After posting one of the worst electoral performances in provincial history, the Alberta Liberal Party is attempting a political resurrection by slapping on a conservative label and thinking the public is too dumb to notice.

In launch materials promoting a February 17 Edmonton event, the party unveiled its new identity as the “Tory Party,” complete with a blue-and-gold logo and the tagline: “Alberta’s Progressive Conservative Choice.”

Yes, the Alberta Liberals now want to be Tories.

The glossy documents lay out four pillars: “Fiscal Responsibility,” “Accountability and Transparency,” “Social Reliability,” and most pointedly, “Unapologetically Federalist.”

Under that final heading, the party declares: “Alberta’s future is strongest within Canada, not outside it.”

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That messaging is no accident. It lands squarely in opposition to the growing and widely popular separatist sentiment sweeping Alberta, a movement that has drawn packed town halls, filled up petition drives, and fostered serious public debate about sovereignty and independence.

In other words, while independence activists are arguing Alberta should reconsider Confederation, the Liberals are rebranding themselves as the province’s most enthusiastic defenders of the domestic abusers in Ottawa.

The new materials promise “balanced budgets,” “stronger oversight,” and “public service based on stewardship, not political connections.” They state their mission is to “lead with honesty, spend responsibly, and put Albertans first.”

All of this comes after the party’s catastrophic showing in the May 2023, provincial election, when the Alberta Liberals received just 12,414 votes — 0.24% of the popular vote — and won zero seats. It was the lowest vote share in the party’s history.

Now, instead of rebuilding the Liberal brand, they appear to be attempting to sidestep it entirely.