Alberta general election, 2004

Alberta general election, 2004
Alberta
November 22, 2004 (2004-11-22)
83 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
42 seats needed for a majority
Turnout 45.12%
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Ralph Klein Kevin Taft
Party Progressive Conservative Liberal
Leader since December 14, 1992 March 27, 2004
Leader's seat Calgary-Elbow Edmonton-Riverview
Last election 74 seats, 61.9% 7 seats, 27.3%
Seats before 73 5
Seats won 62 16
Seat change Decrease9 Increase11
Popular vote 417,092 261,471
Percentage 46.8% 29.4%
Swing Decrease15.1% Increase2.1%
  Third party Fourth party
  AA
Leader Brian Mason Randy Thorsteinson
Party New Democratic Alberta Alliance
Leader since July 13, 2004 February 15, 2003
Leader's seat Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood ran in Innisfail-Sylvan Lake (lost)
Last election 2 seats, 1.0% pre-creation
Seats before 2 1
Seats won 4 1
Seat change Increase2 ±0
Popular vote 90,897 77,506
Percentage 10.2% 8.7%
Swing Increase2.1% —

Alberta riding map showing the winning parties and their vote percentage in each won riding.
Premier before election

Ralph Klein
Progressive Conservative

 Premier-designate

Ralph Klein
Progressive Conservative

The Alberta general election of 2004 was the twenty-sixth general election for the province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on November 22, 2004 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

The election was called on October 25, 2004. Premier Ralph Klein decided to go to the polls earlier than the legislated deadline of March 2006. This election was held in conjunction with the Alberta Senate nominee election, 2004.

When the election was called, it was expected to be anticlimactic, with Klein cruising to his fourth straight majority, the tenth for his Progressive Conservative Party.

Shortly after the drop of the writs, Klein's mother died and all parties suspended their campaigns for several days. After the campaign resumed, Klein avoided making any policy announcements and attended few events. One commentator called it "Kleinfeld: the campaign about nothing" (a reference to the television sitcom Seinfeld). The Liberal Party, which had hoped to hold on to the five seats it had and regain the two seats that it had lost to resignations, began to pick up momentum and became far more optimistic.

In the end, the Conservatives were re-elected, despite losing 11 seats and 15% of the popular vote. The Liberals more than doubled their seats by electing 17 MLA's on election night while dominating Edmonton, and making strong inroads in Calgary. The Alberta New Democrats (NDP) held on to their two seats and gained two more, all in Edmonton. The Conservatives swept rural Alberta except for one seat that went to the Alberta Alliance, which placed second in a number of rural ridings. The Alberta Greens gained in the popular vote, jumping from 0.3% in the 2001 election to 2.8%, and placed third in some places. Although placing second in the riding of Drayton Valley-Calmar ahead of the Liberals, it was unable to win any seats, however. Social Credit placed third in a number of ridings, and its leader tied for second in Rocky Mountain House. The Conservative, Liberal and NDP leaders all easily held onto their own seats.

Election night summary

Overall voter turnout was 45.12%.[1]

Party Party leader # of
candidates		 Seats Popular vote
2001 Dissolution Elected % Change # % % Change
  Progressive Conservative Ralph Klein 83 74 73 622 -15.1% 417,092 46.8% -15.1%
Liberal Kevin Taft 82 7 5 162 +220% 261,471 29.4% +2.1%
     NDP Brian Mason 83 2 2 4 +100% 90,897 10.2% +2.1%
Alberta Alliance Randy Thorsteinson 83 * 1 1 - 77,506 8.7% *
Green George Read 49 - - - - 24,588 2.8% +2.5%
     Social Credit Lavern Ahlstrom 42 - - - - 10,874 1.2% +0.7%
  Separation Bruce Hutton 12 * - - - 4,680 0.5% -0.37%1
  Alberta Party Bruce Stubbs 4 * - - - 2,485 0.3% *
     Independent 10 - - - - 1,009 0.1% -0.9%
Communist Naomi Rankin 2 - - - - 98 <0.1% ~0%
    Vacant * 2  
Total 450 83 83 83 - 890,700 100%  

Note:

* The Alberta Alliance and Alberta Party did not contest the 2001 election.
1 The Separation Party results are compared to the Alberta First Party.
2 A judicial recount changed the results in Edmonton Castle Downs, Liberal. Chris Kibermanis lost to Progressive Conservative Thomas Lukaszuk.

