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Party president Shelley Wark-Martyn would not reveal the breakdown of the vote, which occurred at a closed-door meeting in northeast Calgary, but said Swann was chosen by an “overwhelming majority.”

She said most Liberal party members are opposed to the idea of a merger, adding, “The energy in the room and the conversation in the room was overwhelmingly supportive of going forward as the Liberal Party of Alberta.”

Wark-Martyn also took a shot at the Alberta Party, saying it “has no policies.”

But Swann, who during his own time as leader tried to spark a unite-the-left movement that never managed to gain any traction, took a more conciliatory tone.

“All of us on the progressive side of politics in Alberta want to see more co-operation so that we don’t continue to split the vote so badly and again allow the PC party to take over Alberta,” Swann said. “It’s very clear that there may be opportunities to talk, but it’s very late in the game for any kind of meaningful electoral co-operation.”

Blakeman — who left the meeting Sunday without talking to reporters — made her merger proposal public online prior to the party’s vote. In the document, she said she was seeking a mandate to create an “open and co-operative” agreement with the Alberta Party — currently headed by Greg Clark — to nominate candidates in constituencies that are winnable, and to prepare for and run in an election together.

She also said her proposal may well mean that “the Alberta Liberal Party does not exist in the same form as it does today, or at all.” But she said that many party members are discouraged by the Liberals’ standing in the polls and are looking for new, progressive ideas.