The threat of an NDP government is officially thwarted. Danielle Smith is reaffirmed premier by the slimmest of margins in decades of Alberta history. With the NDP defeated for a second time, Rachel Notley is now past her best before date. This is like the election in the early 90s where the Liberals peaked, and ultimately fell away to nothing.

At the same time, the overall turnout diminished. It wasn’t the NDP’s vote share: it was all UCP. These are people who are discontented with UCP, but had nowhere else to go. There was no vote-splitting: these are people who would stay at home if they couldn’t vote for a third party. That means there is room for us to grow. It’s Wildrose’s time.

In Smith’s victory speech, she spoke of getting back to work in the fall. We aren’t going to wait that long. We are finished with sitting back. It is time for us to lay the groundwork for the next election and beyond. We need to continue recruiting good, hard-working Albertans to be volunteers and donors. We need to recruit candidates that will get the message out: if we want better for Alberta we need Albertans to take the wheel.

Over these next years, we will also work to raise awareness of the foundational problems and burdens that Canadian federalism lays on the people of Alberta. Most Albertans understand that we pay disproportionate taxes and transfers. Our key industries are curbed and frustrated for the sake of Eastern interests and ideologies. We aren’t even allowed to grow enough chicken, eggs, milk, and cheese to feed ourselves, but have to import it from the East. We need Alberta leaders to resist and counter the demands of those that exploit us. And we need people like you to engage and talk to your fellow citizens.

We thank our supporters, volunteers and donors for their contributions, and our candidates for putting their names forward in this election. We look forward to working with you as we continue working towards the future.

Team Wildrose

Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta

PS: Please sign up to help with this effort. Join up and help us do this!

PS: For the cost of a meal out, you can make a big difference.  $20 or $40 isn’t that hard to manage.  And the Canadian government will happily give most of it back to you on your taxes.

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