Results by region

Party name Cgy. Edm.1 Leth. R.D. North Central South Total
  Progressive Conservative Seats: 20 3 1 2 10 19 7 61
  Popular vote: 50.5% 31.5% 38.3% 44.1% 55.5% 52.7% 55.1% 46.8%
     Liberal Seats: 3 11 1     1   16
     Popular vote: 32.1% 40.3% 37.9% 32.5% 19.8% 21.9% 19.1% 29.4%
     New Democrats Seats:   4           4
     Popular vote: 4.9% 22.0% 8.1% 6.1% 8.6% 7.9% 4.4% 10.2%
  Alberta Alliance Seats:             1 1
  Popular vote: 6.5% 4.2% 10.2% 14.9% 13.8% 11.3% 13.1% 8.7%
Total seats: 23 18 2 2 10 20 8 83
Parties that won no seats:
Green Popular vote: 5.5% 1.0% 3.1% 1.2% 1.1% 2.5% 2.1% 2.8%
     Social Credit Popular vote: 0.3% 0.8% 2.6% - 1.1% 2.3% 2.4% 1.2%
  Separation Popular Vote: 0.2% - - 1.3% - 0.9% 2.6% 0.5%
  Alberta Party Popular vote: <0.1% - - - - 0.6% 1.3% 0.3%
Communist Popular vote: <0.1% <0.1% - - - - - <0.1%
     Independents Popular vote: 0.1% 0.2% - - 0.1% 0.1% - 0.1%

1 "Edmonton" corresponds to only the city of Edmonton. (Only the ridings whose names begin with "Edmonton".) The four suburban ridings around the city as listed below are grouped with Central Alberta in this table.

Results by riding

Results by riding

Party Seats Second Third Fourth
  Progressive Conservative 62 20 1 0
Liberal 16 54 12 0
     New Democratic Party 4 2 30 21
Alberta Alliance 1 9 33 33
Green 0 1 8 16
     Social Credit 0 1 0 3
  Alberta Party 0 0 1 2
  Separation 0 0 0 3

Names in bold indicate party leaders and cabinet ministers.

Northern Alberta

Electoral District Candidates Incumbent
PC Liberal NDP Alliance Green Other
           
Athabasca-Redwater Mike Cardinal
5,706		 Nicole Belland
3,258		 Peter Opryshko
1,407		 Sean Whelan
1,174		 Luke de Smet
252		 Leonard Fish
(Soc. Cred.) 179		 Mike Cardinal
Athabasca-Wabasca
merged district
Dave Broda†
Redwater
Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock Ken Kowalski
6,967		 Alan Fiebich
2,250		 Peggy Kirkeby
1,098		 Mike Radojcic
1,012		 Carl Haugen
(Soc. Cred.) 404		 Ken Kowalski
Barrhead-Westlock
Bonnyville-Cold Lake Denis Ducharme
3,621		 Lloyd Mildon
797		 Denise Ogonoski
312		 Shane Gervais
955		 Denis Ducharme
Dunvegan-Central Peace Hector Goudreau
3,670		 Don Thompson
689		 Leon R. Pendleton
446		 Dale Lueken
3,332		 Lanny Portsmouth
(Soc. Cred.) 118		 Hector Goudreau
Dunvegan
Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo Guy Boutilier
4,429		 Russell Collicott
1,800		 Dave Malka
460		 Eugene Eklund
224		 Reginald Normore
(Ind.) 94		 Guy Boutilier
Fort McMurray
Grande Prairie-Smoky Mel Knight
4,369		 Neil Peacock
1,965		 Georgina Szoke
724		 Hank Rahn
688		 Mel Knight
Grande Prairie-Wapiti Gordon Graydon
4,348		 Cibylla Rakestraw
1,677		 Jerry Macdonald
972		 John Hilton-O'Brien
547		 Allan Webber
348		 Gordon Graydon
Lac La Biche-St. Paul Ray Danyluk
4,898		 Dickson Broomfield
1,877		 Phil Goebel
648		 Oscar Lacombe
1,703		 Ray Danyluk
Lesser Slave Lake Pearl Calahasen
3,894		 Jonathan Pleckaitis
530		 Doris Bannister
354		 Valerie Rahn
977		 Ian Hopfe
254		 Pearl Calahasen
Peace River Frank Oberle
2,888		 Adam Bourque
1,101		 Stephen Crocker
558		 Gary Checknita
541		 Patsy Lindberg
(Soc. Cred.) 204		 Gary Friedel†

