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“We can work together and the province will be stronger with conservatives working together,” said Prentice. “This is not a merger of parties. This is a unification of conservatives.”

Smith resigned as Wildrose leader on Wednesday morning.

“If you’re going to be the official Opposition leader, you need to really want to take down the government and really want to take down the premier,” she told reporters. “I don’t want to take down this premier. I want this premier to succeed and I want to be part-and-parcel of helping him to succeed.”

In a letter to the Wildrose executive committee, Smith requested the party ask members to vote on a “reunification resolution” to merge with the PCs as soon as possible.

However, Wildrose executives have already rejected the idea and insist the party isn’t going away.

“We’re united as a party,” said Wildrose vice-president of fundraising Jeff Callaway. “We are unanimous we are going to continue onward with the development of this party and we’ll be on the next ballot.”

While many Wildrose members have reacted with shock and anger to the defections, Smith said she would tell them “we won.”

“We clearly managed to move away from two administrations that were not moving Alberta forward,” she said in reference to former PC premiers Ed Stelmach and Alison Redford.

“And we have a premier that shares the same conservative values that we do.”

A statement released by the government said the MLAs “agreed to unite under a set of aligned values and principles, including: respecting property rights, strengthening local decision-making in health care, and committing to sound conservative fiscal principles.”