Alberta Party candidate Tim Osborne has a real shot at becoming the next St. Albert MLA, says party leader Glenn Taylor.
"He's got the local connections, he's raised the resources to run a viable campaign and we believe he can win," Taylor said this week. "I believe Tim is capable and ready to serve right now and I believe St. Albert would be well served with Tim in the legislature."
Osborne has a visible campaign in St. Albert with the backing of many area voters. He's been working on his campaign since September when he was chosen the Alberta Party candidate for St. Albert.
He said he thinks he has a chance at becoming St. Albert's next MLA.
"It's a really wide-open election and if people are looking for some new options and a new way of doing things, then I think the Alberta Party is somewhere that a lot of people will look," he said.
Osborne said much of the feedback he receives while door knocking and interacting with voters is positive, adding many people are just ready for a change.
"I think that people are frustrated with the status quo and I think they are looking for a new way of doing politics," he said. "I think people want to have a greater voice in what is happening in the province."
Although Taylor expects Osborne to be successful, he admits it's unlikely that the party will form government this election.
"The reality is, that's not our focus," he said. "The Alberta Party is taking a long-term point of view. Building a new political party in Alberta is not an easy job and we had no expectations to come out of the gate and form government."
Of the 38 Alberta Party candidates throughout the province, Taylor said he anticipates between six and 10 will take a seat in the legislature — something Osborne agrees with.
"We have a number of ridings where we have a really strong chance to win," he said. "Our hope is to make some inroads this election and get a number of MLAs elected and build upon that success moving forward."
Taylor said the goal this election is to have as many Alberta Party candidates serving their constituencies as MLAs to show Albertans that the party can "walk the talk."
If the Alberta Party is able to establish a presence in the legislature following the April 23 vote, Taylor said it will put the party one step closer to forming government in 2016 — something he says can happen.
Even if the party fails to bring a strong presence in the legislature, Osborne says the party has rooted itself in many communities and expects the growth to continue.
"I think, this being our first election, we've really energized a lot of people so even if there is only one or two MLAs, I think we've built so much support here from the grassroots and I'm quite confident people will continue to work at building the party moving forward," he said.
Voting strategies
Taylor said many people voting for the Alberta Party are doing so because the big four – Progressive Conservative, Wildrose, Liberal and NDP – don't suit their needs.
This is, of course, assuming people vote for the party that represents their constituency best, something he said isn't always the case.
"People want to be with the party that wins, because darn it, that's my party," he said. "It's not necessarily because of their policy, it's not necessarily because of the idea, but sometimes because you want to back a winner."
Alvin Finkel, co-chair of Change Alberta (www.changealberta.ca) advocates strategic voting to prevent a PC or Wildrose government.
Shortly after the 2008 provincial election, the Alberta Democratic Renewal Project was started to encourage progressive parties to work together to elect a single candidate in each riding to eliminate vote splitting.
This didn't succeed and instead, the group created the website to recommend the most-likely-to-be-successful candidates. He recently recommended that progressive voters in St. Albert support Osborne over Liberal candidate Kim Bugeaud and NDP Nicole Bownes.
"He is running a real campaign and if people who would like to vote to the left of the Conservatives and the Wildrose would like to make their votes count, they should vote for Tim Osborne," Finkel said.
Osborne said he is flattered that his campaign was recognized and said if people want to vote strategically, they are well within their right. Ultimately, though, he said people need to vote for their own reasons.
"I think that every voter has to make up their own minds for their own reasons. I encourage people to get informed and to understand what all the different parties and platforms are all about," he said.