Western and Central Alberta

Electoral District Candidates Incumbent
PC Liberal NDP Alliance Green Other
           
Banff-Cochrane Janis Tarchuk
4,236		 Ian McDougall
1,649		 Melissa Cambridge
468		 Bob Argent
476		 Chris Foote
1,205		   Janis Tarchuk
Drayton Valley-Calmar Tony Abbott
5,231		 Laura Higgerty
890		 Lynn Oberle
641		 Viona Cunningham
764		 Edwin Erickson
927		 Thomas Cliff
(Soc. Cred.) 244 Elmer Knopp
(Ind.) 115		 Tony Abbott
Foothills-Rocky View Ted Morton
6,770		 Herb Coburn
1,954		 Roland Schmidt
232		 Jason Herasemluk
1,081		 Shelley Willson
1,186		 New district
Innisfail-Sylvan Lake Luke Ouellette
6,206		 Garth Davis
1,816		 Chris Janke
585		 Randy Thorsteinson
2,242		   Wilf Tricker
(Soc. Cred.) 349		 Luke Ouellette
Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills Richard Marz
7,277		 Tony Vonesch
1,336		 Christopher Davies
257		 Gordon Quantz
2,021		 Sarah Henckel-Sutmoller
469		 Brian Vasseur
(Sep. Pty.) 746
Myrna Kissick
(Soc. Cred.) 143		 Richard Marz
Red Deer-North Mary Anne Jablonski
3,736		 Norm McDougall
2,640		 Steven Bedford
430		 Rand Sisson
1,660		 Colin Fisher
244		   Mary Anne Jablonski
Red Deer-South Victor Doerksen
5,371		 Walter Kubanek
4,073		 Jeff Sloychuk
836		 Patti Argent
1,418		   Judy Milne
(Sep. Pty.) 261		 Victor Doerksen
Rocky Mountain House Ty Lund
5,773		 Susan M. Scott
1,267		 Anthony Jones
300		 Ed Wilhite
810		 Jennifer Isaac
337		 Lavern Ahlstrom
(Soc. Cred.) 1,267
Bruce Hutton
(Sep. Pty.) 505		 Ty Lund
Stony Plain Fred Lindsay
5,644		 Bill Fraser
3,402		 Ruth Yanor
1,375		 Marilyn Burns
1,878		   Henry Neumann
(Soc. Cred.) 245		 Stan Woloshyn†
West Yellowhead Ivan Strang
3,769		 Rob Jolly
1,682		 Barry Madsen
1,783		 Earl Cunningham
615		 Monika Schaefer
360		   Ivan Strang
Whitecourt-Ste. Anne George VanderBurg
5,071		 George Higgerty
1,219		 Leah Redmond
996		 David Dow
2,333		     George VanderBurg

East Central Alberta

Electoral District Candidates Incumbent
PC Liberal NDP Alliance Green Other
           
Battle River-Wainwright Doug Griffiths
6,409		 Gordon Rogers
1,069		 Len Legault
616		 Orest Werzak
1,440		   Robin Skitteral
(Soc. Cred.) 319		 Doug Griffiths
Wainwright
Drumheller-Stettler Shirley McClellan
6,770		   Richard Bough
890		 Dave France
1,413		   Eileen Walker
(Ab Pty.) 616
Dave Carnegie
(Sep. Pty.) 465
Mary-Lou Kloppenburg
(Soc. Cred.) 279		 Shirley McClellan
Drumheller-Chinook
Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville Ed Stelmach
6,160		 Peter Schneider
3,160		 Wes Buyarski
1,633		 Byron King
1,411		   Mark Patterson
(Soc. Cred.) 379		 Ed Stelmach
Vegreville-Viking
Lacombe-Ponoka Ray Prins
6,919		 Glen Simmonds
2,218		 Jim Graves
1,124		 Ed Klop
2,349		   Teena Cormack
(Soc. Cred.) 467		 Judy Gordon
Merged district
Halvar Jonson
Leduc-Beaumont-Devon George Rogers
6,809		 Joyce Assen
3,425		 Katie Oppen
904		 Dave Dalke
1,140		 Stephen Lindop
381		 Karen Richert
(Soc. Cred.) 249		 Albert Klapstein†
Leduc
Vermilion-Lloydminster Lloyd Snelgrove
5,464		 Patricia Thomas
706		 Ray Stone
553		 David Benoit
2,437		     Lloyd Snelgrove
Wetaskiwin-Camrose LeRoy Johnson
6,177		 Keith Elliott
2,713		 Clay Lawson
908		 Dale Trefz
1,193		   Janice Wolter
(Soc. Cred.) 309		 LeRoy Johnson

