Former Canadian minister Jim Prentice elected new Alberta premier

Jim Prentice, a former investment banker and minister in the government of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, has been selected as the new premier of the oil-rich province of Alberta, defeating two rivals in a vote for leader of the province's ruling Progressive Conservatives.

Prentice, 58, took 77 per cent of party members' votes, easily defeating Thomas Lukaszuk and Ric McIver, both ministers in the government of former premier Alison Redford.

Prentice becomes the sixth leader of the Progressive Conservatives since the party won the first of an unbroken series of election victories in 1971.

The Conservatives are trailing in the polls to the opposition Wild Rose party after a series of spending scandals forced Redford to resign in March, less than two years after being elected.

Trained as a lawyer, Prentice resigned as industry minister in Harper's government in 2010 to become vice-chairman of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. But he remained politically active while at the bank, using his profile to push for better relations with Canada's aboriginal population.