Members of the Wildrose Alliance party will converge on Red Deer this weekend for its first annual convention since Danielle Smith was elected leader last October.
Party executives are banking on double the number of attendees from last year’s convention, which drew about 190 people. The convention at the Capri Centre will run on Friday and Saturday.
Wildrose members will be asked to vote on 43 policies that came from the various riding associations. Among the policy proposals are: not increasing the number of seats in the Alberta legislature; supporting ownership of firearms as a property right; and improving coverage for authorized out-of-province medical treatment unavailable in Alberta.
Discussions will also centre on task force reports surrounding agriculture, MLA pay and perks, and energy.
Delegates will vote on whether to allow the party’s Agriculture Policy Task Force to develop specific policies on agriculture and rural issues for the 2011 annual generation meeting.
The Pay and Perks Task Force is asking for members to support more transparency of remuneration and expense payments, and further to lobby the government for reduced pay of MLAs and ministers.
Members will also be asked to support an interim energy policy that suggests having the party consult extensively with industry prior to introducing policies.
Executive director Vitor Marciano said a lot has changed since the party was formed in January 2008 following the merger of the Wild Rose Party of Alberta and Alberta Alliance Party.
Smith, a 39-year-old former broadcaster, was elected after the party’s top job was vacated by Calgary-Glenmore MLA Paul Hinman. In the past year, membership has grown “10 times” from around 1,800 members.
“We’ve grown through this tremendous growth spurt in the last year so it’s the first convention for us being a big party, rather than a little party,” said Marciano.
“A variety of activities will happen, but it’s more of a ‘hey, you’re here too’ kind of event.”
Smith and Hinman were joined on the Wildrose caucus earlier this year by two MLAs, Rob Anderson and Heather Forsyth, who defected from the Progressive Conservative caucus. Independent Fort McMurray MLA and former longtime Tory cabinet minister Guy Boutilier is expected to announce his plans to join the party this week.
Smith has indicated interest in running for a seat in a Calgary area riding once an election is called.
Widespread speculation is that Conservative Premier Ed Stelmach, who won a solid majority in March 2008, will call an election in 2012.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com