Central Edmonton

Electoral district Candidates   Incumbent
  PC   Liberal   NDP   Canadian Alliance   Green   Other
Edmonton Beverly Clareview Julius Yankowsky
3,059		 Sam Parmar
1,166		 Ray Martin
5,268		 Phil Gamache
457		 Benoit Couture
141		 Ken Shipka (Soc. Cred.)
283		 Julius Yankowsky
Edmonton Centre Don Weideman
2,622		 Laurie Blakeman
6,236		 Mary Elizabeth Archer
1,538		 Tony Caterina
264		 David J. Parker
336		 Linda Clements (Soc. Cred.)
111		 Laurie Blakeman
Edmonton-Glenora Drew Hutton
3,758		 Bruce Miller
4,610		 Larry Booi
4,059		 Blaine Currie
307		 Peter Johnston
272		 Walter Schachenhofer (Soc. Cred.)
112		 Drew Hutton
Edmonton Gold Bar Manjit Dhaliwal
2,574		 Hugh MacDonald
8,794		 Keith Turnbull
1,966		 Delmar Hunt
538		   Dave Dowling (Ind.)
167		 Hugh MacDonald
Edmonton Highlands-Norwood Terry Martiniuk
2,209		 Jason Manzevich
1,035		 Brian Mason
6,053		 Ray Loyer
315		   Dale W. Ferris (Ind.)
66		 Brian Mason
Edmonton Mill Creek Gene Zwozdesky
5,071		 Aman Gill
4,286		 Nathan Taylor
1,709		 Robert Alford
523		 Eric Steiglitz
386		 Cameron Johnson (Ind.)
72		 Gene Zwozdesky
Edmonton-Mill Woods Naresh Bhardwaj
2,989		 Weslyn Mather
5,014		 Lloyd Nelson
1,565		 Charles Relland
816		   Naomi Rankin (Communist)
42		 Don Massey
Edmonton Riverview Fred Horne
3,571		 Kevin Taft
10,279		 Donna Martyn
1,053		 David Edgar
315		 John Lackey
355		 Dave W. Power (Soc. Cred.)
111		 Kevin Taft
Edmonton Rutherford Ian McClelland
4,173		 Rick Miller
7,217		 George A. Slade
995		 R. J. (Bob) Ewart
516		   Anit Ashmore (Soc. Cred.)
210		 Ian McClelland
Edmonton-Strathcona Shannon Stubbs
2,256		 Steven Leard
1,850		 Raj Pannu
7,430		 Jeremy Burns
275		 Adrian Cole
287		 Kelly Graham (Soc. Cred.)
162		 Raj Pannu

Suburban Edmonton and Environs

Electoral district Candidates   Incumbent
  PC   Liberal   NDP   Canadian Alliance   Green   Other
Edmonton-Calder Brent Rathgeber
3,680		 Brad Smith
3,028		 David Eggen
4,055		 Vicki Kramer
526		     Brent Rathgeber
Edmonton Castle Downs
Election
Recount
 Thomas Lukaszuk
5,014		 Chris Kibermanis
5,019		 Peter Cross
1,317		 Colin Presizniuk
583		   Ross Korpi (Soc. Cred.)
78		 Thomas Lukaszuk
5,022 5,019 1,314 586 78
Edmonton Decore Walter Szwender
3,033		 Bill Bonko
4,418		 Shirley Barg 1,524 Gary Masyk
830		   Geoffrey Chevrier (Soc. Cred.)
94		 Bill Bonner
merged district
Gary Masyk
Edmonton Ellerslie Gurnam Dodd
3,245		 Bharat Agnihotri
3,444		 Marilyn Assheton-Smith
2,257		 Eleanor Maroes
985		   Amelia Maciejewski (Soc. Cred.)
238		 vacant
Edmonton-Manning Tony Vandermeer
3,646		 Dan Backs
3,873		 Laurie Lang
2,371		 Mike Pietramala
515		 Ross Adshead
240		 Sean Tisdall (Soc. Cred.)
130		 Tony Vandermeer
Edmonton McClung Mark Norris
5,331		 Mo Elsalhy
5,864		 Lorne Dach
1,362		 Reuben Bauer
401		   Patrick Conlin (Soc. Cred.)
104		 Mark Norris
Edmonton Meadowlark Bob Maskell
4,243		 Maurice Tougas
4,436		 Lance Burns
1,303		 Aaron Campbell
444		 Amanda Doyle
245		 Peggy Morton (Ind.)
77		 Bob Maskell
Edmonton-Whitemud David Hancock
7,493		 Donna L. Smith
6,567		 Brian Fleck
1,634		 Kathy Rayner
469		   John Andrews (Ind.)
76		 David Hancock
Sherwood Park Iris Evans
7,276		 Louise Rogers
5,587		 Tim Sloan
994		 Cora LaBonte
444		 Lynn Lau
362		 Gordon Barrett (Soc. Cred.)
474		 Iris Evans
Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert Doug Horner
6,140		 Ray Boudreau
5,559		 Dale Apostal
1,020		 Tim Friesen
740		   Glen Blaylock (Soc. Cred.)
170		 Doug Horner
St. Albert Mary O'Neill
6,064		 Jack Flaherty
6,474		 Travis Thompson
1,652		 Michaela Meldrum
591		 Conrad Bitangcol
407		   Mary O'Neill
Strathcona Rob Lougheed
6,838		 Jon Friel
4,115		 Tom Elchuk
1,177		 Ryan Seto
466		 Bruce Stubbs (Ab. Pty.)
775
Brian Rembowski (Soc. Cred.)
327
Roberta McDonald (Separation)
297		 Recreated District

