Randy Thorsteinson | |
---|---|
Leader of the Reform Party of Alberta | |
Assumed office 2016 | |
Preceded by | Party created |
Leader of the Alberta Alliance | |
In office 2003–2005 | |
Preceded by | Party created |
Succeeded by | Eleanor Maroes (Interim) |
Leader of the Social Credit Party of Alberta | |
In office 1993–1999 | |
Preceded by | Robert Alford |
Succeeded by | James Albers |
Personal details | |
Born | Gimli,Manitoba,Canada |
Political party | Reform Party of Canada Social Credit Party of Alberta Alberta Alliance Reform Party of Alberta |
Alma mater | Brigham Young University |
Randy Thorsteinson (born November 8,1956) is a politician and businessman in Red Deer,Alberta,Canada.
Thorsteinson was born in Gimli,Manitoba and spent his youth living in Winnipeg,Manitoba;Edmonton,Alberta;Calgary,Alberta;and Grande Prairie,Alberta.
He attended St. Paul's High School in Winnipeg,Manitoba. [1]
Thorsteinson attended Ricks College (now Brigham Young University-Idaho campus) for two years followed by two years at Brigham Young University (Utah) majoring in business management.[ citation needed ]
Following university Thorsteinson spent three years as Retail Sales Manager for Travelaire Trailer Canada Ltd. in Red Deer,Alberta.
He was one of the founders of Carlson Tours and Incentive Travel Ltd. in 1984 which subsequently changed its name to Cascadia Motivation Inc. Thorsteinson is the Chief Operating Officer of the company. Cascadia Motivation works with Canadian businesses to improve their performance levels and achieve their objectives.
Thorsteinson entered politics as president of the Red Deer riding association of the Reform Party of Canada in 1988 and served in this position for three years.
In 1988 Thorsteinson served as the campaign manager for Michael Roth,the Reform Party candidate in Red Deer riding. Roth finished second to Doug Fee (PC) with just under 10,000 votes.
Thorsteinson joined the Alberta Social Credit Party in 1991,and became leader the following year.
Under Thorsteinson,Social Credit experienced the beginnings of a rebirth,and in the 1997 general election,the party nominated 70 candidates and collected 64,667 votes (almost seven per cent of the popular vote). This was Social Credit's best result since 1979,but it failed to win any seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
By 1999,however,Thorsteinson,a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,was at odds with his party after a movement within the party to limit the involvement of Latter-day Saints. Thorsteinson quit the party in April 1999 and was a founder of the Alberta First Party but was not active in the party.
In 2002 Thorsteinson was the founder of the Alberta Alliance Party [2] (which changed its name to Wildrose Alliance in 2008). The party met the registration requirements and he became the party's leader at the Party Founding Convention in February 2003.
Thorsteinson's new party gained momentum immediately following the 2004 federal election when Edmonton Norwood Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Gary Masyk crossed the floor to join the Alberta Alliance,bringing Alberta Alliance representation into the legislature.
Later that year in the 2004 provincial election,Thorsteinson placed second in votes in his riding of Innisfail-Sylvan Lake,failing to become a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). His party garnered 77,506 votes and won one seat in the election;Paul Hinman was elected MLA for the riding of Cardston-Taber-Warner.
On March 7,2005,Thorsteinson announced his resignation as leader of the Alberta Alliance,saying he would not be able to devote the time and energy into the party that was required of a leader. Paul Hinman,the lone Alliance MLA in the Legislature succeeded Thorsteinson as leader.
Randy was elected as President of the Alberta Alliance at the 2007 Annual General Meeting held on March 24,2007 in Edmonton Alberta. He had been serving a short stint as interim president of the party after former president John Murdoch stepped down.
With the merger of the Alberta Alliance Party and the non registered Wildrose Party of Alberta on January 19,2008,Thorsteinson declined to be a member of the new party and has had no involvement with the renamed Wildrose Alliance Party.
Thorsteinson is the Chairman of the Strong and Free Alberta Political Action Committee which derives its name from the Alberta provincial motto "Fortis et Liber" (strong and free).
The Strong &Free Alberta Political Action Committee is a political organization promoting conservative fiscal and social policies.
In 2016,Elections Alberta recognized the registration of a new Reform Party of Alberta,with Thorsteinson as its leader. It is the third provincial political party he has led. [3] The socially conservative party [4] intended to run a full slate in the 30th Alberta general election in 2019,but ultimately it presented only one candidate. [5] He intended to run as a local candidate in the Innisfail-Sylvan Lake by-election held on July 12,2018,but did not. He was,however,the party's sole candidate in the 31st Alberta general election in 2023.
