Alberta Liberal Party without permanent leader as nominations close
Posted Aug 16, 2022 2:53 pm.
Last Updated Aug 17, 2022 7:06 am.
There is no permanent leader in sight for the Alberta Liberal Party, which officially closed its nomination process Monday.
While Liberal Party president Helen McMenamin says there was plenty of interest for the role, a right fit could not be found.
“There were several interested candidates, but some could not make the commitment for personal reasons,” said McMenamin in a release. “Other young leaders in the party feel they need more time to learn and grow while building the party in other ways before they step into the leadership role.
“As we talked with Albertans from across the province in the lead-up to the leadership race, we were encouraged by the support we saw for the Alberta Liberal Party. People believe in our message, our values and our policies. There is genuine interest in building the party and continuing our good work.”
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McMenamin says the party will stick with interim leader John Roggeveen.
Roggeveen, a lawyer who hails from Calgary, has been in the position since March 2021 when then leader David Kahn stepped down from the role in November 2020.
Khan had won the leadership election of 2017 with 54 per cent of the vote over Kerry Cundal.
Calgary-based lawyer John Roggeveen remains the interim leader of the Alberta Liberal Party. He was chosen for interim leader in March 2021.
The Alberta Liberal Party is the oldest party in Alberta. They were the official Opposition for the first time in 1921, and they have elected 295 MLAs in their history. The last time they formed the Opposition was in 2012.
They were relegated to third-party status in 1995, and then were shut out of the legislature in 2019, when the United Conservatives regained majority from the New Democrats.
The Liberals have held no seats since 2015, when they held one seat by former interim leader David Swann.
