Women from every political stripe took part in a protest in Calgary on Thursday against the bullying and harassment that female politicians face in Alberta.

The movement comes on the heels of news that MLA Sandra Jansen and former MLA Donna Kennedy-Glans pulled out of the race for PC leader over the weekend.

Jansen told the media that she was exiting the race because of harassment that she experienced during a convention in Red Deer.

She said that she was confronted during the conference and many of her nomination forms were found to be scrawled with ‘filth and insults’.

“Sadly, this is not what I have experienced in the last few months. My social media has been filled with filth, my domain name purchased to direct people to smear pieces on me and finally, this past weekend in Red Deer, the final straw. Insults were scrawled on my nomination forms. Volunteers from another campaign chased me up and down the hall, attacking me for protecting women's reproductive rights, and my team was jeered for supporting children’s rights to a safe school environment,” Jansen wrote in a statement released on Tuesday.

Kennedy-Glans says she left the race not because of harassment, but because of the fact that there are no more centrist voices left in the party anymore.

On Wednesday, Premier Rachel Notley said that the situation is troubling to see in Alberta politics.

“I would suggest that the allegations which form part of the reasons for one of the explanations for both women dropping out are deeply troubling.”

Meanwhile, PC Party president Katherine O’Neill said that the party has launched a full investigation into the allegations that she called a ‘disturbing and serious issue’.

“We are committed to a fair, open and transparent race. Leadership contests by their nature are divisive, but we expect candidates and their supporters to conduct themselves in a respectful manner,” O’Neill said.

The protest was held at the Famous Five statue near Olympic Plaza on Thursday afternoon.

Jason Kenney, Richard Starke, Byron Nelson and Stephen Khan are the remaining candidates in the Alberta PC leadership race.

Delegates will elect a new leader on March 18, 2017.