Tom Flanagan is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Calgary and a former campaign manager for conservative political parties.
Jason Kenney won an overwhelming victory in the Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership race, taking 75 per cent of the first-ballot vote. Then he met with the party's executive to start the process of negotiating a merger with the Wildrose Party.
The PCs seem to be going along with the merger idea, which was the main theme of Mr. Kenny's campaign. Former PC cabinet ministers Doug Horner and Thomas Lukaszuk staged showy walkouts, but that was anticipated from their earlier comments. Other PC members will probably leave, but there is no sign of a mass exit. Indeed, Mr. Kenney has recruited Donna Kennedy-Glans, who had at one time been in the leadership race, for his transition team. That will be a positive signal for unity as she is seen as a moderate on social issues.
Mr. Kenney's next step is to meet with Wildrose leader Brian Jean. Mr. Jean has said many things about merging (not always consistent), but he has no good reason to be obstructive. Repeated polls show large majorities of both PC and Wildrose supporters in favour of a merger. Mr. Kenney has warned people in both parties that popular support among conservative-minded voters is so strong that anyone who stands in the way will be politically punished. If Mr. Jean is not co-operative, his caucus will split, donations will fall off, and his party will swoon in the polls.
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Indeed, there are positive incentives for Mr. Jean to play ball, for he has a decent chance of winning the leadership of a merged party. Repeated polls have shown him to be at least as popular as Mr. Kenney. The way he saved Wildrose after previous leader Danielle Smith crossed the aisle has earned him the respect and affection of Wildrose supporters. Alberta conservatives will be lucky to have a choice between Mr. Jean and Mr. Kenny, who also demonstrated great political ability in his recent campaign.
The most serious problem lies in the legal mechanics of effecting the merger. Glen Resler, Alberta's chief electoral officer, said publicly about a year ago that parties can't merge in Alberta because the Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act does not permit the transfer of assets from one party to another. Mr. Resler's recommendation was that one party to a potential merger should let its assets run down, after which its members could join the other party. That might work legally but would be difficult politically because members of the first party would be made to feel inferior to members of the second.
In fact, the Act is far from clear, and not all lawyers agree with Mr. Resler's interpretation. Earlier this week, five Alberta lawyers led by Andy Crooks released a legal opinion arguing that a merger of political parties and amalgamation of assets can be carried out under well-established principles of corporate law.
These are highly technical legal issues on which it is difficult for non-lawyers to form an opinion. But PC and Wildrose legal advisers, while they obviously have to pay attention to Mr. Resler's public statements, need not feel completely bound by them.
Elections Alberta is a regulatory commission – an umpire, not a coach. The umpire's job is to call fair or foul, not to tell the players what to do. Let the players – in this case, the two political parties – come up with a plan. If the umpire rules it out of bounds and refuses to register the new creation, the parties have the option of judicial review to get an authoritative interpretation from the courts.
But it shouldn't have to come to that. Alberta lawyers and public servants should be able to find a way to do something that so many voters desire, and that would be straightforward in other jurisdictions.