Surprise win for Conservatives
CALGARY, Alberta — Alberta’s Progressive Conservative party led by Premier Alison Redford won a surprise re-election in Canada’s oil-rich western province, renewing its majority mandate and extending a 41-year reign.
The Progressive Conservatives, who have ruled Alberta since 1971, were elected in 61 of 87 districts, compared with 17 for the Wildrose Alliance, five for the Liberal Party and four for the New Democratic Party, according to preliminary results posted on the provincial election agency’s website.
The Conservative victory came after opinion polls during the election indicated Wildrose was poised to win, bringing increased focus on the 4-year-old party’s platform and candidates.
“It was a near-death experience” for the Conservatives, said David Taras, a political scientist at Mount Royal University in Calgary. The victory “wasn’t out of love for Alison — it was out of fear for the Wildrose.”
Redford, 47, a lawyer and former U.N. elections commissioner in Afghanistan, said the province has changed and needs to prepare for the future while supporting the expansion of the oil sands industry.
“Albertans want positive change and change that move Albertans forward,” said Redford in a speech to supporters in Calgary. She said change will bring “unity and prosperity for the best province in the best country in the world.”
Wildrose’s leader, Danielle Smith, 41, had attacked the Conservatives’ fiscal record during the campaign. She promised to end the deficit this year, revamp the public health care system and pay each Albertan $305 with money from oil sands royalties. Smith pledged on April 20 a return to “common-sense conservative values: fiscal prudence, individual freedom, individual responsibility, decentralized decision making.”
The result marks the first time a female premier had been elected in Alberta, with a woman also serving as leader of the opposition.