UCP or NDP? Albertans Head to the Polls Today

UCP Leader Danielle Smith (L) and Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley. Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

Albertans will head to the polls today to cast in-person ballots and decide whether the province will re-elect a United Conservative Party (UCP) government or flip to a Rachel Notley-led New Democrat Party (NDP) government.

UCP Leader Danielle Smith, who has been leading the party for less than a year after winning the leadership race when Jason Kenney stepped down, has been in a tight race with Notley, the province’s official opposition leader.

The UCP have held power since 2019, when Kenney led the party to winning 63 seats while Notley’s NDP managed just 24.

A party needs 44 seats in the Alberta legislature for a majority. No other parties besides the UCP and NDP managed to win seats in the 2019 election.

This year’s election has once again come down to a race between the same two parties, as polling projections have shown almost no seat possibilities for the smaller parties, none of which are running candidates in every provincial riding.

Election day on May 29 comes after a record number of Albertans have used advanced polls to cast their ballots early this year.

According to Elections Alberta, over 758,500 people voted at advance voting centres between May 23 and May 27—not including any votes cast at locations operating offline or using a paper voting record.

That number beats a previous record set in 2019, when around 700,470 Albertans cast their ballots in advance and special mobile polls, representing over 36 percent of all votes cast in that year’s election, according to a report by Alberta’s chief electoral officer.

Smith and Notley

Smith and Notley will conclude their campaigns Monday following final stops in Calgary and the surrounding area. Both party leaders have already voted in advance polls.

Both party leaders have indicated over the past week what pieces of legislation they will each prioritize if elected to lead government.

Notley said on May 25 that she will call for a summer legislative session if elected in order to pass Bill 1, an act to cap power bills and auto insurance, freeze tuition, and “accelerate $10/day childcare.”

Smith said the day before that a re-elected UCP government will prioritize the Taxpayer Protection Amendment, which the party has said would prevent future governments from raising personal and corporate income taxes without a referendum.

Results of the May 29 election will start to become available on Elections Alberta’s website after 8 p.m. MDT once voting places are closed and counts are completed.

Marnie Cathcart and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.