Albertans will be watching intently this afternoon for whether Jason Kenney, Brian Jean or Doug Schweitzer becomes the first leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP).
The UCP, which was formed in July after members of the Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties agreed to merge, is Alberta’s Official Opposition, so the new leader could become the province’s next premier after the 2019 election.
Jean, 54, is the MLA for Fort McMurray-Conklin, and led the former Wildrose Party for two years. He was a Conservative MP for a decade.
Kenney, 49, is a former Conservative Calgary MP and cabinet minister under former prime minister Stephen Harper. He was briefly the leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative party when he won the leadership in March until the merger vote in July.
Schweitzer, 38, is a lawyer in Calgary. He is the former CEO of the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party and managed Jim Prentice’s successful campaign to lead the Alberta PCs in 2014.
Party members have been voting online and by phone since Thursday morning. The winner will be announced at a party event at the BMO Centre in Calgary after voting closes at 5 p.m. MT.
CBC News will live stream the announcement, expected around 5:30 p.m. MT.
On Thursday, Schweitzer and Jean asked the party to suspend voting because they were concerned about the security of personal identification numbers issued to members for the vote.
The party said it found no evidence of voter fraud and the process was allowed to continue as scheduled.