Tom Flanagan to run Wildrose campaign in Alberta election

Former Conservative national campaign manager Tom Flanagan will be running the spring election campaign for Alberta’s Wildrose Party, the latest sign that the allegiances of federal Conservatives are split in the party’s home base.

Wildrose is a libertarian upstart casting itself as a more-conservative alternative to the governing Progressive Conservatives, who have strung together 40 consecutive years of government in the province. A poll Monday showed Wildrose gaining, but still well behind the PCs led by Premier Alison Redford.

Conservative MPs from Alberta are under orders to stay neutral in the race, but some acknowledge there’s a split among their caucus, voters and donors. It was Ms. Smith – not then-premier Ed Stelmach – who was photographed with Mr. Harper at last summer’s Calgary Stampede, a meeting some federal Conservatives have pointed to as a signal.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/tom-flanagan-to-run-wildrose-campaign-in-alberta-election/article2312499/


Guess one calls this "Harper's Team"!