Reform Party of Alberta
The
Reform Party of Alberta is a defunct
provincial political party in
Alberta,
Canada, that was registered with
Elections Alberta. Its leader was
David Salmon.
The party was registered by members of the former
Reform Party of Canada on
August 24,
1989 not to contest
general elections, but to contest elections held by the Government of Alberta to select its nominees to the
Canadian Senate, a body that is appointed by the
Governor General of Canada on the recommendation of the
Prime Minister.
The party constested Senate nominee elections, the
1989 Senate election and the
1998 Senate election. The Reform Party of Alberta nominated and ran only three candidates in its history:
Stanley Waters,
Ted Morton and
Bert Brown.
The other and primary purpose was to keep Reform focused as a federal party instead of being distracted by provincial campaigns. Nonetheless, there was considerable agitation at this time by some Albertan Reform members to form an active provincial party that could challenge
Don Getty's unpopular
Progressive Conservative government. In some opinion polls, the dormant Reform Party actually placed ahead of the
Tories. When
Ralph Klein was elected to lead the PCs in
1992, enthusiasm for an alternative
right wing party that might
split the vote with the Tories and benefit the surging
Liberals quickly faded.
Unlike what is the case in most
Canadian provinces, an Albertan political party does not lose its registration if it does not nominate candidates during a
general election, de-registration only happens if the party ceases to file financial statements with the electoral office. The Reform Party did not nominate any candidates for election to the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the
2004 Alberta general election.
The federal Reform Party's successor, the
Canadian Alliance, was also not interested in forming provincial wings, but unlike Reform, the CA did not register the Alliance name with provincial electoral officers during its short history. As a result, a section of the Albertan CA membership formed the
Alberta Alliance in
2002. Unlike Reform, the Alberta Alliance is an active political party: it fielded a full slate of candidates in the 2004 general election, and won one seat in the Legislature.
The Reform Party of Alberta was deregistered after the election, along with the
Equity Party.
*
Preston Manning (1989 - 2000)
*
David Salmon (2000 - 2004)
According to the official archives of Elections Alberta, in the 1989 Senate election, the Stan Waters campaign received $147,822 in campaign donations, $19,000 transferred from the Reform Party of Alberta, and $23,558.96 was from fundraising functions, for a total of $190,380.96 in campaign period revenue.
Expenses for the campaign were $197,641.00, resulting in a deficit of $7,260.04.
Note: Future party leader David Salmon was Stan Waters official agent.
*
Reform Party of Ontario*
List of Alberta political parties
