Danielle Smith, leader of the Wildrose Alliance, spoke to the students in the Polling and Opinion Research course. With the Alberta provincial election expected in only a few weeks, she talked about the challenges of starting a grassroots political organization and running against a political party which has been in power for more than four decades. She stresed the importance of having a team of qualified people around her and told the students that despite the rise of social media and new technologies, voters continue to want to hear about policies and ideas. Moreover, she believes that campaigns cannot replace the human dimension of politics with technology. Leaders and candidates need to shake hands and meet with voters, and assembling a dedicated team of volunteers continues to be the more effective way to win elections.