Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

In the course of a week, Alberta’s political landscape changed dramatically. First, Premier Ed Stelmach announced he would not run in the next provincial election. Then David Swann, leader of the Alberta Liberal Party and leader of the Official Opposition, also announced his resignation. On the one side: a new party with a dynamic young leader is scoring high in the public opinion polls. On the other side: the two major parties in the legislature both face leadership races. And there may or may not be a new center option in the form of the Alberta Party. More than it has for decades, the political landscape appears open for major change -- but what kind of change will it be? The speaker will argue that the door is now open for a new kind of politics to emerge, a politics that reflects the demands and the priorities and the style of a new generation. In 1971, Peter Lougheed's surprise win marked the political arrival of the "Baby Boomer" generation -- but the first baby boomers turned 65 in January.