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A little more than a year ago most Albertans were ready to write the Wildrose obituary.

Dealt what seemed to be a death blow by its former leader, its ranks drastically diminished by a mass defection by 11 of its MLAs to the beckoning embrace of government, the Wildrose party seemed to be on its final breaths.

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The few remaining caucus members put on brave faces, but with Danielle Smith’s dynamic presence at the top gone, many wondered if there would be anything left to hold on to.

Nobody thought a Wildrose MLA could win in Alberta — not even the Wildrose.

Within a month the party’s support had fallen off a cliff, careening from 60 per cent in some ridings to a mere 12 per cent.

“There wasn’t a Wildroser that would have got elected in the whole province in January, so it took some time to build that up and to actually formulate with Albertans that we were a team prepared, ready and willing to take on the responsibility of government,” the party’s leader Brian Jean said in a recent interview.