Alberta pols can no longer take a vote for granted

There will have to be an openness, a willingness to listen and meet the needs of the people

You can establish new political parties and you can collapse the old ones but it is going to take more than that to engage and entice voters.

The results of the 2015 provincial election seemed like nothing short of a complete fluke — at the time. How was it even possible that Alberta, this bastion of conservatism, had voted in the NDP with a huge majority?

It is true there had been a seething anger among voters before that election. For some it was what they called a “sense of entitlement” in the PC government. For others it was a feeling that those in power looked primarily after their supporters and friends. The message was simply not getting through to the powers that be.

There was also dissatisfaction with the Wildrose. People were angry about MLAs and the leader crossing the floor to the PCs. Others were concerned the Wildrose was a little too far right politically.

The alternative was the NDP, which was thought unlikely to win but a shift in voting would send an appropriate message to other political parties.

It now seems likely all of those thoughts and feelings played a part in how the vote rolled out but perhaps there was more to it.

The population of Alberta has changed significantly in the last decade. Before the current recession people were flocking to Alberta for employment and bringing with them political ideals from the rest of Canada. It may have fundamentally and permanently changed what has always been considered Alberta’s political climate. If that is the case we may be on the cusp of a new political movement the likes of which we have never seen before in this province.

There is still the strong Alberta base though, those who have lived here for generations. Will they be moved politically by the newcomers? That is certainly possible and perhaps it will make all voters more politically engaged, searching and demanding answers, and requesting change where needed.

Perhaps the shakeup has been good for all political parties. They can’t take a vote for granted anymore. If they really are for the people of Alberta, and not just the party faithful, there will have to be an openness, a willingness to listen and meet the needs of the people. The party that forms government will need to be more transparent with ministers recognizing voters as the people that put them in power, the people they are accountable to, the people who pay their salaries.

There has been a lot of discussion recently about minority governments and Alberta might be in that category next. You could call it a way to force government to work with other parties but it can also spell instability. What we definitely don’t need is another government surging ahead with its own ideology down a path that may be irreversible.

(Gillian Slade is a News reporter. To comment on this and other editorials, go to www.medicinehatnews.com/opinions or call her at 403-528-8635.)