Greg Clark: Alberta Party leader

Greg Clark
Party leader since September 2013
Age: 44
Occupation before politics:Co-founder of IT consulting firmC3Associates
Education: Bachelor of Political Science/Sociology, MBA
First year elected to Alberta legislature:Not yet elected
Candidate in Calgary-Elbow

Last year, Greg Clark came close to becoming the first Alberta Party candidate elected to the provincial legislature.

He became the leader of the centrist party in September 2013, but remained relatively unknown until last Octobers byelection in Calgary-Elbow.

With political strategist Stephen Carter involved inthe campaign, Clark looked like he could stage an upset in Calgary-Elbow where then-unelected Education Minister Gordon Dirks was seeking a seat in the legislature.

• Alberta Party meets in Red Deer to gear up for spring election
• Calgary-Elbow voters choose Gordon Dirks as MLA

Clark ended up finishing 803 votes behind Dirks, but ahead of theWildrose, Liberal andNDPcandidates. The third-place finish for theWildrosebriefly created questions about the effectiveness of then-leader Danielle Smith.

The 2015 election will be a rematch, as Clark is running again against Dirks.

Clark said in February that he is trying to position hisparty as afiscally-responsible,socially-moderate alternative to Jim Prentices Progressive Conservatives.

We've seen that we've been able to attract people from all different parts of the political spectrum, we have a broad appeal, that I think really attracts a lot of Albertans.

Clark was once involved with the provincial Liberals. He served as the media co-ordinator for former Liberal leader Laurence Decore from 1993 to 1996. His grandmother, Alberta Clark, was a candidate for the Alberta Liberals 1952.

Clark graduated from the University of Victoria in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and sociology. He earned an MBA with specialization in knowledge management from Royal Roads University in 2005.

Clark co-founded C3 Associates, an IT consulting firm that focused on oil and gas clients. In 2013, he sold his share in the business to focus on politics full-time.

Clark is married with two daughters, aged 10 and seven.

The Alberta Party has never elected an MLA, but briefly had a seat in the Alberta Legislature.

Nine months after leaving the Alberta Liberals to sit as an independent, Dave Taylor became the first and only Alberta Party MLA. Taylor decided not to run in the 2012 election and returned to his former career as a radio talk show host.