The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta was a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta that existed from 1905 to 2020. The party formed the provincial government,without interruption,from 1971 until the party's defeat in the 2015 provincial election under premiers Peter Lougheed,Don Getty,Ralph Klein,Ed Stelmach,Alison Redford,Dave Hancock and Jim Prentice. At 44 years,this was the longest unbroken run in government at the provincial or federal level in Canadian history.
The Alberta Alliance was a right-wing provincial political party in Alberta,Canada. Many of its members were supporters of the defunct Canadian Alliance federal political party and its predecessor,the Reform Party of Canada. Members also joined from similar provincial fringe parties like the Alberta First Party,the Alberta Party and Social Credit. Alliance supporters tended to view themselves as "true conservatives," and believed the Progressive Conservative governments of Premiers Ralph Klein and Ed Stelmach were out of touch with the needs of Albertans.
The Alberta Party is a political party in the province of Alberta,Canada. The party describes itself as centrist and pragmatic in that it is not dogmatically ideological in its approach to politics.
The 2004 Alberta general election was held on November 22,2004 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
The Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta was an Albertan autonomist,libertarian and conservative political party in Alberta,Canada.
Paul Hinman is a Canadian politician and businessman who is currently the leader of the Wildrose Loyalty Coalition. He was the leader of the Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta from 2020 to 2022,and was the leader of the Wildrose Alliance (2008–2009) and Alberta Alliance Party (2005–2008). He served two terms as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta,from 2004 to 2008 representing the electoral district of Cardston-Taber-Warner and then from 2009 to 2012 in Calgary-Glenmore.
Cardston-Taber-Warner was a provincial electoral district in Alberta,Canada,mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting from 1996 and 2019.
Red Deer North is a provincial electoral district in Alberta,Canada. The district is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting.
Innisfail-Sylvan Lake is a provincial electoral district in Alberta,Canada. It is one of 87 current districts mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting.
The Alberta Alliance Party,a conservative political party in Alberta,Canada,held its second leadership election on November 18 and 19,2005,in Red Deer,Alberta. The leadership position was vacated by Alberta Alliance Party founder and leader Randy Thorsteinson in March 2005.
The 2008 Alberta general election was held on March 3,2008,to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
The Wildrose Party was a conservative provincial political party in Alberta,Canada. The party was formed by the merger in early 2008 of the Alberta Alliance Party and the unregistered Wildrose Party of Alberta. The wild rose is Alberta's provincial flower.
The 2012 Alberta general election was held on April 23,2012,to elect members of the 28th Legislative Assembly of Alberta. A Senate nominee election was called for the same day.
Calgary-Glenmore,styled Calgary Glenmore from 1957 to 1971,is a provincial electoral district in Calgary,Alberta,Canada. The district is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
Kerry Towle is a Canadian politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Innisfail-Sylvan Lake and served as the Seniors Critic as a member of the Wildrose Alliance,before leaving the Wildrose Party on November 24,2014,to join the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party. Towle lost her re-election bid,to Don MacIntyre of the Wildrose,on May 5,2015.
The 2015 Alberta general election was held on May 5,following a request of Premier Jim Prentice to the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Donald Ethell to dissolve the Legislative Assembly on April 7. This election elected members to the 29th Alberta Legislature. It was only the fourth time in provincial history that saw a change of governing party,and was the last provincial election for both the Alberta Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties,which merged in 2017 to form the United Conservative Party.
The 2019 Alberta general election was held on April 16,2019,to elect 87 members to the 30th Alberta Legislature. In its first general election contest,the Jason Kenney-led United Conservative Party (UCP) won 54.88% of the popular vote and 63 seats,defeating incumbent Premier Rachel Notley. The governing Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP) were reduced to 24 seats and formed the Official Opposition. The United Conservative Party was formed in 2017 from a merger of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Wildrose Party after the NDP's victory in the 2015 election ended nearly 44 years of Progressive Conservative rule.
By-elections to the 29th Alberta Legislature were held to fill vacancies in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta after the 2015 election. Two by-elections were held to fill vacancies in the 29th Alberta Legislature.
A United Conservative Party leadership election was held in Alberta on October 28,2017 following votes on July 22,2017 by memberships of both the Wildrose Party and the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta to merge and form the United Conservative Party. The Unity Agreement between the parties states the leadership election will be held on a One Member One Vote basis.
Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta is a provincial political party in Alberta,Canada,which was formed through the merger of Wexit Alberta and the Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta in 2020.