to keep Ontario working so he can do well in the next election there, and to keep Ontario working, you have to keep Alberta working."
