Calgary-North West MLA Sandra Jansen has finally made it official, announcing Wednesday she is running for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party.

Jansen, an MLA since 2012, joins Jason Kenney, Richard Starke, Byron Nelson and Donna Kennedy-Glans in the race to fill the spot vacated by Jim Prentice after the PCs lost to the NDP in May 2015.

Jansen's candidacy was a poorly-kept secret. Several weeks ago strategist Stephen Carter let slip on a podcast that he was involved in her leadership bid.

Unlike Kenney, who wants to unite all conservatives under a single right-wing party, Jansen wants to keep the PC party intact. She has been critical of the Wildrose Party for being too socially conservative.

"Unite the right is a slogan, it's not a plan for the future," Jansen said in an interview with CBC.

In her news release, Jansen said party members voted overwhelmingly in May to rebuild the party.

"They wanted us to work on regaining the trust of Albertans so that we can deliver the pragmatic, centrist government that they deserve.

"They don't want us fixated on the fastest ways back to power, and they don't want us to ignore our principles simply to defeat the NDP."

Although a Calgary PC MLA, Jansen launched her campaign in Edmonton. Jansen says she was born in Edmonton, and has a connection to many different parts of Alberta including Claresholm where she grew up for a few years, and Medicine Hat where she worked as a broadcaster

The party will choose its next leader in a delegated convention on March 18.