Independent MLA Peter Guthrie joins Alberta Primetime host Michael Higgins to discuss continued efforts to rebrand the Alberta Party under the Progressive Conservative name, and pushback from the UCP government. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Michael Higgins: How do you respond to the premier stating that you’re attempting to steal the name of an existing party? Peter Guthrie: Effectively, it just shows the UCP’s concern. Ultimately, what it’s about is what the PC brand represents and it’s the antithesis of the UCP, or at least what the UCP has become. For myself, I graduated from high school in 1987 and I couldn’t wait to vote. In 1989 I got to vote PC provincially for the very first time, and I voted that way for the rest of my life until 2019. Since then the UCP has certainly strayed a long ways from the mandate in which they first set out. That was, one: be fiscally responsible. Two: limited government. And I’m not just talking about the size of government, I’m talking about the interference through regulation and legislation into the everyday lives of people. The other thing is being accountable, transparent, being against corruption, and certainly not trying to cover up potential corruption. As a PC party, we want to be one that is compassionate and accessible to people, to all Albertans, not just those that are friends of this administration. MH: What is your understanding of ownership of the name, the degree to which it might be available to you in conjunction with the Alberta Party? PG: We hold the reserve name, Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta. And Elections Alberta are the authority on elections law, so we’re going to defer to them and to their judgment. The UCP will not be making the determination here, although they may try to influence the decision. We’re certainly not going anywhere, and we will not be deterred. MH: You and Scott Sinclair aligned with the Alberta Party, whose members voted at the end of August in favour of the name change. What is actually happening with that development at this moment – have you filed formally with Elections Alberta? PG: What’s going on here with the UCP is they wish to claim ownership over the term PC or Progressive Conservative. They’re demanding that we withdraw our name change request with Elections Alberta. On August 27, members of the Alberta Party voted 94 per cent in favor of changing the name to the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party. Two days later, we filed the requisite information with Elections Alberta, and we’re just waiting to hear back from them on that. We certainly will not be retracting that application. MH: How much do the cease and desist letter sideline your efforts? PG: Anybody can sue for anything that they want. It doesn’t mean that they’re going to be successful. We feel that we are on sound legal ground here, and once Elections Alberta makes their judgment and provides us with a name, that’s that’s pretty much it. I’m not sure where the UCP would be coming from thereafter. I do find it fascinating there are two Wildrose parties that exist in this province. There’s the Wildrose Independence Party, and then there’s the Wildrose Coalition. The premier, being the former leader of the Wildrose party, you would think that she would feel more ownership over that name. Yet, she’s not going after the Wildrose legacy that that may be out there - she’s going after the PCs. Certainly that’s because they see us as a threat. What we’re hearing, and what we see, is a large group of people that feel as though they do not have a political home. You have both the NDP and the UCP pushing people to the extremes, and there’s this large swath of people that are looking for something else - and that’s what we’re here to offer. MH: The premier is being quite forthright in her opposition. What level of pushback are you receiving behind the scenes from within the UCP that you used to rub shoulders with? PG: We’re just hearing nothing but support for this. Into my office, and wherever I’m engaging with people, I just get and feel nothing but support. So we’re going to keep going. As I said, I voted PC for my entire life. It’s how I feel. I feel that it’s a party that represents me, and I think that there are a major group of people in this province that feel the same way. They’re really looking forward to the outcome of Elections Alberta making their decision so that we can get on with business. MH: Where do things realistically stand? Could you and Mr. Sinclair be sitting as PC MLAs when the legislature resumes sitting in late October? PG: We submitted August 29 and we were told that within 60 days we can expect that judgment. Hopefully, it doesn’t take quite that long. I would love to be able to tell our supporters that we’ve obtained that name by the end of this month. And yes, most certainly have the name while we’re sitting in the legislature October 27 when we get started.
