Alberta Liberal leader Raj Sherman won his party’s support last weekend to carry on as leader of the party.
Sherman got a resounding 94 per cent vote of confidence in his leadership of Alberta’s third party after a party convention in Calgary.
The party’s rules require a leadership review after each election. The confidence vote will allow Sherman to run in the 2016 election as leader.
He called the decision humbling and said more than being a vote for him it was a vote for the party.
“There was pretty strong, unanimous support on carrying on the direction of the party.”
Sherman said the party was always unlikely to win the last election, but said the seats they hung onto were very important for the party.
“We have always said this is a two-election strategy, the first election was basically about surviving.”
The party maintained five of its nine seats in the last election.
Colleen Soetaert, former Liberal MLA for Spruce Grove-St. Albert, said it makes sense for the party to focus on things other than leadership.
“It was probably a very pragmatic move for the party, let’s move ahead and spend energy where it needs to be spent,” she said.
Soetaert said the party did well to hold the seats it did in the last election. She said she suspects some traditional Liberal supporters “danced with the devil they knew” – the Progressive Conservatives – to stave off a Wildrose victory.
“The province needs a strong opposition and we need to rebuild right now,” she said.
She said the party has always struggled to distinguish itself both from its federal counterparts and from the rest of the pack in Alberta. With Sherman firmly in place, it will be able to focus on that, she said.
“There is a place for the Liberal party in Alberta absolutely and I think it will give is a chance to show a solid platform, solid leadership a cohesive party and it will give us time to rebuild,” she said.
Sherman said the party would play a balanced role in the legislature, endorsing government moves if they make sense, amending them if they need improving and rejecting them if they are off base.
“I believe that is what Albertans expect from their politicians.”
On the electoral front, Sherman said his party needs to rebuild the grassroots of the organization, which it can do without worrying about the leadership issue.
“We now have four years to carry on the rebuilding that we started last year.”
Sherman, who crossed the floor from the Progressive Conservatives to the Liberals before becoming party leader, said even his own constituency association was essentially dead before the last elections.
His Edmonton-Meadowlark association hadn’t met in four years and had just $57 in the bank.
Sherman said he intends to build on the election to re-invigorate constituency associations across the province.
“The election was actually part of rebuilding the party, getting good candidates with a connection to the area,” he said.
He said campaigns are about candidates, policy and money, but they are also about the people who work on them.
“It also requires volunteers and lots of them in every area,” he said. “The funding can’t come if you don’t have volunteers.”
