EDMONTON/CALGARY—The UCP kept its majority government in Alberta’s May 29 election, marking the second victory for Premier Danielle Smith in just over six months since winning her party’s leadership race.
“Thank you Alberta,” Smith said in her victory speech shortly before midnight local time.
“To paraphrase our friend [the late former premier] Ralph Klein, welcome to another miracle in the Prairies,” she said to cheers.
Unofficial results from Elections Alberta show that the UCP won 49 seats, down 11 seats compared to dissolution, but more than half of the total 87 seats required to form a majority government. The NDP won 38 seats, a gain of 15 seats compared to dissolution. Voter turnout was at over 62 percent.
The UCP received 52.6 percent of the popular vote, slightly lower than its share in the 2019 election at 54.9 percent, while the NDP received 44 percent, up from 32.7 percent in the 2019 election. Votes going to other parties had the largest drop, with only 3.4 percent of the voters supporting the smaller parties, compared to 12.4 percent in 2019.
Smith noted that her party faced a tough battle in the election, adding that NDP Leader Rachel Notley called her earlier to concede the election “with honour and with dignity.”
Smith said she intends to serve all Albertans, regardless of which party they voted for, saying to those who didn’t vote for UCP: “I will work every day to listen to improve and to demonstrate to you that I can be trusted to improve on the issues that you care so deeply about.”
The premier touched on cost-of-living and inflation issues, and emphasized the importance of diversifying the province’s economy and inviting investors.
“And to demonstrate that, the first order of business of our government in the legislative session in the fall will be to guarantee that—unless Albertans say otherwise by referendum—the only direction business and personal taxes are headed in this province is down.”
Smith also addressed the federal government in her speech, saying she will stand up for Alberta’s energy sector, including not allowing restrictions on natural gas-generated electricity, and not accepting production caps.
“The prime minister is already ready to introduce a de-facto production cap on our oil and gas sector that if implemented ... will result in tens of thousands of jobs lost, tens of billions lost in investment, damage our province’s fiscal position, and bring economic hardship to Albertans,” she said.
“Hopefully the prime minister and his caucus are watching tonight: Let me be clear, this is not a road we can afford to go down.”
NDP’s Notley delivered her concession speech at 11:30 p.m. local time, saying while she is deeply disappointed with the loss, she is glad that her party has more seats.
“We will form part of the largest Official Opposition this province has ever seen in its history,” she said, while confirming she will stay on as leader.
Regions
The UCP dominated in rural Alberta, while the NDP won the seats in Edmonton, including in the riding of UCP Deputy Premier Kaycee Madu, who lost to NDP’s Nathan Ip. The battle was a lot closer in Calgary, with the NDP taking 14 of the 26 seats in the city, though the margins in some of the ridings are so close that a recount in some cases may be likely.
Both Smith and Notley won in their own ridings earlier in the night. Smith won her riding in Brooks−Medicine Hat, and Notley won her riding in Edmonton−Strathcona.
Beside Madu, a number of other UCP ministers lost their seats, including Health Minister Jason Copping who lost in Calgary−Varsity to NDP’s Luanne Metz, and Mental Health and Addictions Minister Nicholas Milliken, who lost in Calgary−Currie to NDP candidate Janet Eremenko.
Unofficial results show that Minister of Justice Tyler Shandro was edged out by NDP’s Diana Batten by just 7 votes in Calgary-Acadia, but a recount will likely be conducted to confirm the winner.
Some of the cabinet ministers who held on to their seats include Deputy Minister Nathan Neudorf who won in Lethbridge-East, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange who won in Red Deer North, and Agriculture Minister Nate Horner who won in Drumheller−Stettler.
As well, Municipal Affairs Minister Rebecca Schulz was re-elected in Calgary−Shaw, and Matt Jones, minister of affordability and utilities, won in Calgary−South East. Rick Wilson, minister of indigenous relations, won in Maskwacis−Wetaskiwin.
Polls opened at 9 a.m. local time and closed at 8 p.m. on May 29. Results from various voting locations were slow to come in since polls closed, but Elections Alberta said there were no problems with the vote counting process.
A total of 14 parties ran in the election, but none of them won any seats aside from the two major parties.
A record 755,840 Albertans voted in advance polls, accounting for 42.9 percent of the total votes.
