After 44 years as the party that formed Alberta’s provincial government, the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) fell to third place after election night on May 5, 2015, winning only 10 seats. The Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP) garnered majority support from electors and has become the new party in power in Alberta with 53 seats. The party’s leader, Rachel Notley, is Alberta’s next premier. Brian Jean and the Wildrose Party won 21 seats and will be the province’s Official Opposition.
The victory of the NDP is an historical moment for Albertans as the province is said to be the most conservative in Canada. Discontent towards the PCs and their proposed budget to address the economic downturn in Alberta has contributed to the change in support from Albertans. Jim Prentice, leader of the PCs, accepted responsibility for his party’s defeat and announced his resignation soon after the election results. Prentice won the Calgary-Foothills electoral district, but will also be stepping away from the position.
The Calgary-Foothills is not the only district that has not yet determined its representative in the provincial government. There is currently a tie in the Calgary-Glenmore district between the PC’s Linda Johnson and the NDP’s Anam Kazim. The district will be conducting a recount of the votes. If there is still a tie after the recount, a judicial recount will be conducted. If a new representative still cannot be determined after the recounts, the Calgary-Glenmore district will go to the polling stations again for a byelection. Visit Elections Alberta http://www.elections.ab.ca/Public%20Website/index.htm to stay up to date with the election results.
