Former PC, Liberal MLA Raj Sherman registers to run for UCP leader

Danielle Smith is now Alberta’s premier After being sworn in Tuesday morning, Smith now needs to find a seat in the legislature. Saif Kaisar explains.

Former Alberta Liberal leader Dr. Raj Sherman has submitted papers to run for leader of the United Conservative Party, but there are questions about whether or not his name will be on the ballot.

Sherman was accepted as a candidate by Elections Alberta on Friday, making him the ninth person to go through that process.

The UCP has yet to officially accept any candidate. The application deadline is not until July 20. The party's leadership rules state that any candidate must be a member of the party for six months before that date.

Last Thursday, a Postmedia columnist reported that Sherman's effort to get a membership waiver from the UCP was denied. Sherman told Don Braid that he was determined to run anyway because he's concerned about the state of the healthcare system. Sherman is an ER doctor in Edmonton.

A spokesperson for the UCP told CTV News Edmonton on Monday that he could not confirm if Sherman's membership waiver had been accepted or not because of privacy concerns.

First elected as a Progressive Conservative MLA, Sherman was kicked out of that party in 2010 for speaking out about the state of healthcare.

Sherman became Liberal leader in 2011 and was re-elected in Edmonton-Meadowlark in 2012. He resigned as the Liberal leader in 2015.

CTV News Edmonton has reached out to Sherman for comment