Daniel Smith elected United Conservative leader, to be next Alberta premier

Calgary: Daniel Smith has made a dramatic political comeback to win the United Conservative Party’s leadership race and will now be Alberta’s next premier.

Smith, a former leader of the Wildrose party, won close to 54 per cent of the vote in the sixth round, defeating five of her rivals, including second-placed candidate Travis Tows.

Former Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean finished third. Out of 124,000 eligible voters, 85,000 votes were cast.

Rebecca Schultz finished fourth, Todd Lowevan fifth, Rajan Sahni sixth and Lila Ahir seventh. The race came after Jason Kenny announced his decision to step down as premier in May after securing only 51 per cent support in the party’s leadership assessment.