Premier Jim Prentice says his caucus on Wednesday will address the outcome of an expected Tuesday vote by the Wildrose caucus to join his Progressive Conservative Party.

"Well, we'll stay tuned and we'll see what happens over the course of the day," said the premier, attending at a 7 a.m. breakfast in support of the Christmas Bureau.

The outcome of that Wildrose vote, he added, will be addressed by the PCs Wednesday.

"Our caucus meets tomorrow and certainly we'll deal with it tomorrow," said Prentice.

The Wildrose -- which lost four byelections to the Tories in October -- currently has 14 members, the PCs 63.

﻿Former Wildrose MLA Kerry Towle, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, and former Wildrose MLA Ian Donovan, Little Bow, crossed the floor to join the PCs earlier last month. Former Wildrose member, Joe Anglin, first left the party to sit as an Independent in November.

Anglin says current Wildrose caucus members told him they met this weekend, and that leader Danielle Smith is behind the push for a merger, along with MLAs Rob Anderson and Shayne Saskiw.

Smith cancelled multiple editorial board meetings, including one with the Edmonton Sun, slated for Monday and Tuesday, stating that she is suffering from a serious sinus infection.

But Saskiw, MLA for Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills, responded to the speculation Monday night, saying the "rumour that I will be crossing the floor tomorrow...is false."

And Wildrose MLA Drew Barnes, for one, took to Twitter to deny any floor crossing.

"I am 100% committed to the Wildrose party, our principles, members and voters of #cypress #medhat and Alberta #wrp #ableg," Barnes tweeted Monday night.

Wildrose candidate for Leduc-Beaumont, Sharon Smith, says she still plans to run for the party in the next provincial election, and plans to hold the government to account as the official opposition.

"It's definitely a lot to take in," she said, adding she's waiting to see how it all shakes out.

"We still have people that are true to the party," she said.

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Sherwood Park Wildrose candidate Linda Osinchuk says she was baffled by the floor-crossing announcement.

"I was just getting ready to wrap some presents, boy did we get a present this morning," she said.

Osinchuk said the membership needs to have input and she's disappointed there was no consultation.

"I'm getting phone calls from people saying 'What the hell happened Linda? What's going on?' and I don't know," she said.

"People feel betrayed. They feel confused. They feel unsure what really is the story."

Cory Morgan, who ran for the Wildrose in 2008, was one of the first on Monday night to tweet about a potential impending merger.

Later Monday, Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley -- poised to become leader of the next official opposition if a merger occurs -- says the Wildrose has "abandoned" its commitment and "let down voters."

She says it also appears the PCs have "committed fraud on many of the people who supported them in the last election.

"The Conservatives ran a campaign warning voters to defeat the Wildrose party. They whipped up anxiety and fear about a right wing government that they correctly described as out of touch with the values of most Albertans.

"Today, it seems the charade is over, the mask is removed and the Conservatives have proven they were never really worried about the policies of the Wildrose, they were merely worried about the politics of clinging to power."

Some Wildrose history:

• Jan. 2008 -- Wildrose Alliance forms, with former Alberta Alliance leader Paul Hinman at the helm, upset by what members, including Daneille Smith, see as a move away from the Tories' core conservative values, including conservative budgeting.

• Oct. 2009 -- Hinman wins Calgary-Glenmore byelection and Danielle Smith, also a libertarian, wins leadership of the fledgeling party, with members raging over then premier Ed Stelmach's deficit spending and royalty regime.

"Every 20 or 30 or 40 years, we get tired of the government that's in power and we sweep them out and we look to a new alternative," Smith told media at her first press conference as leader. Smith was referencing the Social Credit party, which fell after more than 30 years in power in 1971 to the then-upstart Tories, who have now ruled for more than four decades.

• Jan. 2010 -- Energy prices had tanked, jobs disappeared and scores of shell-shocked workers headed home to B.C., Newfoundland or Ontario as Alberta sank into an uncharacteristic deficit. Hence, the surging popularity of the new right-of-centre Wildrose Alliance, now with 13,000 members.

• June 2010 -- Wildrose caucus grows to four members, with Heather Forsyth, Rob Anderson and Guy Boutilier having crossed the floor from the Tories.

• June 2011 -- With 24,000 members, a poll commissioned by the party showed it nipping at the Tories' heels, with 28.6% of "decided and leaning" respondent saying they'd cast a vote for Wildrose, compared to 33.5% for the PCs. Although some in the punditry suggest the impact of Wildrose would be diminished by Premier Ed Stelmach's departure, the contenders for his job are took the threat seriously.

• Oct. 2011 -- Wildrose flounders as public anger dissipates with the departure of then premier Stelmach, replaced by the Redford Tories.

• April 2012 -- Predictions Wildrose would become the government fail but the Wildrose does become the Official Opposition, with 17 seats out of 87. Aug. 2014 -- Then premier Alison Redford steps down.

• Sept. 2014 -- Jim Prentice wins in a landslide to become Alberta's latest PC premier.

• Oct. 2014 -- The PCs sweep all four byelections.

• Nov. 2014 -- Joe Anglin, MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, quits the Wildrose caucus to sit as an Independent MLA. Later in the month, he is followed by Wildrose MLAs Kerry Towle, Innisfail-Sylvan Lake, and Ian Donovan, Little Bow, who cross the floor to join the PCs.

• Dec. 2014 -- Wildrose caucus members -- 14 of them compared to the Tories 63 -- have a vote to join the Tory party.