A Six-legged Race for Alberta's Premier

"I don't see that any one of them is a frontrunner, so it's going to be a tough battle," said PC party president Bill Smith.

It's official: six candidates will compete to succeed Alberta's Premier Ed Stelmach when he steps down October 1st. As the party's nomination list officially closed on Friday, Doug Griffiths, Doug Horner, Gary Mar, Ted Morton, Rick Orman and Alison Redford were on the list to compete for leadership of Alberta's Progressive Conservatives. Though none of the candidates signed up unexpectedly, some waited until the last minute to submit their nomination packages which included $40,000 in entry fees. The first ballot is set to take place on September 17. With a race this close, things could get ugly.