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Progressive Conservatives elect Jason Kenney as party leader

Mar 18, 2017 | 7:16 PM

CALGARY – The Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta has a new leader.

After the first round of voting, former MP Jason Kenney was declared the winner at the party’s leadership conference in Calgary on Saturday.

Kenney captured 75 per cent of the vote, with 1,113 of the 1,476 ballots cast. Kenney’s opponents, Vermillion – Lloydminster MLA Richard Starke and Calgary lawyer Byron Nelson, finished with 323 and 40 votes, respectively.

Kenney, who started campaigning in July, months before the leadership contest started, ran on a platform to unite the Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties before the next provincial election in 2019. Kenney has said his next step is to meet with Wildrose Leader Brian Jean about a potential merger of the two parties.