Alberta Political Dynasty – New Democrats Bust Tory Government
THUNDER BAY – NEWS – Alberta voters faced a decision today. Do they endorse the forty-three year old Progressive Conservative dynasty, or do they choose a new direction politically.
Early results had the Progressive Conservatives taking a lead. However the New Democrats have jumped into a lead and appear headed to lead either a minority or majority government. It is way too early to call the election as many seats are switching hands.
The New Democrats will form the next government. With forty-four seats needed to form government, the New Democrats are taking the popular vote by storm.
Rachel Notley and the New Democrats ran a virtually error free campaign. That generated growing enthusiasm on the campaign trail.
What was not expected was an NDP break-through in Calgary, as the New Democrats have made serious gains in the city.
The Orange Crush in Edmonton has happened as expected.
The polls closed at 8:00PM MDT (10:00PM EDT). The twenty-eight day campaign started slow, but the campaign momentum grew as the Progressive Conservatives appeared to stumble on many occasions during the campaign.
Alberta voters tend to vote in large numbers when they change governments. A political fact is that Alberta has never voted a government in after being defeated at the polls. As the numbers come in, it is starting to look like a political drubbing of the Progressive Conservatives, and of Premier Jim Prentice.
Alberta Election Results
NDP 56
Wild Rose 20
PC 9
Liberal 1
Alberta Party 1
IND 0
There are 87 Seats up for grabs in tonight’s campaign. Forty-four seats are needed for a majority government.
Alberta Voters Swarmed Advance Polls
The voters swarmed the advance polls in Alberta, with record numbers of voters turning out to vote.
Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer, Glen Resler, has released the Unofficial Advance Poll Voter Turnout numbers for the Advance Polls held on April 29th, 30th, May 1st, and May 2nd, 2015.
“We have an unofficial total of 235,410 electors who voted across Alberta at the Advance Polls which represents an increase of 31% in Advance Poll voters compared to the 2012 Provincial General Election,” reported Resler.
In 2012 there were 179,820 voters over a three (3) day period at 222 Polling Stations. In 2015, we had 235,410 voters over a four (4) day period at 335 Polling Stations. In 2012 there were 2,265,169 electors on the voter’s list.
In 2015 there are 2,543,127 electors on the voter’s list. This represents a 12% increase (277,958) in the number of registered voters in Alberta since 2012.
