The United Conservative Party (UCP) is Alberta's current governing party, formed in 2017 through a merger of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Wildrose Party. This merger united Alberta's right-of-centre political movements into a single party that won the 2019 provincial election. The UCP generally advocates for lower taxes, reduced government spending, support for the oil and gas industry, and provincial autonomy from federal interference. As a conservative party in a province with historically conservative voting patterns, the UCP represents the dominant political tradition in Alberta, though it faces opposition from the NDP on many policy issues.