Changes

The party held 22 seats in the 87-seat Alberta legislature following the 2015 provincial general election, and successfully took official opposition status in the House of Assembly. However it faced an uphill battle against the very well entrenched Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, which had governed the province from 1971 to its 2015 defeat by the Alberta New Democratic Party. Despite this, recent polls showed the Wildrose Alliance ahead of the current ruling NDP in voter support.<ref>[http://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/poll-shows-honeymoon-over-for-ndp-notley-2 Poll shows 'honeymoon' over for NDP, Notley] at the ''Calgary Herald''</ref>

The party held 22 seats in the 87-seat Alberta legislature following the 2015 provincial general election, and successfully took official opposition status in the House of Assembly. However it faced an uphill battle against the very well entrenched Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, which had governed the province from 1971 to its 2015 defeat by the Alberta New Democratic Party. Despite this, recent polls showed the Wildrose Alliance ahead of the current ruling NDP in voter support.<ref>[http://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/poll-shows-honeymoon-over-for-ndp-notley-2 Poll shows 'honeymoon' over for NDP, Notley] at the ''Calgary Herald''</ref>

Its policies called for lower taxes, more efficiency and less spending and push-back against the [[Justin Trudeau|Trudeau]] [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] government in Ottawa.  It condemned current Alberta NDP Premier [[Rachel Notley]] for her poor management of the province (including the imposition of a carbon tax on the public<ref>[http://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/majority-of-albertans-remain-opposed-to-ndps-carbon-tax-poll Majority of Albertans remain opposed to NDP's carbon tax: poll] at the ''Calgary Herald''</ref>), her embracing of [[social justice]] causes (including embracing "[[climate change]]" alarmism and attacks on the oil industry and the Alberta oilsands<ref>[http://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/braid-ndp-needs-to-heed-widespread-rejection-of-climate-change-plan Braid: NDP needs to heed widespread rejection of climate-change plan] at the ''Calgary Herald''</ref>) and the provincial deficit (now standing at over $50 billion as of December 2018), which has more than doubled under the NDP and is higher now than under any previous Alberta government.<ref>[http://www.debtclock.ca/provincial-debtclocks/alberta/ Alberta provincial debt clock]</ref>

Its policies called for lower taxes, more efficiency and less spending and push-back against the [[Justin Trudeau|Trudeau]] [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] government in Ottawa.  It condemned then-Alberta NDP Premier [[Rachel Notley]] for her poor management of the province (including the imposition of a carbon tax on the public<ref>[http://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/majority-of-albertans-remain-opposed-to-ndps-carbon-tax-poll Majority of Albertans remain opposed to NDP's carbon tax: poll] at the ''Calgary Herald''</ref>), her embracing of [[social justice]] causes (including embracing "[[climate change]]" alarmism and attacks on the oil industry and the Alberta oilsands<ref>[http://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/braid-ndp-needs-to-heed-widespread-rejection-of-climate-change-plan Braid: NDP needs to heed widespread rejection of climate-change plan] at the ''Calgary Herald''</ref>) and the provincial deficit (now standing at over $50 billion as of December 2018), which has more than doubled under the NDP and is higher now than under any previous Alberta government.<ref>[http://www.debtclock.ca/provincial-debtclocks/alberta/ Alberta provincial debt clock]</ref>

On May 18, 2017, a merger between the Wildrose Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta was announced. A vote to ratify the merger was held on July 22, 2017, with 95% of the membership of both parties voting in favor of the merger. The newly merged party is now known as the [[United Conservative Party]] and held a leadership convention on October 28, 2017 in [[Calgary]], where former Alberta PC leader [[Jason Kenney]] defeated rival candidates Brian Jean and Doug Schweitzer to become the UCP's first leader.<ref>[https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/new-party-gets-a-new-leader-ucps-leadership-contest-will-finally-be-settled-saturday Jason Kenney declared leader of United Conservative Party] at the ''Edmonton Journal''</ref>

On May 18, 2017, a merger between the Wildrose Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta was announced. A vote to ratify the merger was held on July 22, 2017, with 95% of the membership of both parties voting in favor of the merger. The newly merged party is now known as the [[United Conservative Party]] and held a leadership convention on October 28, 2017 in [[Calgary]], where former Alberta PC leader [[Jason Kenney]] defeated rival candidates Brian Jean and Doug Schweitzer to become the UCP's first leader.<ref>[https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/new-party-gets-a-new-leader-ucps-leadership-contest-will-finally-be-settled-saturday Jason Kenney declared leader of United Conservative Party] at the ''Edmonton Journal''</ref>