Members of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance say most party members in the Souris-Moose Mountain riding are happy with the idea of a merger between the two parties.

Alliance party leader Stephen Harper and PC leader Peter MacKay agreed earlier this month to a merger but the membership of both parties must ratify the deal by Dec. 12.

Alliance MP Roy Bailey said Friday he's heard no negative comments locally.

"Most people are very supportive," he said. "If this doesn't go, it won't be because of the Alliance membership."

PC riding president Jack Pick echoes that assessment. "I haven't had one opposing comment, outside of the people who supported (leadership candidate David) Orchard," he said Thursday.

"Since the merger was announced, I've had former PC members coming back and buying memberships. That's really positive," he said.

Pick said when people look at the merger realistically, it's clear the Alliance by itself can't win east of Manitoba and the PC's can't win west of Manitoba. In western Canada, to a large extent it's the same people in both parties, he said.

He said he's promoting the merger on the basis of assurances from the president of the PC Party that it falls within the legal guidelines of the party's constitution.

Alliance members must vote 50 per cent plus one to approve the deal. Pick said nationally, the PC party requires a two-third majority before the agreement will be approved but at the local, riding level, the merger requires only 50 per cent plus one for a stamp of approval.

The new party will be called the Conservative Party.

PC leader Peter MacKay launched the Conservative's Yes Committee recently.

The committee will organize each federal riding to sell new memberships and ask Tories to get out and vote for pro-merger delegates at the end of November. The party can continue to sell memberships until Sunday, Nov. 16.

Former Tory cabinet minister Don Mazankowski and former Ontario premier Bill Davis, who helped negotiate the merger, are to be honourary co-chairmen of the yes campaign, along with Tory Senator Pierre Claude Nolin.

Eleven PC delegates will be chosen from each riding for mini-conventions in each province. Those delegates in turn will meet by teleconference on Dec. 6 with a special meeting of the party's management committee.

As for the Alliance's merger process, Bailey said ballots for Alliance members are already in the mail and must be returned before the end of November. National results will be tallied and made public on Friday, Dec. 12.