Shortly after announcing his timetable with regards to stepping down, the premier instructed all current members of the Albertan Cabinet to resign and move to the backbench by June 16, 2006, if they wanted to run for the leadership.
Political analysts believe the result of the March 31 vote can be attributed to concerns over how a "long goodbye" by a sitting premier can affect governing parties.
This was very unusual in Canada—in fact no other major federal or provincial party is known to allow leadership voters to buy memberships on polling day.
In the order they filed their nomination papers, the candidates were: Ed Stelmach, the former Intergovernmental Affairs minister, announced his resignation from cabinet in accordance with Klein's directive.
Website: http://www.lyleoberg.com Mark Norris, a former MLA who became celebrated within the party when he defeated former Tory leadership candidate-turned-Liberal leader Nancy MacBeth in Edmonton McClung in 2001.
Although Ted Morton was a backbencher, he was considered a strong contender for the leadership because of his high profile in the former Reform Party and Canadian Alliance.
Morton was considered to be on the right of the political spectrum, and supported allowing people to pay for non-emergency health care services such as hip and knee replacements.
Website: https://web.archive.org/web/20050422165319/http://www.tedmorton.ca/ David Hancock, former Advanced Education Minister, was one of three Edmonton MLAs to retain their seats for the Tories in the 2004 general election.
He was first elected in 1997 and has held the International, Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs portfolio as well and Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
He is the author of the Government of Alberta 20 Strategic Business Plan setting the long range framework for the future of the province.
Website: https://web.archive.org/web/20060615210425/http://www.davehancockcrew.ca/ Jim Dinning, Alberta's former treasurer, was not a current MLA but was (and remains) on the board of directors of each of a number of major corporations and some other organisations, mostly concerned with public policy research.
Website: https://web.archive.org/web/20061024030954/http://www.voteforvictor.ca/ Gary McPherson, former chair of the Premier's Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities, was a quadriplegic since a childhood bout with polio.
Lyle Oberg, Dave Hancock, and Mark Norris threw their support behind Ed Stelmach after failing to advance to the second round.