Danielle Smith promises party unity after 1st caucus meeting

Alberta's incoming premier and United Conservative Party caucus members insist they are in lockstep, despite a leadership race revealing a party split between competing visions.

Danielle Smith captured nearly 54 per cent of members' votes on a sixth ballot of the leadership contest Thursday. On Friday morning, she spent an hour meeting with about 60 caucus members in Calgary.

"There's a lot of harm that was caused over the last two-and-a-half years," Smith said while standing on the steps of the McDougall Centre in Calgary, flanked by her six leadership opponents.

Cuts to health care and education are not in her plans, Smith said, adding that students need extra support and Albertans need funds for mental health support.

Smith will soon share more about the UCP government's plans, once she becomes premier at swearing-in ceremony in Edmonton on Oct. 11, she said.

Smith, who left politics in 2014, now needs a seat in the legislature.

On Friday, Brooks-Medicine Hat MLA Michaela Frey said she had resigned her seat and encouraged Smith to seek election there.

Smith will meet with the riding's constituency association Saturday, to see if they would support that move, she told reporters in Calgary.

However, there is already a vacant seat in Calgary-Elbow, where former cabinet minister Doug Schweitzer resigned last month.

While on CBC's Power and Politics Friday afternoon, Smith said she will call only one byelection, to save money.

Smith wants to run in a rural riding, to emphasize the importance of rural representation, she said. The Brooks-Medicine Hat constituency includes both cities in its name.

Smith hopes to be sitting in the legislature by the end of November, where she would table her signature Alberta Sovereignty Act, she said.

The Opposition NDP has said it would be undemocratic of Smith to run in another byelection, while leaving Calgary-Elbow without a representative in the legislature.

Smith has summoned the existing UCP cabinet to Edmonton, where she's pledged to meet individually with ministers Tuesday. She also asked them, however, to refrain from making any decisions or announcements until she announces a new cabinet on Oct. 21.