Don’t expect a Progressive Conservative leadership contest for at least seven months.

The premier has declared he will not be resigning until after the end of the spring legislature, which would push the race until September.

Meanwhile, in a speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Wednesday night, Ed Stelmach had a warning for Albertans.

He says Albertans have two things to be proud of, “we don’t have any four-legged rats and we don’t have a sales tax.”

Stelmach dodged any questions about who the two-legged rats might be, but hinted at the potential tax while making his speech.

Only one candidate so far has declared his intention to run in the PC leadership contest, former finance minister Ted Morton.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s Scott Hennig tells 660News the introduction of a sales tax would be detrimental, to say the least.

“It would significantly hurt not only the economy, but Alberta’s reputation as a place that is friendly for businesses and fairly friendly for taxpayers,” says Hennig.

He says the federation met with the government, including Ted Morton, and provided them with suggestions on how they could cut $6-billion in spending.

The premier recently confirmed that Alberta will not be back in the black until 2013-2014, running a deficit of $5-billion.

“I can only guess that they once again have ignored the recommendations to cut,” says Hennig.

While highly unlikely, he says it’s important to note that the introduction of the sales tax is not out of the realm of possibility.

“I don’t really expect that we’re going to be seeing one any time soon because it’s so unpopular in this province,” explains Hennig. “But there may be people thinking about it right now because they don’t like the idea of cuts.”

Premier Stelmach is expected to echo his concerns Thursday morning at a speech to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel.