The United Conservative Party has filed a lawsuit against two former MLAs, alleging that they and the Alberta Party have violated Progressive Conservative trademarks by attempting to revive the former party. Peter Guthrie and Scott Sinclair announced plans in July to bring back Alberta’s Progressive Conservative party, which governed from 1971 to 2015 before merging with the Wildrose Party to create the United Conservative Party. Later that month, Guthrie and Sinclair joined the centrist Alberta Party with intentions to rebrand it as the Progressive Conservatives.
The membership of the Alberta Party voted to change the name to the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party in late August. Elections Alberta has not provided an update on the status of that application. The United Conservative Association, the governing body of the UCP, asserts that through the merger with the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta in 2017, it acquired ownership of the party’s names, registration, brand, trademarks, and goodwill.
The UCP claims that the efforts by the Alberta Party amount to passing-off and are designed to exploit the goodwill and reputation built by the Progressive Conservative Association and the United Conservative Association with Albertans over the years. The lawsuit targets the Alberta Party Political Association, its president Lindsay Amantea, as well as Guthrie and Sinclair, seeking compensation and declarations of conspiracy and trademark infringement. Guthrie and Sinclair have not yet responded to requests for comments.
Guthrie, a former Alberta cabinet minister, was ousted from the UCP in April after advocating for a public inquiry into health contracting. In a video posted online, Guthrie dismissed the lawsuit as an act of intimidation from the UCP, emphasizing that it is more about politics and fear than legal matters. Sinclair was expelled in March for stating he would vote against the provincial budget.
The UCP deems the rebranding attempt by the Alberta Party as misleading and sent cease-and-desist letters to Guthrie, Sinclair, and the Alberta Party. Dave Prisco, the UCP’s communications director, criticized the move as an attempt to mislead voters by appropriating a legacy they did not earn, stating that the Alberta Party should establish its own identity instead. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s office did not respond to requests for comment.