Albertans told pollsters they wanted change, but in the end they voted for the government they’ve known for the past 36 years.
Ed Stelmach led the Progressive Conservative government to a historic 11th consecutive government, winning 73 of the 83 seats, thrashing the opposition parties.
The Conservatives won 53 percent of the popular vote, compared to 46 percent in 2004.
It’s Stelmach’s first election since taking over from Ralph Klein in 2006 and he began governing the booming Alberta economy.
“In this election, Albertans had a real choice and it was Progressive Conservative,” said Stelmach, who worked during the 28 day campaign to differentiate himself from the former premier.
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“As Progressive Conservatives, we can be very proud of our accomplishments, proud of our record and in this election, we’ve shown we have new ideas, new energy, new leadership for a new century,” he told campaign volunteers in Calgary.
Before the election, the Conservatives held 60 seats, the Liberals 16, NDP 4, Wildrose Alliance 1, an Independent and one vacancy.
Roger Epp, dean of the University of Alberta’s Augustana campus, said the disaffected conservatives who stayed home from the polls last election came out to vote and undecided voters stayed home.
“One of the interesting things about this result, especially for rural Albertans, is that there’s a comfort level with Ed Stelmach,” said Epp.
While many of Stelmach’s previous cabinet ministers came from rural Alberta, Epp believes the new cabinet will have a more urban feel in preparation for the next election when the electoral boundaries are expected to change and reflect a more urban population.
“The political laws of gravity are very urban and are going to get (more) so. Ed Stelmach may be a rural premier but he’s going to have to govern to the cities. In some way that rural influence at the table may not look like it did in the last legislature.”
All 20 cabinet ministers in Stelmach’s government before the election were re-elected. Twenty MLAs didn’t run for re-election.
Alberta NDP leader Brian Mason was able to hang on to his seat, but the NDP was cut in half to two seats. Rachel Notley, daughter of former NDP leader, Grant Notley, won the other seat.
Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft won his seat for a third term, but his party lost half its seats.
“The Alberta Liberals will continue the fight,” said an emotional Taft after the election.
“There will be no free ride. I can tell that to the government.”
Wildrose Alliance leader Paul Hinman was not able to hold onto the party’s lone southern Alberta seat, losing by 39 votes.
The new party, a combination of two right-wing parties, may have difficulty surviving, winning only six percent of the vote.
The Alberta Green party was not able to break through and win a seat, but did come second in at least three ridings.
Epp said while that’s not a huge tidal wave, it may mean rural Albertans are searching for some kind of vehicle because they’re not going to vote Liberal.
