Parties & Leaders

Kevin Taft Kevin Taft VIDEO PROFILE Kevin Taft was a thorn in Ralph Klein's side long before he was elected to the legislature, writing two books critical of how the Conservatives govern. Shredding the Public Interest, which called into question whether the government's cuts had been necessary, prompted Klein to call him a communist. But in this election he's hoping to do more than draw cutting remarks from the premier - he wants to cut into the Tories hold on the province. And the man who once said he likes the "street-fight" element of politics has his work cut out from him. Taft was elected leader of the party in the spring of 2004, after Ken Nicol stepped down to run in the federal election. With the departure of Nicol and Debby Carlson, Taft goes into the election with five MLAs - and a $900,000 debt from the last election. While the party is doing fund-raising to see them through the 2004 battle, it promises to be a lean campaign. Taft's party has lost seats over the last three elections - from a modern-day high of 32 in 1993 to 18 in 1997 and dropping to seven in 2001. Taft was one of those seven in 2001, winning in Edmonton-Riverview in his first foray into politics. He says politicians should hold themselves to a higher standard - in 2003, he refused to accept two impossible-to-get tickets to the Heritage Classic game, saying he was no more entitled to them than other Albertans. Before that he'd been on the inside, working for the provincial government as a researcher. His work included sitting on a committee that conducted a health-care review during Don Getty's tenure as premier. Taft also obtained a business doctorate in England and worked at the University of Alberta's Parkland Institute. In an effort to raise his party's profile, he's made himself available to comment on anything the government does. That desire to draw attention caused some problems just days before the election was called. Taft was trying to make headlines by alleging the government gave untendered contracts to those connected to the party. But within 24 hours he was backtracking, saying he'd made a mistake and misread the numbers. With this election, Taft will be able to test whether his convictions provoke a reaction from the voters as well as the premier.