The right wing Wildrose party is challenging the right wing Progressive Conservative Party in the Alberta election. The Progressive Conservatives have ruled Alberta for four decades!
The parties are both run by women leaders, Danielle Smith for the Wildrose and Alison Redford for the Progressive Conservatives.
A poll taken on April 16th by Leger gives the following percentages for the main parties.
Liberals 9 per cent, NDP(left) 10 per cent Progressive Conservatives 36 per cent and the Wildrose 42 per cent.
The bigots comment was a dig at the Wildrose party, which polls suggest is in the lead going into the vote. The party has faced criticism for its position on so-called conscious rights and for two candidates who have been forced to clarify remarks they made about race and homosexuality in recent days.
“Do we really have to vote for two false choices — a bunch of bullies who’ve been wrecking our health and education … systems, and a bunch of bigots, who want to further wreck our health and education systems?” Sherman asked.
Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith took the lion’s share of heckling from the audience. She was booed loudly by the audience when she said climate change is still up for debate.
Smith has faced criticism ever since she suggested earlier this week that the question of global warming still hasn’t been settled, while almost everyone in the scientific community and many governments say it has been.
On Wednesday a website titled “I Never Thought I’d Vote PC” popped up. The site depicts young people saying they are not fans of the Tories, but they will vote for them to keep the Wildrose out. One man on the site says he would rather have his face eaten by rodents than vote PC, but he’s going to anyway.
In her closing remarks, Smith asked Albertans not to vote strategically.
“I have to tell you that I think you should vote in your heart who you think will best represent you in the legislature,” she said. “Having a government that has been in power for 41 years and created all of the problems that we have today, I think one thing that the opposition leaders will all agree on is that is not a government that deserves to have another majority.”
