Former federal Aboriginal Minister Jim Prentice has been named the new premier designate of Alberta and the leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party. He won with 17,963 votes, beating out rivals Ric McIver and Thomas Lukaszuk, who each had less than 2,800 votes.

“I’m standing here as an Albertan with a sense of pride and feeling of humility,” Prentice said.

Premier Christy Clark congratulated Prentice in a news release, saying "I look forward to working towards our shared goals...As the only province we share a border with, Alberta and B.C. have always enjoyed a close relationship. I am confident that will continue as we focus on job creation, economic growth and protection of the environment."

The selection of Prentice may have significant implications for the controversial Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline proposal, a $7 billion project that would bring 525,000 barrels of diluted bitumen from Alberta through Northern B.C. to a terminal in Kitimat. Although the project was approved by the federal government in June, it faces significant opposition due to environmental risks caused by the pipeline, which would bring 225 tankers a year in the protected waters of the Great Bear Rainforest.

Earlier this year, Calgary-based pipeline giant Enbridge had tapped Prentice to become a liaison to help build support for the Northern Gateway project among B.C.'s First Nations. Although Prentice never officially dropped his work relationship with Enbridge, his run for political leadership in Alberta suggested to some that he may be distancing himself from the company.

“[Prentice] was beating a dead horse with his efforts to resuscitate the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project," Grand Chief Stewart Phillip told the Vancouver Observer in April. "I think that being premier of Alberta was much more attractive than continuing.”

Phillip said, Prentice must have realized that any attempt to sway the province’s First Nations, especially those on the coast, was a lost cause.

Coastal First Nations executive director Art Sterritt said in April that he had met with Prentice several times in March and said he made it clear that no amount of money would convince coastal B.C. First Nations to side with Enbridge.



Sterritt also said Enbridge will certainly stay within earshot of Prentice’s opinions on the project, regardless of his position in government.