The potential for vote splitting in the St. Albert-Edmonton federal riding means other parties might have a chance to send an MP to Ottawa.
The potential for vote splitting in the St. Albert-Edmonton federal riding means other parties might have a chance to send an MP to Ottawa.
With the next federal election expected to take place sometime in 2015, electoral district associations are starting to gear up to select their candidates.
While incumbent MP Brent Rathgeber has announced his intention to run as an independent and the Conservatives have picked Michael Cooper to be their standard-bearer in a November nomination vote, other parties aren't as far along in the preparation process.
Barry Barclay, president of the St. Albert-Edmonton Liberal riding association, says there is potential for his party to benefit from any vote-splitting that occurs between Rathgeber, a former Conservative party member, and Cooper.
“There's a lot of interest in this riding,” Barclay said.
His riding association is waiting on some organizational details to be handled before starting a nomination contest, which they hope to have in the new year.
“We'd like to get going as soon as possible,” Barclay said.
They have “an embarrassment of riches” when it comes to potential candidates, he said. As a former university professor, he likes to encourage young people to get involved as well.
Barclay says he hopes the nomination contest to run in St. Albert-Edmonton will be one of co-operation between the candidates before and after the vote, rather than being marred by dissention.
“I want them to meet each other and feel like part of the team,” he said.
Barclay wouldn't go so far as to say he was optimistic about a Liberal candidate's odds of electoral success here in St. Albert.
“What I can say is we have a chance, we've got a shot,” he said.
The federal NDP and the Green Party could not be reached for comment.
Earlier this year, the Gazette was told the Green Party electoral district association for this riding had folded but would be reorganized in preparation for the expected 2015 election. The NDP was planning on holding its riding association AGM in the late spring or early summer of 2014 before proceeding to candidate selection.
