EDMONTON – The caucus members of Alberta’s two conservative parties held their first joint meeting and selected Nathan Cooper as their new interim leader.
Cooper, the former Wildrose house leader, will lead the new United Conservative Party until a permanent leader is picked on Oct. 28.
Members of the Wildrose party and the Progressive Conservatives voted in a landslide this weekend to join forces ahead of the next election, set for the spring of 2019.
There are 29 members of the UCP caucus: 22 from the Wildrose and seven from the PCs.
PC member Richard Starke has announced he will not join the team, saying it is not doing enough to respect the values of social progressivism and minority rights.
Three candidates have already signed up for the leadership race, including Wildrose Leader Brian Jean and PC Leader Jason Kenney.
