Albertans want conservative leader who will admit PC party 'screwed up,' says Sandra Jansen

After a summer of meeting with Albertans and hearing their concernsSandra Jansen is ready to do whatever it takes to be the next leader of the province's Progressive Conservatives.

Even if that means admitting that the party has made some big mistakes.

"They want someone who's gonna say, 'Look, we screwed up in the PC party,' Jansen told the Calgary Eyeopener on Thursday, referring to Albertans who stand behind her.

"I think the key supporters that are joining us ... arecentrist Albertans who feel lost that they didn't have a home before."

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The Calgary-North West MLA officially threw her hat in the ring for the Progressive Conservative party leadership on Wednesday.

"We have to take a look at ourselves, we have to do better as elected officials and the way we interact with party membership and we have to solve our own problems before we go out and point the finger at anyone else."

Less fighting among politicians

Jansen says she also wants to cut down on the bickering among politicians and build a more collaborative environment in the Alberta legislature.

"We need to ensure that we are listening to everybody. When a piece of policy or legislation comes to our table ... we should consider less about which party it came from and the first question we should ask does it benefit Albertans?

The other four candidates vying to fill the spot vacated by Jim Prentice when the PC's lost to the NDP in the Alberta 2015 election are Jason Kenney, Donna Kennedy-Glans, Richard Starke and Byron Nelson.

The partywill choose its next leaderat a convention on March 18.