Alberta voters did a lot in the 2023 provincial election. They finally elected Danielle Smith as a premier, something she couldn't pull off in 2012. They gave Rachel Notley and the New Democratic Party the strongest opposition in the history of Alberta.
Maybe those Alberta voters gave the Calgary Flames a new arena. Voters might have been more scared of the "boogieman" Justin Trudeau in Ottawa than a conflict of interest charge against its own premier.
Smith talked in her victory speech about wanting the best in education and health care in Alberta, which isn't likely given its track record in both areas. Smith's attacks on Trudeau got more time than what she would do for Albertans.
The strategy for the winning United Conservative Party was "forward," which felt like code for "ignore what I have done."
We refuse on principle to make political predictions but feel confident that the UCP government will last longer than Danielle Smith, based on the pattern of the many conservative premiers in the last decade.
The unofficial count was 51 seats for the UCP and 36 seats for the NDP. There were no serious contenders from other parties in the province.
The NDP improved its lot with about +11 gain in the Alberta legislature. The NDP needed a lot of gains in Calgary as well as more rural areas. The party dominates in the capital city of Edmonton.
The UCP likely won because conservatives were reluctant to abandon the party, even if they disagree with the leader. Perceptions of the economy also played their part.
Usually on election night, there is rising support for the loser to resign. Alberta is not that place. The province now has its 3rd elected female premier and the only province with a female as premier and opposition leader. No other Canadian province has had 3 female premiers much less 3 elected ones.
The NDP went negative on Danielle Smith's leadership, which is like shooting fish in a barrel in a province not afraid of long guns. The NDP had bad luck in terms of the province financially when Notley and the party was in charge between 2015-2019. Albertans care about the perceptions of the economy more than in other Canadian provinces.
Alberta turned to the NDP in 2015 because things were bad enough to look for an alternative. Things to outsiders looked sufficiently bad in Alberta but the mirrors in Alberta don't work the way others think they should.
2023 Victoria Day notebook: Alberta wildfires starting early
The Alberta wildfires, which spread to other western provinces, were thought to be a concern for advance polling for the election. Elections Alberta reported 758,550 advance votes, up from 700,476 in 2019. The office also noted that 21.9% of those who voted early did so outside of their electoral division.
This isn't to say that some Albertans were severely affected by the wildfires in the voting process.
The unofficial turnout was 61.7% in 2023, down from about 64% in 2019. The unofficial vote total was 1,610,947.
Unofficially, the NDP gained 10 seats for women while the UCP lost 3 seats for women, a gain of +7 in the Alberta legislature.
2023 Alberta election preview
We hope the UCP will keep its promise to increase tax credits for films, making filmmaking — Canadian or otherwise — more viable in Alberta.
The NDP supplied tax credits for video games while in power. The UCP took those away when elected in 2019. The NDP promised to bring those back if elected in 2023.
CanadianCrossing.com Alberta coverage
The Washington Post editorial board weighed in on the Calgary downtown revitalization plan as being one of the best. Nice when Canada gets such good praise. A little suspicious given that Calgary was the bullseye of the 2023 Alberta election.
A potential new replacement for the Saddledome is needed on multiple levels. A new football stadium, which likely wouldn't be downtown, is also needed. The 2026 Winter Olympics, which could have easily been in Calgary, would have given that economic boost the city needed.
CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage
The results came in a lot slower than normal from Elections Alberta.
photos credit: CBC News
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