EDMONTON—When Alberta’s political party leaders square off in a debate before voters head to the polls on April 16, there will be one notable exception.

A preliminary proposal sent out to the parties by the media consortium organizing the debate, obtained by Star Edmonton, suggests the showdown is to take place April 4, and includes four leaders.

Not among them is Derek Fildebrandt, leader of the Freedom Conservative Party and MLA for Strathmore-Brooks.

A spokesperson for the consortium said in an email Friday that Fildebrandt wasn’t invited because his party “does not meet the consortium’s criteria for participation.”

“If someone is elected to the legislature under their current party banner, they would be included,” the email read.

Fildebrandt was elected as a Wildrose MLA in 2015. After the Wildrose merged with the Progressive Conservative Party to become the United Conservative Party, Fildebrandt left caucus to sit as an independent after a number of controversies and legal issues. The FCP formed under Fildebrandt’s leadership in 2018 and has 30 candidates running in the election.

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While the four parties that were invited are not named, it’s likely they include the Alberta New Democratic Party, the UCP, the Alberta Liberal Party, and the Alberta Party.

During an interview with Star Edmonton on Friday, Fildebrandt called the prospect of being excluded “incredibly undemocratic and ridiculous.”

“We are a recognized party by Elections Alberta, we are a recognized caucus of the Alberta Legislative Assembly, with the same status as both the Alberta Party and the Liberals,” he said.

Fildebrandt also noted that he is an elected member of the legislature, while the Liberal Party’s leader, David Khan, is not.

The news comes in the middle of a busy campaign for all parties.

During the debate, many eyes will be on NDP Leader Rachel Notley and UCP Leader Jason Kenney, whose parties lead all others by a wide margin.

When Star Edmonton reached out to Cheryl Oates, Notley’s director of communications, for comment, she said, “We are looking forward to debating the other leaders.

“Albertans deserve a good debate, but it’s also important that that debate is fair. Our hope is that the debate will include all of the parties that were represented in the last legislature.”

Fildebrandt said it’s up to the consortium who joins the debate. However, he hadn’t received any notice from the consortium on if he’d be included or not as of Friday morning, nor had he received a debate outline from the group.

“We’re going to fight like hell,” Fildebrandt said. “I’m not taking no for an answer, our party’s not taking no for an answer. This would be a move to artificially curb and control the options for Albertans.”

According to the leaked consortium document, the debate will take place in Edmonton at CTV’s studio. The media consortium includes CBC, CTV, Postmedia, and Rogers Media.

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The debate will be livestreamed on TV, broadcast on radio, and be available online as well, the document states. Media members will make up the panel, which will pose questions on likely everything from health care to pipelines.

Over the course of 90 minutes, the leaders will debate issues and make their case to voters on why they’re the best fit to lead the province for the next four years.

“When people go to buy a car, they’re not presented with an option of just two colours,” Fildebrandt said. “They get to pick what kind of car, what make, they get to pick what kind, what colour. We are a multi-party system, there are five parties currently represented in the legislative assembly.”

Fildebrandt described the FCP as “a jacked-up F350 with cold-air intake that runs on raw bitumen.”

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