CALGARY — A political scientist says Alberta’s Progressive Conservative leadership race is likely to become one in which candidates try to distance themselves from the government of Premier Ed Stelmach.
One-time cabinet minister Gary Mar hinted at that when he announced Wednesday that he will run to replace Stelmach as premier and party leader. Mar said Alberta needs a government that anticipates challenges rather than reacts to them.
“I think Alberta is ready for a government that gets it and I’m ready to lead such a government,” Mar said after appearing on a radio talk show in Calgary.
“There are many things I’ve heard about that I think I will be responsive too. I’m talking about the future. I’m not talking about the past.”
Mar, 48, resigned earlier this week as Alberta’s envoy to Washington, D.C., where he had been promoting the oilsands and the province’s economy.
A lawyer by profession, Mar served as minister of health, education, environment and community development under former premier Ralph Klein and is considered to be a political moderate.
He doesn’t think his time away from Canada will hurt his chances.
“Being out of the country and representing Alberta’s interests throughout the United States has given me a great perspective on the opportunities that exist for Alberta, but also the challenges,” he said.
“I’ve been a champion for Alberta for the last three years and I want to continue to do so in the future.”
David Taras, a political scientist at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said Mar has excellent credentials and should be considered an early front-runner. Stelmach is expected to step down in September.
“His advantages are that he’s a new face and an old face. He’s not associated with the Stelmach years, but he was in five portfolios, everything from education to health. He had very senior responsibilities and emerged from it as someone who is very well liked within the party,” Taras said.
“He ... has all the credentials, has tremendous experience but he is the un-Ed.”
Taras said the race, which includes Ted Morton, Doug Horner, Doug Griffiths and Alison Redford, is going to get a lost nastier once the leadership convention gets closer.
“These candidates are going to start differentiating themselves from Stelmach and that’s already begun. Alison Redford did it the other day on land rights. This is going to become a theme and part of this is how are you different from Stelmach?
“How are you going to put a new face on the party? How are you going to remake the party?”
Taras said he gives Mar an edge because of the preferential ballot system used by the party. He predicted the vote will probably go to a second round and that’s when popularity comes into play.
“If the preferential ballot becomes crucial, here’s a guy who may be everybody’s second choice. There’s a sense of authority that he has, he has experience and he’s not somebody who has a lot of enemies.”