Despite the stereotype, many Albertans, perhaps even a majority, would like a progressive government that is concerned about helping vulnerable people and protecting the environment. In the last two provincial elections four voters in ten cast their ballots for progressive parties. But this yielded only a handful of Liberal and NDP MLAs and no Greens. These kinds of results have caused many people to believe that only right-wingers can win Alberta elections, and to drop out of political life. All of the progressive parties have small and declining memberships despite the large group of Albertans who support their policies.

The Democratic Renewal Project (DRP) was formed in 2008 in an effort to unite progressive Albertans, among whom bitter partisans in the past have proved at least as large a barrier to getting a change in government and the direction of government in the province as the ability of the Conservatives and now Wild Rose to garner corporate largesse for their campaigns and disproportionate media attention. The Liberals, the NDP, and the Greens ran on substantially similar platforms in 2004 and 2008, and while there are certainly differences in emphasis and in cultural understandings within these parties, political pragmatism has dictated relatively similar policies.

While the DRP faces resistance from those who place party above policy, and the success of their individual party candidates above the needs of Albertans, it has also won considerable support within each of the progressive parties for an alliance in the 2012 election. That includes the private support of David Swann, the leader of the Liberal party, and some of his MLAs, as well as the support of many longstanding NDPers and activists in the political Green movement. Such an alliance would not mean a merger of the parties. Rather it would involve the parties being realistic about which party has the best chance in individual ridings that are winnable for a progressive candidate. With the right-wing divided between the Conservatives and Wild Rose, the chances for a single progressive candidate to win in a riding are better than ever. None of the progressive parties has the resources to run successful campaigns in all ridings, in any case. By working together, these parties can better focus their resources on winnable seats and give Albertans the possibility of electing a government committed to tougher environmental standards, an end to homelessness, greater resources devoted to all aspects of health, including mental health, daycare for young families, and programs to address the needs of seniors.

Some party stalwarts claim that uniting behind one progressive party's candidate in a riding will deprive voters in that riding of the full array of party choices that they have enjoyed in the past. That seems short-sighted. In a province that has had uninterrupted right-wing government for 75 years and where social and environmental programs reflect the failure to elect progressive governments or a large progressive opposition, a real choice for voters would be the chance to either maintain right-wing policy directions or to elect a government committed to other values. Without an agreement among the parties to work together, no such change is possible and any "choices" that the electorate are given are illusory. The almost two-thirds of Albertans who declined to vote in 2008 are well aware of the limited choice that they have in reality.

The DRP argues that the first-past-the-post system in which the candidate with the most votes within the often arbitrary (and gerrymandered) boundaries of a provincial constituency gets a seat generally misrepresents Albertans' political choices. In 2008, the Conservatives won 87 percent of the legislative seats with 53 percent of the ballots cast across the province. As many people have pointed out, the solution is a system of proportional representation in which the number of seats that a party wins in the legislature is directly proportional to their popular vote. There is however no chance of getting the Conservatives to implement such a system which is clearly against their interests, and Wild Rose opposes PR as well. Only the progressive parties are committed to changing the voting system.

Many Albertans' first reaction to the DRP idea is that it is too radical. Since when have parties worked together to form a coalition before an election? The answer is that in many democracies, including Germany, Norway, France, Italy, Sweden, India, and much of Latin America, pre-electoral coalitions have become common and have especially worked to the benefit of those who want a government concerned with social justice and a move towards a green economy. Even in Alberta, we had such a coalition of labour and farm parties in the 1920s and early 1930s.

So far, about 1000 Albertans have joined the DRP. You can join with us in our efforts to persuade the progressive political parties to work together to end right-wing rule by going to our website (drp.ca) and clicking "join DRP," the seventh item on the top left-hand side of the home page. There are no costs to joining with us, and all we ask of all our members is to spread the word. In the same area of our home page, you will be able to click onto our Facebook page or to join our forum. The web pages also have general information about our organization and our activities.

-- Alvin Finkel,
Edmonton Co-chair,
Democratic Renewal Project