Progressive Tory Party of Alberta officially unveiled

By Medicine Hat News on December 20, 2025.

A former member of Premier Danielle Smith’s government caucus says Elections Alberta has approved the name for a new political party, after the province banned a list of monikers it could use, including “conservative.”

Seeking a new progressive conservative option, the Progressive Tory Party of Alberta officially launched Friday.

The party believes Alberta can once again lead with balanced budgets, effective government and policies that are both economically sound and socially reliable, and is based around fiscal responsibility, social reliability,and respect for democratic institutions.

“Albertans are looking for a government that reflects their values and focuses on what matters to them,” said leader of the Progressive Tory Party of Alberta Peter Guthrie, a former UCP MLA who was sitting as an independent. “They want careful financial management, strong and reliable public services, and leadership that brings people together to move Alberta forward.”

Moving forward, the party aims to uphold the province’s progressive conservative tradition with good governance and common sense.

“Trust and accountability matter,” said Guthrie. “Albertans expect these principles to be upheld by their government. We will restore confidence and build a government that works for all Albertans.”

Earlier this month, the governing United Conservative Party passed legislation that restricts names of new parties, after Guthrie and fellow Independent MLA Scott Sinclair announced they wanted to establish a new iteration of the Progressive Conservative Party.

The legislation lists distinctive words and phrases new parties are prohibited from using, including communist, conservative, democratic, green, independent, liberal, reform, republican and wildrose.

Justice Minister Mickey Amery said it was a non-partisan change made to avoid confusing voters, and he alleged that some are purposely trying to deceive Albertans.

Guthrie said the UCP missed some synonyms in passing the new law.

“They had just about every abbreviation and acronym covered, but they missed nicknames and synonyms, and ‘tory’ was just a natural fit for us,” Guthrie explained.

— with files from The Canadian Press

13
-12