 |
Anti-Calgary sentiment is the main reason Ed Stelmach was able to come from behind to take over the reins of the Tory party, insiders and analysts said yesterday.
Wayne Cao, the chairman of Calgary PC MLAs, says early front-runner Jim Dinning was "unfairly hurt" by antipathy among some provincial Tories, which paved the way for Stelmach, a Vegreville-area farmer, to cruise to victory.
"The problem is we had Ralph for 14 years and people outside Calgary think this is where we have a lot of power," said Cao, who backed Dinning.
"There is a rivalry in politics, just like in sports. It's not logical, it's emotional and it's hard to deal with."
Cao said far from the city getting everything it wanted under Ralph, MLAs outside Calgary resisted forking over funds.
"Whenever we asked to get something for Calgary, some MLAs said 'Calgary has enough,' " said Cao.
Even Dinning said he can't help but agree he was fighting the Calgary tag all along, which led to the loss to Ed Stelmach.
"Your postal code shouldn't matter, but clearly it's part of the explanation," he said.
Dinning said massive voter turnout in northern and central Alberta injured his run for the province's top job.
"We thought more of it would come to us, and as it turned out, more of it went to Ed," he said, adding he is still a Tory and will support the new leader.
Retired University of Calgary political science professor Stan Drabek was also surprised by Stelmach's win, labelling him a "bland" candidate.
"You have to believe that it's almost an anything-but-Calgary type of vote," he said.
But Cao is confident Stelmach will not leave the city out in the cold.
"I think our new premier knows the situation well. I strongly believe he's a man of integrity and he will have to take Calgary into account," said Cao.
"We have over a million people in Calgary. Just because the power is out of Calgary doesn't mean you can forget about Calgary."
Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier expects Stelmach won't forget about cities' needs.
"When people get to know him, they're going to be pleasantly surprised, provided he moves forward as aggressively as he put forward during the campaign," Bronconnier said.
"People will find that he's a very genuine person, he has an awful lot of integrity (and) he's a very hard worker."