A candidate with plans to merge Alberta's splintered right-leaning factions has won the leadership of the province's Progressive Conservatives (PC), the party said on Saturday, heralding a political shift in Canada's oil heartland.

The merger plan by former federal Cabinet minister Jason Kenney will likely go through because the other right-leaning faction, the Wildrose party, has agreed to it.

But Kenney may not get to shepherd the merged conservative party, as the head of Wildrose, Brian Jean, has said he would vie for the new leadership. Wildrose is currently the bigger party.