Unity a key sentiment among candidates at UCP leadership announcement

Close to 85,000 votes were submitted at Calgary’s BMO Centre during the election process for the United Conservative party to pick their new leader Danielle Smith.  She came out with a majority of valid votes in the sixth round, beating Travis Toews by 5,943 votes.  During her speech, Smith touched on the rising cost of living, particularly the upcoming increase to the federal Carbon Tax.  She placed the blame on what she calls ‘The Notley, Singh, Trudeau coalition’.

As for the other rivals, Leela Aheer dropped off in the first round with 1.6 percent of the vote, Rajan Sawhney was eliminated with 2.7 percent in round two.  Round three saw Todd Loewen dropping ff with 7.8 percent of votes, while 8.4 percent went to Rebecca Shulz who was eliminated in round four, leaving Brian Jean disqualified in round five with 14.8 percent of the vote.  The message shared among many of the candidates was one of hope and unity.

Danielle Smith added Alberta’s health care system is in a state of ‘dysfunction and disrepair’ and needs to be fixed. She will be officially sworn in as Alberta’s nineteenth premier following the Thanksgiving long weekend.