Len Olson of Fort Macleod is leader of the new Albertans Against Extremism Party.
A Fort Macleod man is leading the development of a new Alberta political party.
Len Olson last month agreed to lead the Albertans Against Extremism Party.
The party will sit slightly right of center on the political spectrum and is intended to provide a home for moderate Albertans.
Olson, a retired business consultant who moved to Fort Macleod 2 1/2 years ago, said the new party had its genesis during the last provincial election.
“In the last election was when I kind of woke up a little bit,” said Olson.
Olson was a life-long Conservative, both provincially and federally, and worked on campaigns.
During the last provincial election Olson came to the realization that he no longer connected with the United Conservative Party.
“I realized the conservative party that I’ve been supporting all this time is no longer the conservative party that I thought it was years ago,” Olson said.
The UCP’s move to the extreme right of the political spectrum alienated Olson and others, who began meeting to discuss what they could do.
At the start, as Olson and his contacts in business met, there was no intention to form a new political party.
Olson considers himself moderate, someone whose political views are closer to the center. He didn’t find an acceptable option among the existing Alberta parties.
Olson and his friends considered reaching out to the “quiet” conservatives who they consider to be a majority whose voices are being drowned out by those on the extreme right of the UCP.
Olson and friends planned to come out as a third party advertiser in order to create an awareness campaign to encourage those quiet conservatives to take action.
In the course of doing their due diligence the group went out and talked to people across Alberta to get an understanding of the political mood.
Olson estimated 80 per cent of the people they spoke to voted UCP out of political complacency, or fear of what supporting another party might bring.
“They didn’t want to vote NDP because it wasn’t a party they believed in, yet they weren’t comfortable with the UCP,” Olson said. “A lot of them, they plugged their noses and they voted UCP.”
As they reviewed the existing parties, Olson’s group realized every party has a history and for one reason or another that deters people from giving them support.
That led to the realization that a new, grassroots party would provide a new option for Alberta voters.
“We realized that what’s missing is a new party, with a new perspective,” Olson said.
The group got approval from Elections Alberta and embarked on getting the close to 9,000 signatures needed to become a registered party.
In just two weeks the group has signed up about 25 per cent of the required support.
“We’re very confident moving forward that we’re going to get there,” Olson said.
As the group is acquiring signatures it is also developing its platform, which Olson said will be moderate, located just right of center.
The group will also work to build a volunteer base and share its messaging.
Olson vowed the new party will be collaborative, working with other parties rather than fighting. A good idea is a good idea, he said, regardless where it comes from.
To that end, Olson and others are meeting with people from across the political spectrum to listen to what they have to say.
The party will fight against extremism, and restore decorum to Alberta politics.
“Extremism isn’t just from the far right,” Olson said. “There’s the far left. Extremism comes in all shapes and sizes.”
The Albertans Against Extremism Party will run candidates in all 87 Alberta ridings in the next provincial election.
Olson admitted it would be a stretch for the new party to form government, but it could influence the way government works.
“We want to make it so that people who have been unengaged in politics find out there’s reasons they shouldn’t be, drawing awareness to what’s going on,” Olson said.
Anyone interested in talking to Len Olson about the Albertans Against Extremism Party can contact him at 403-988-0243, toll free at 1-800-382-6514, by e-mail at info@albertansagainstextremism.ca or by mail at P.O. Box 2548, Fort Macleod, Alta., T0L 0Z0.
The party’s Web site is at albertansagainstextremism.ca.
