The United Conservative Party (UCP) won a hard-fought provincial election in Alberta on Monday.
Outgoing Premier Danielle Smith’s party dominated outside Alberta’s two largest cities while retaining enough support in Calgary to overcome a New Democratic Party (NDP) sweep in Edmonton and win a second government. consecutive majority.
“To paraphrase our dear friend (former Premier of Alberta) Ralph Klein, welcome to another prairie miracle,” said Mr.me Smith to cheering fans gathered on the grounds of the Calgary Stampede.
Mme Smith thanked the hundreds of thousands of Albertans who voted PCU, but also addressed those who did not. “Although I have not done enough in your judgment to win your support in this election, I will work every day to listen, improve myself and demonstrate to you that I can be trusted to improve the issues that matter so much to you. to heart.”
The PCU won or was declared ahead in 49 constituencies, compared to 38 for Leader Rachel Notley’s NDP; Alberta’s legislature has 87 seats, but a final count was unknown early Tuesday given tight races in Calgary.
The change represents a loss for the United Conservative Party compared to the 63-24 seat split between the two parties in 2019.
Monday’s election night was marked by the slow delivery of results by Elections Alberta. Only a small fraction of the results were available 90 minutes after polls closed and a PCU victory was not reported for another 90 minutes.
Danielle Smith easily won her seat in Brooks-Medicine Hat, as did Rachel Notley in Edmonton-Strathcona.
Notley stays
Mme Notley told supporters gathered at a downtown Edmonton hotel that she would remain leader and lead the largest official opposition in Alberta history. “We will continue to speak out on behalf of Albertans struggling to have their voices heard. We will fight for better health care, better education, better jobs,” she said.
“And my friends, we will be unequivocal in our demand for respect for the rule of law and an unqualified belief in human rights and fundamental dignity.”
Support for third parties, such as the Center Party of Alberta, plummeted as voters focused on the two main contenders.
There were 758,550 advance votes cast, beating the previous record of 700,746 counted in 2019.
It was the second win in seven months for 52-year-old Danielle Smith. Prior to her return last year, she had been out of politics for seven years, working primarily as a Calgary radio host and political analyst.
She proposed an election platform based on fighting crime and lowering personal income taxes in what is already the lowest-taxed jurisdiction in Canada. She promised a bill prohibiting any future increases in corporate or personal income taxes without holding a referendum.
Mme Smith also aimed to woo Calgary voters by announcing, on the eve of the race, a provincial contribution of $330 million to a $1.2 billion deal with the city and the owners of the Calgary Flames for a new arena. of the National Hockey League (NHL).
For its part, the NDP dominated in Edmonton, a city in which it won all but one seat in 2019.
A tough campaign
The vote ended a bitter campaign. The two main parties have warned that the other cannot be trusted for the economy or to fix a health care system plagued by long waits for surgeries, overwhelmed emergency rooms and a shortage of family doctors.
Danielle Smith has been dogged by a litany of comments and actions – past and present – that have moved the party further to the political right while alienating moderates and prompting some former Progressive Conservatives to announce they would vote for the NDP. Mme Smith compared those vaccinated against COVID-19 to followers of Adolf Hitler. And two weeks ago, Alberta’s ethics commissioner found she violated a fundamental democratic principle earlier this year by relying on her justice minister, unsuccessfully, to drop the criminal case against a COVID-19 protester.
Danielle Smith also refused to disavow past comments that she would like to see patients pay out of pocket for certain medical services in order to keep the system viable. However, she promised during the election campaign that she would respect the sanctity of Medicare.
She also promised to review, after the election, proposals such as the abandonment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in favor of a provincial police force and the withdrawal of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).
Danielle Smith, who served as leader of the Wildrose party in the past, won the leadership of the PCU last October, capitalizing on the party’s broad resentment of then-leader Jason Kenney, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the rules of health for COVID-19.
In 2012, while leading the Wildrose, she saw a lead in late polls evaporate after she questioned the science of climate change and refused to sanction candidates for intolerant remarks, including one who called the homosexuals to repent or face eternal suffering in hell.
Wildrose and the Progressive Conservatives joined forces to create the PCU in 2017 and, led by Jason Kenney; the party defeated the NDP in the 2019 election.