Election not official, but Tory campaign team appears to gear up

Even as most of the provincebraces itself for a spring election, Premier Jim Prentice is maintaining that no decisions have been made either about when an election would start, or even whether there actually be will be a vote.

The party is a separate operation with separate offices and that is what they do and that is what they're engaged in and they're very busy. My office, the premier's office, is the office where the Government of Alberta is centred and that's what goes on in my office.

However, it appears that the Progressive Conservativeparty might be marshalling its forcesin preparation for a vote.

The Calgary Herald reported this week that Randy Dawson has agreed to be the provincial campaign manager for the PCs, a role he has held in previous elections.

The premier would not confirm that Dawson has joined the partys campaign team.

"I'll leave that for another discussion at another day, when we'll deal with those issues and when you may wish to answer that question later in the week," Prentice said Wednesday.

Dawson is a managing partner with Navigator, a strategy and communication firm. Prentice has previously said Navigator, a firm he has close ties with, will not receive any work from the province while he is premier.

CBC News heard from sources that Dawson met with Patricia Misutka, the principal secretary in Prentice's office. They had dinner at Bistro Praha in downtown Edmonton over the weekend.

Also at the table was Margaret Bateman, managing partner with Calder-Bateman, a marketing and public relations firm that has done plenty of work for the government.

This collection of high profile Tories might seem like a gathering to go over any number of campaign-related issues.

None of the three responded to requests for comment.

Prentice says he has heard nothing about what was discussed from his principal secretary.

"I wasn't there and there are three people, I think, able to have a dinner...at a fine, fine restaurant. Excellent Hungarian food," was all Prentice would say about the meeting.

The opposition says it's difficult to believe Misutka has said nothing to the premier about her dinner conversation. Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman says if she hasn't briefed the Premier on the discussion prior to Wednesday's news conference, she likely has been asked to now.

"That's what bothers people is that there's never a straight answer," Blakeman said, noting that a spring election is pretty much taken as a given among all the political parties and staffers at the Legislature.

Thursday's budget will be followed by a traditional two week break at the Legislative Assembly, encompassing the Easter long weekend.

With many MLAs giving farewell speeches in the Legislature this week, it's widely believed the session will not resume on April 13.

Instead, many in the halls of the Legislature are predicting Prentice will kick off the election as early as March 30 or shortly after.