As of today, only the New Democrats and Progressive Conservatives are the only parties to have nominated a full slate of candidates in all 87 constituencies across Alberta.
Friday, April 17, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. is the deadline for candidates to submit their official papers with Elections Alberta in order to have their names listed on ballots in their constituencies.
The official opposition Wildrose Party has candidates nominated in 78 of 87 constituencies.
The Wildrose lost one more candidate this week when leader Brian Jean quickly removed Calgary-Varsity candidate Russ Kuykendall after controversial online remarks from 2007 criticizing a Pride event in Edmonton were discovered.
AlbertaPolitics.com reports that the not quite full slate may be part of a Wildrose strategy to help PC candidates defeat NDP candidates in Edmonton. Recent polls have showed the NDP has strong support in Edmonton, which may explain why the Wildrose Party appears to be putting little resources into its Capital City campaigns.
Liberal leader David Swann announced his party plans to run candidates in only 47 constituencies, leaving 40 constituencies without Liberal candidates on the ballot. This sends a strong sign of the party’s province-wide disorganization.
The Alberta Party has nominated 36 candidates and the Green Party has put forward candidates in 29 constituencies.
Fundraising
Elections Alberta released first quarter fundraising reports from 2015, showing the financial strengths and weaknesses of Alberta’s political parties. Here are the results of party fundraising in the first four months of 2015: PC $825,318; NDP $406,883; Wildrose $355,091; Liberal $110,764; Alberta Party $109,272.
Giving an indication of how much Alberta’s political environment has changed in the past 12 months, here is what the same parties raised in the first quarter of 2014: Wildrose $891,418; PC $769,800; NDP $123,397; LIB $79,905; Alberta Party $27,200.
