CALGARY - Alberta's Progressive Conservatives will pick a new leader next spring.
Party president Katherine O'Neill says in a post on the party's Facebook page that the board of directors met in Calgary on Saturday to discuss the process for selecting a new leader.
O'Neill says they agreed the election of a permanent leader will be held next spring, before April 30, 2017.
Calgary-Hayes MLA Ric McIver has served as the PC's interim leader after former premier Jim Prentice resigned following the party's election loss to the NDP just over a year ago.
O'Neill says the board of directors has appointed a leadership election committee to iron out details for the contest.
She says they'll report back at the end of this month with a specific date that will then need to be ratified by the board.
The Tories voted at their annual general meeting last month in Red Deer to adopt a process where delegates will be selected for a leadership convention, rather than a preferential ballot process where all party members would vote.
Holding the leadership convention next spring will allow time for constituencies to get ready for the change to the delegate system, O'Neill says, as well as ensuring that the PC's fall policy convention can proceed as scheduled.
