Some rural Albertans in the heartland of Tory support are planning on changing their votes in the March 3 provincial election.
Retired farmer Jim Holmgren, 70, his wife Iona, and their friend Diane Shipton, who live near Lindale, about 100 kilometres southwest of Edmonton, said Tuesday they are all voting for the Alberta Greens.
The three described themselves as life-long Tories in the riding of Drayton Valley-Calmar which has voted Conservative for the more than 35 years.
'I'm disillusioned with them.'— Jim Holmgren, retired farmer
"I'm disillusioned with them," said Jim Holmgren of the debate over Bill 46, which limited the right of landowners to have a say into energy developments affecting their land.
"Anytime a party has to go all night to put something through the legislature without giving thought to what the people wanted it's time there was a bit of a shakeup."
"It just happened over Bill 46," agreed Iona Holmgren. "And when you tick me off I vote the other way."
Diane Shipton, a neighbour who lives down the road, also pointed to Bill 46 as a major turning point in her decision. But she also expressed doubts about Tory Leader Ed Stelmach.
'Stelmach doesn't stand up and say what he is going to do. I think he's a waffler.'— Diane Shipton
"I was Ralph Klein's biggest fan," she said. "He would tell it like it was. Stelmach doesn't stand up and say what he is going to do. I think he's a waffler."
The decision to vote for the Green Party of Alberta may seem surprising to some, Jim Holmgren said, "but it's become pretty important with the environment. We've got to look after it or it won't be here."
"You see they are selling everything out of the province, all our resources. It wouldn't hurt to leave it in the ground, the oil and the coal and that for the future."
While their vote may not affect the outcome of the election, it does show the values of the Conservative party in Alberta no longer reflect those of many rural people, Holmgren said.
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Riding Profiles
More Alberta Votes Headlines »
- It's 'Ed's Empire' after Alberta election sweep
- Political observers in Alberta are calling it remarkable and opposition politicians are wondering what hit them after Ed Stelmach guided his Conservative party Monday to one of its biggest majorities ever.
- Low voter turnout in Alberta election being questioned
- As Premier Ed Stelmach and Alberta Conservatives savour their sweeping election victory, some people are raising a nagging concern: why so few people bothered to vote.
- Albertans elect historic 11th straight Tory government
- Voters in Alberta stuck with tried-and-true blue, giving the Progressive Conservative party an unprecedented 11th consecutive majority government in Monday's provincial election.
- Political tide turns in Edmonton
- Alberta Progressive Conservative Leader Ed Stelmach has proven true to his word, putting the "Ed" back in Edmonton.
- Conservatives' Calgary fortress resists change
- The Progressive Conservatives' fortress in Calgary stood strong as the party took 18 of the city's 23 ridings Monday night.
