![The Alberta Legislature Building. [Image via 12019 / 10266 - Pixabay]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2019/4/17/660x290/b_502x220x82/the-alberta-legislature-building-image-via-12019-10266-pixabay_2249837.jpg "The Alberta Legislature Building. [Image via 12019 / 10266 - Pixabay]")
The United Conservative Party is a relatively new political party. Though it can be associated with the national Conservative Party of Canada, it is solely based in Alberta.
It officially formed in 2017 as a merger of the province's two dominant conservative parties. These were the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party. And in its first major election, the party has won big.
The UCP wins a massive majority in the Alberta general election
The UCP has returned Alberta to its conservative traditions. As Global News touches on, the province shocked Canadian politics in 2015 when it went for the New Democratic Party.
It marked the first time a left-of-center party held control of the province in 80 years.
Afterward, a 'unite the right' movement was sparked, ultimately resulting in the creation of the UCP. While Nathan Cooper served as the interim leader of the party, Jason Kenney would become the first official leader. Kenney had previously served in the federal parliament for almost 20 years. During the tenure of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, he held several Cabinet positions. Most notably, minister of national defense. Kenney is now to become premier of Alberta, taking over from the NDP's Rachel Notley.
Several high-profile NDP members were unseated by UCP candidates. They include Danielle Larivee, Marg McCuaig-Boyd, Oneil Carlier, Shaye Anderson, and Ricardo Miranda.
However, the NDP did score a pair of high-profile wins against parties other than the UCP.
Lorne Dach defeated Stephen Mandel, leader of the populist Alberta Party. A former mayor of Edmonton, Mandel was previously a member of the Legislative Assembly as a Progressive Conservative. He served as minister of health under Premier Jim Prentice.
In 2015, defeated by the NDP's Bob Turner.
Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley has retained her seat in the Assembly. She fended off her main competitor in Alberta Liberal Party Leader David Khan. It marks the fourth unsuccessful attempt for Khan to be elected to the Assembly. His previous losses included ones to Ganley and to Jason Kenney.
Ultimately, the Liberals and the Alberta Party, along with other contesting parties, were shut out. Thus, leaving the UCP and the NDP as the only parties in the Assembly.
The results could be a sign of things to come in the federal election
Canada is to vote in its next federal election later this year. Incumbent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing a steep challenge to remain in power. The Edmonton Journal reports that his party's woeful performance in Alberta could indicate further losses at the federal level.
Since taking office in 2015, Trudeau's government has been almost continuously rocked by scandals. The Liberals' complete lack of victory in Alberta is also part of a continuing pattern.
The party has suffered greatly at the provincial level since Trudeau's ascension. Liberals additionally hold no seats in the Legislative Assembly in Saskatchewan. The party also holds only a precious few seats in the Ontario and Manitoba legislatures.
