Paul Hinman

On September 8, 2017, Danielle Smith of NewsTalk770, announced that Paul Hinman is running for Leader of the new, United Conservative Party.

Paul Hinman (born 1959 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a provincial politician and small business entrepreneur from Alberta, Canada. He was formerly the leader of the Wildrose Alliance. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 2004 to 2008 representing the electoral district of Cardston-Taber-Warner. On September 14, 2009, Hinman returned to the Legislative Assembly by winning a by-election in Calgary-Glenmore, but lost his bid for re-election on April 23, 2012.

A year later, Hinman stepped down as leader of the Wildrose Alliance Party, triggering a leadership convention on October 2009 in Edmonton. Hinman remained interim leader of the Alliance until the election of Danielle Smith as party leader on October 17. Like Smith, he is a libertarian.

On May 15, 2009 Calgary-Glenmore MLA Ron Stevens announced his resignation to accept a position as a judge. Hinman ran in the ensuing by-election, seeking to return to the legislature from a riding where he had grown up and where he was currently living. Hinman was selected as the Wildrose Alliance candidate at a well-attended nomination meeting and subsequently won the by-election with 37% of the vote.

Under Hinman's leadership, the Alberta Alliance and the upstart Wildrose Party of Alberta merged to unite the right wing of the political spectrum in Alberta at a convention held on January 19, 2008 in Calgary.

In the 2008 provincial election, held just weeks after the merger convention, Hinman lost to his Progressive Conservative opponent, Broyce Jacobs by 39 votes. The party improved its popular vote in the riding although Hinman only campaigned in the riding for five days. The party also improved its popular vote in most of the other ridings where it ran candidates, but was unable to pick up any seats.

Hinman was one of four candidates who ran in the 2005 Alberta Alliance Party leadership election. The other three candidates were Ed Klop, Marilyn Burns and David Crutcher.

After a vigorous campaign, Hinman won the election on the third ballot at the leadership convention held on November 19, 2005 in Red Deer, Alberta to take over the party from interim leader Eleanor Maroes.

Himan was elected to his first term as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) representing the constituency of Cardston-Taber-Warner in the 2004 provincial election on November 22, 2004.

He defeated incumbent Broyce Jacobs who was affiliated with the Progressive Conservatives by 129 votes to capture the riding and pickup the district for the Alberta Alliance banner. He was the only person elected under the Alliance banner for the party that election. His win helped to retain the seat the Alliance gained in the Legislature when Edmonton-Norwood MLA Gary Masyk crossed the floor in June 2004.

Former Alberta Alliance leader Randy Thorsteinson stepped down as leader of the party shortly after the 2004 provincial election.

In provincial politics, he was the southern regional director for the Alberta First Party. Hinman served as vice-president of policy for the Alberta Alliance Party from its founding convention on February 14, 2002, until he was named deputy leader on January 8, 2005.

His win was historic as he became the first person elected under a fourth party banner in the Alberta Legislature since 1986.

Hinman was born in Edmonton in 1959. He grew up in Calgary in the neighbourhood of Haysboro.