Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

The Wildrose Party became the official opposition in the 87 seat Alberta Legislature on April 23, 2012. Despite capturing 34 % of the vote, only 17 Wildrose MLA’s managed to get elected including party leader Danielle Smith. During the 2012 fall session of the Legislature, the Wildrose Party was very active introducing numerous amendments to proposed legislation, but usually to no avail. The Wildrose believe they heard loud and clear from Albertans that they want solutions to balance the budget, improve health care and education and to put an end to what appears to be a PC Government culture of corruption, conflict of interest and entitlement. Following through on an election promise, Wildrose MLAs exercised their free-vote policy throughout the recent session in the Legislature, while the PCs continued to toe the party line on every vote. “We know the role of MLAs is to listen to their constituents and thoughtfully consider every piece of legislation that comes through the house,” Smith says. “Our Wildros