Opposition Parties of Alberta, Unite!

If Alberta's opposition parties hope to end the Conservatives' uninterrupted decades-long rule, they will have to put differences aside and form a strategic alliance.

The Democratic Renewal Project (DRP), a new grassroots organization in Calgary and Edmonton, of which I am Calgary-chapter president, has formally asked three opposition parties to work together to defeat the provincial Tories in the next election. In a recent letter to the leaders of the Alberta Green Party, the New Democrats and the Liberals, the DRP urged them to abstain from opposing each other in targeted ridings in an effort to put an end to 38 years of uninterrupted Conservative rule.

The DRP believes that a “non-compete” agreement is the best way to unseat the present government: the three parties would each select an equitable number of ridings where the others would stand down. In this way, the opposition would pool its strength rather than competing against and defeating each other.

The three parties have differed in their response. While Liberal leader David Swann is conditionally open to the cooperative idea (although there is resistance in the ranks) and Joe Anglin has confirmed that the Greens won’t be running a candidate in the upcoming Glenmore byelection, the NDP recently passed a resolution against the DRP strategy and proceeded to nominate a candidate.

The NDP resolution is perplexing. In the 2008 general election, 12 Conservatives were elected with fewer votes than the combined total gained by the Greens, Liberals, and NDP. This implies that the opposition could have doubled their present 11 seats if the “non-compete” strategy had been implemented. As well, a united approach could stimulate significant numbers of discouraged non-voters to come out and support the opposition as well, further bolstering its ranks.

Some well-known New Democrats have privately expressed support for the DRP strategy, but firm opposition to the idea by Leader Brian Mason and several in his inner circle has inhibited them from speaking out. One explanation for the leadership’s refusal to cooperate is fear that the Liberal Party may become the entrenched alternative to the Conservatives, especially now that they hold nine seats to the NDP’s two (twenty years ago, the NDP had the lion’s share of the opposition seats). Another is the two parties’ mutual distrust. Having attended renewal sessions for both parties and felt blistering scorn when I presented the DRP approach, I can personally attest to the strength of the resentment.

Members of both parties have clearly taken their eye off the ball – their first priority should be to defeat the entrenched Conservative government. The DRP is not advocating a merger of the three parties, but a temporary strategy to end the provincial “one-party state” and introduce electoral reform to restore a more representative democracy. If the federal NDP and Liberals could sign a coalition agreement (albeit short-lived) because of their strong opposition to the Harper Conservatives, it seems illogical that their provincial cousins should continue to encourage a splitting of the opposition vote and give the Conservatives another free ride into power. Unlike the federal situation, the odds of any of these provincial parties succeeding by going it alone range from dismal to non-existent.

Meanwhile, a Calgary-Glenmore byelection call is expected for late summer or early fall. In 2008, the Liberal candidate, who is seeking re-nomination, gained nearly eight times as many votes as either the Green or NDP candidate, and four times as many as the right-wing Wildrose Alliance. Given this, running a New Democrat simply to have a horse in the race can do nothing but facilitate another Conservative victory.

As the Wildrose Alliance threatens to split the Conservative vote, this is the optimal time for the three other opposition parties to join forces. Perhaps NDP leader Brian Mason will have a change of heart if the Liberals are closely defeated in Glenmore. More likely, he will seize upon any faint ray of hope, such as getting a handful more votes than in 2008 (recall that the Greens aren’t running). In any case, the DRP will continue to encourage Albertans to vote strategically for the candidate most likely to beat the Conservative in Glenmore. This time, that’s clearly the Liberal.

As the DRP letter to the leaders concludes, the days when the progressive opposition can afford to play narrow, partisan games are over. Public interest demands cooperation to defeat the tired sitting government and to cure Alberta’s sick democracy.