A push to resurrect the PC name has exploded into threats, lawsuits and a fight over who owns Alberta’s political past (Troy Media)
This brilliant adage has been written and spoken on innumerable occasions since the Bard’s play first premiered in 1597. I’m certainly guilty of having used it in a column or two.
Well, that number just reached three.
It’s almost impossible not to think of this proverb while watching the party name change battle in Alberta play itself out. This political tug-of-war started during the summer and may be finally heading into its final act.
The story begins with Peter Guthrie and Scott Sinclair. Both of them were United Conservative Party (UCP) MLAs up until this year. Sinclair, who was first elected in 2023, was kicked out of the UCP caucus in March when he refused to support Premier Danielle Smith’s budget. Guthrie, who served as minister of energy and minister of infrastructure under Smith, was tossed out of caucus in April after calling out his party and its handling of allegations of corruption related to health contracts.
The two Independent MLAs announced on July 2 that they would be working together to form a new political party called the Progressive Conservatives. Guthrie and Sinclair immediately received pushback from UCP officials for infringing on what they viewed as the party’s intellectual property rights. The two men switched gears, joined the small, centrist Alberta Party on July 23 and led a campaign to rename that party as the PCs.
The Alberta Party voted 94 per cent in favour of the proposed name change during an Aug. 27 general meeting. The request was then sent to Elections Alberta, but no decision has been announced to date.
That’s not where this political tale ends.
The UCP announced on Nov. 17 that it had launched a lawsuit against Guthrie and Sinclair. The United Conservative Association, which is the UCP’s operational vehicle, argued that its 2017 unification with the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (PCAA) means it has ownership of the now-defunct latter party’s “names, political party registration, brand, trademarks and goodwill.”
Moreover, the statement of claim filed Nov. 7 in the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta noted that the Alberta Party’s efforts “constitute passing-off and are plainly intended to capitalize on and usurp the goodwill and reputation that the PCAA and, in turn, the United Conservative Association have nurtured with Albertans for decades and continues to nurture today.”
While there’s a slight difference with the Alberta Party’s suggested name change due to the use of “Party” as opposed to “Association,” the UCP and United Conservative Association have made a very strong case. Various names, trademarks and terms, including “Progressive Conservatives,” were surely part of the unification discussion and process when the two Alberta parties merged. That’s always been the case when two or more parties have merged and formed one cohesive unit.
There’s also an important historical precedent that weakens the Alberta Party’s request to change its name.
When the Canadian Alliance and federal Progressive Conservatives merged in December 2003, there was a small amount of dissent within the latter group. Former Progressive Conservative MPs Joe Hueglin and Sinclair Stevens, along with a few others, attempted to start up a new PC Party under the previous party name they had belonged to. “Elections Canada wouldn’t allow Hueglin’s group to register under the old name,” CBC News wrote on March 29, 2004, so it launched as the Progressive Canadian Party. The article also pointed out that “Hueglin said he’s not apologetic that some voters might find it confusing to have PC party candidates on the ballot.”
The Progressive Canadian Party was a massive failure. It ran small slates of candidates in federal elections between 2004 and 2019. Most finished with less than two per cent of the vote. Voters didn’t pay attention. Media coverage was next to nil. A 2005 lawsuit, Honourable Sinclair Stevens v. Conservative Party of Canada, was unsuccessful in rescinding the Canadian Alliance-PC merger. The party was dissolved on Nov. 30, 2019.
The only thing this minor party accomplished? It failed to register with Elections Canada under a party name that clearly wasn’t available for use, which set a precedent that merger agreements should cover all previous and current names, brands, registrations and trademarks unless the merged party decides to waive those rights, which would be unusual.
Elections Alberta should do the same thing with the Alberta Party’s request to change its name and reject it. The political rose smells more sour than sweet, after all.
Michael Taube is a political commentator, Troy Media syndicated columnist and former speechwriter for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He holds a master’s degree in comparative politics from the London School of Economics, lending academic rigour to his political insights.
The views, opinions, and positions expressed by our columnists and contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of our publication.
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