RED DEER, Alta. - Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach talked about his political courage as he asked 1,000 cheering Tory delegates Friday for their support in a leadership review vote this weekend.
Stelmach, who has faced division within the Tory ranks in recent months, told the crowd that he's not afraid to take bold stands and won't back down.
"Playing it safe isn't what this party's about and it's certainly not what I'm about," Stelmach told the crowd, which pounded inflatable clappers and gave the premier a standing ovation at the end of his speech.
"As your leader, I'm not afraid of criticism ... or to take a stand. I won't back down from my principles."
The speech offered no concessions to critics within the party who have been questioning Stelmach's leadership.
Former cabinet minister Marv Moore called that a mistake, adding that Stelmach provided virtually nothing in the speech to bring the party together.
"He never talked about going forward and how he intends to improve the party's standing in the polls," said Moore, who held several cabinet posts in the '70s and '80s, including health and agriculture.
"It was the wrong message for tonight," said the Tory veteran. "He should dust off some of former premier Peter Lougheed's old speeches."
Lougheed has been speaking out in support of Stelmach, saying in recent interviews that it would be a mistake for the party to change leaders at this point.
But former premier Ralph Klein told reporters recently that he felt business leaders in Alberta were ready for a change of leadership in the Tory party.
Even some of the Tories who worked on Stelmach's election campaign last year are quietly saying that he's "hurting the Tory brand" in the province.
Roughly 1,300 delegates will hold a secret ballot Saturday and the results will be released at an evening dinner.
Tension within Tory ranks has been growing heading toward this leadership review vote, fed by recent poll results.
Three polls released over the last month all suggest Tory popularity among Alberta voters is sinking fast in the face of a challenge from a new right-wing party, the Wildrose Alliance.
Some Tories remain undaunted.
Cliff Tyminski, a first-time delegate from Calgary, said he liked what he heard from Stelmach, especially during a question-and-answer session that followed the 20-minute speech.
"There's a lot of different stuff happening, so he has to actually deal with it," said Tyminski. "I think he's given the confidence to people that he is looking after them."
But Linda Vainio from Edmonton, who listened to the speech from a wheelchair, said she wasn't impressed with anything she heard.
"I'm still kind of skeptical about some things," said Vainio, who was hoping the premier would deal specifically with issues concerning the handicapped.
"Our matters aren't really looked into and seemed to get shoved to the side."
Stelmach's government won a lopsided majority last year, but has been harshly criticized on several fronts, including its handling of the H1N1 pandemic.
The premier made no mention of the pandemic, which has now claimed 20 lives in Alberta and sent 380 people to hospital.
Instead, he used part of the speech to build up his party's image, telling the crowd that "Progressive Conservatives battle through adversity together."
"We're Albertans. We're not shy," he said. "Albertans know that Conservative government is good government. Bold government. Courageous government."
Danielle Smith, the newly elected leader of the Wildrose Alliance, has already said that it doesn't matter to her party what level of support Stelmach gets from Tory delegates.
"I think regardless of what number Mr. Stelmach gets on the weekend, we're going to continue to see that momentum coming our way," she said in an interview.
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