The Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta () was an Albertan

autonomist Autonomism or ''autonomismo'', also known as autonomist Marxism or autonomous Marxism, is an anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose ...

, libertarian and conservative

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The party was named the

Alberta First Party The Alberta First Party ) was an Albertan separatist political party in Alberta, Canada. It went through several iterations before becoming its current incarnation as the Freedom Conservative Party. History (1999–2018) Early history (1999� ...

() from 1999 to 2004, when it changed its name to the Separation Party of Alberta (). In 2013, it reverted to Alberta First. In April 2018, it became the Western Freedom Party of Alberta (). On June 22, 2018, it was announced that the Western Freedom Party had changed to its present name. On April 27, 2020, the party announced plans to merge with Wexit Alberta and for a new party called the

Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada, which was formed through the merger of Wexit Alberta and the Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta in 2020. Views According to its constitution, Wexi ...

. Members of both parties voted to approve the merger on June 29, 2020. In July 2020, Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta was officially registered with

Elections Alberta Elections Alberta is an independent, non-partisan office of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta responsible for administering provincial elections, by-elections, and referendums within the province. This is in accordance with the Alberta Election ...

, giving effect to the merger.

MLAs

The party had one member,

Derek Fildebrandt Derek Alexander Gerhard Fildebrandt (born 18 October 1985) is a Canadian politician and media executive. He is the publisher, president and chief executive officer of the Western Standard New Media Corp. He is a former member of the Legislativ ...

, in the

Alberta Legislature The Alberta Legislature is the unicameral legislature of the province of Alberta, Canada. The legislature is made of two elements: the lieutenant governor of Alberta, lieutenant governor (representing the King of Canada),. and the Legislative A ...

prior to the

2019 Alberta general election The 2019 Alberta general election was held on April 16, 2019, to elect 87 members to the 30th Alberta Legislature. In its first general election contest, the Jason Kenney-led United Conservative Party (UCP) won 54.88% of the popular vote and 63 ...

Beliefs

According to the founding documents the main objectives of the party were as follows: # Autonomy for Alberta # Freedom for Alberta # Responsibility for Alberta's government. The Freedom Conservative Party advocates for an autonomous Alberta within a United Canada and is libertarian, and fiscally conservative in its leanings. For example, the parties founding documents call for the government to "pass no law to protect two consenting adults from themselves" and "abolish unnecessary controls over the economy". Fiscally the founding document lays out that Alberta should "collect no more revenue than is needed and spend no more revenue than is required".

History

The Freedom Conservative Party took over the legal shell of the former

. After changing its name to the Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta on June 22, 2018, it gained its first MLA after

changed his affiliation from Independent Conservative and crossed the floor after being barred from running as a candidate for the

United Conservative Party The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party ...

. He was appointed interim leader, pending a vote. During the announcement of the new party, Fildebrandt stated that it is not a separatist party but rather, its members were "conservatives, libertarians and Alberta patriots". It plans to run candidates in conservative strongholds, such as rural Alberta. Fildebrandt has stated he intends to avoid placing candidates in ridings where he believes the incumbent governing

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

would have a chance of winning in case of a

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

in the conservative vote.

Leadership election

The party's first convention under the Freedom Party name was held in

Chestermere Chestermere, originally named Chestermere Lake is a city in the Canadian province of Alberta, within Rocky View County. It is largely a commuter town of Calgary and is a member municipality of the Calgary Region. The city, which surrounds Ches ...

and first leadership race since 1999 was held on October 20, 2018. Interim leader

was the only leadership candidate, and therefore was acclaimed as leader. After the 2019 Alberta General Election and resignation of Derek Fildebrandt, David White was elected on the second ballot as Interim Leader of the Freedom Conservative Party at a party meeting in Calgary on May 4, 2019. Three candidates were on the ballot.

Election results

The 30th Alberta general election which will be held in 2019 is the Freedom Conservative Parties first contested election in its current form. In the Alberta 2019 election, the party is so far confirmed to be running the following candidates in the following ridings: *

(Leader) in

Chestermere-Strathmore Chestermere-Strathmore is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district will be one of 87 districts mandated to return a single member (MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of vot ...

* Matthew Morrisey in

Airdrie-Cochrane Airdrie-Cochrane may refer to: * Airdrie-Cochrane (provincial electoral district) Airdrie-Cochrane is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 87 districts mandated to return a single member (MLA) to the Leg ...

* Rick Northey in

Airdrie-East Airdrie-East is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 87 districts mandated to return a single member (MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting. It was con ...

* Regina Shakirova in

Calgary-Bow Calgary-Bow is a provinces and territories of Canada, provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The district is one of List of Alberta provincial electoral districts, 87 districts mandate ...

* Kari Pomerleau in Calgary-Foothills * Dejan Ristic in

Calgary-Glenmore Calgary-Glenmore, styled Calgary Glenmore from 1957 to 1971, is a Provinces and territories of Canada, provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The district is mandated to return a single member to ...

* Sheyne Espey in Calgary-Peigan * Cam Khan in

Calgary-North West Calgary-North West is a provincial electoral district in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The district was created in 1979 and is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. History The electoral district was created in ...

* Rio Aiello in

Calgary-West Calgary-West (formerly styled Calgary West from 1957 to 1971) is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. The electoral riding of Calgary West is one of the two original Calgary ridings of the seven that ...

* Wesley Caldwell in Camrose * Steve Goodman in

Drayton Valley-Devon Drayton Valley-Devon is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district was created in the 2010 boundary redistribution and is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the po ...

* Jason Norris in

Edmonton-Whitemud Edmonton-Whitemud is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. In 1989, its constituents unseated the Premier of the day, Donald Getty, by voting for Liberal candidate Percy Wickman. The district was ...

* Malcolm Stinson in

Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting. The electoral district ...

* Bernard Hancock in Grande Prairie (provincial electoral district) * Chad Miller in

Innisfail-Sylvan Lake Innisfail-Sylvan Lake is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. It is one of 87 current districts mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting. The distr ...

* Jeff Rout in

Leduc-Beaumont Leduc-Beaumont is a Provinces and territories of Canada, provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of List of Alberta provincial electoral districts, 87 districts mandated to return a sing ...

* Keith Parrill in

Lacombe-Ponoka Lacombe-Ponoka is a provincial electoral district in central Alberta, Canada, created in 2003. The district is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly. History The electoral district was created in the 2003 boundary red ...

* David White in Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin * Allen Maclennan in

Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 87 districts mandated to return a single member (MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of votin ...

* Connie Russell in

Peace River (provincial electoral district) Peace River is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting. The district used instant-runoff voti ...

* Matt Chapin in Red Deer North * Teah-Jay Cartwright in Red Deer South * Dawn Berard in

Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre is a provincial electoral district in central Alberta, Canada. The district was created in the 2010 boundary redistribution and is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using ...

* Jim McKinnon in

Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 87 districts mandated to return a single member (MLA) to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method ...

Leadership history

References

External links

Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta website
{{Canadian Conservative Parties Provincial political parties in Alberta Autonomy Conservative parties in Canada Libertarian conservative parties Political parties established in 1999 1999 establishments in Alberta Right-libertarianism