Southern Alberta

Electoral district Candidates   Incumbent
  PC   Liberal   NDP   Canadian Alliance   Green   Other
Airdrie-Chestermere Carol Haley
6,842		 John Burke
1,633		 Grant Massie
569		 Bradley Gaida
758		 Angela Scully
434		 Jeff Willerton (Alberta Pty.)
1,036
Bob Lefurgey (Separation)
394
Jerry Gautreau (Soc. Cred.)
178		 Carol Haley
Cardston-Taber-Warner Broyce Jacobs
3,753		 Paula Shimp
783		 Luann Bannister
185		 Paul Hinman
3,884		 Lindsay Ferguson
225		   Broyce Jacobs
Cypress-Medicine Hat Leonard Mitzel
4,623		 Stuart Angle
2,234		 Cliff Anten
345		 Dan H. Pierson
651		   Eric Solberg (Soc. Cred.)
561		 Lorne Taylor
Highwood George Groeneveld
6,782		 Lori Czerwinski
1,843		 Catherine Whelan Costen
432		 Brian Wickhorst
733		 Sheelagh Matthews
547		 Cory Morgan (Separation)
299		 Don Tannas
Lethbridge-East Rod Fong
4,703		 Bridget Pastoor
5,340		 Gaye Metz
607		 Brian Stewart
1,472		 Erin Matthews
360		 Darren Popik (Soc. Cred.)
251		 vacant
Lethbridge-West Clint Dunford
4,416		 Bal Boora
3,675		 Mark Sandilands
1,316		 Merle Terlesky
949		 Andrea Sheridan
368		 Scott Sawatsky (Soc. Cred.)
357		 Clint Dunford
Little Bow Barry McFarland
4,894		 Arij Langstraat
1,965		 Hugh Logie
327		 Jay Phin
859		   Brian Cook (Soc. Cred.)
556
Grant Shaw (Separation)
432		 Barry McFarland
Livingstone-Macleod David Coutts
5,095		 Craig Whitehead
2,030		 Joyce Thomas
626		 George Lyster
1,493		 Chris Watts
468		 Jim Walker (Separation)
339		 David Coutts
Medicine Hat Rob Renner
5,392		 Karen Charlton
3,482		 Diana Arnott
560		 Scott Cowan
1,073		   Jonathan Lorentzen (Soc. Cred.)
246		 Rob Renner
Strathmore-Brooks Lyle Oberg
6,051		 Carol Jacques
1,055		 Don MacFarlane
405		 Mark D. Ogden
852		   Jay Kolody (Separation)
559
Rudy Martens (Soc. Cred.)
313		 Lyle Oberg

Suburban Calgary

Electoral district Candidates   Incumbent
  PC   Liberal   NDP   Canadian Alliance   Green   Other
Calgary-Bow Alana DeLong
6,097		 Kelly McDonnell
3,509		 Jennifer Banks
1,135		 James Istvanffy
1,015		 Marie Picken
713		 Margaret Askin (Independent)
98
Doug Picken (Soc. Cred.)
97		 Alana DeLong
Calgary-Cross Yvonne Fritz
3,763		 Raleigh DeHaney
1,452		 Jeanie Keebler
391		 Gordon Huth
648		 Ryan Richardson
271		   Yvonne Fritz
Calgary-Foothills Len Webber
5,820		 Stephen Jenuth
3,559		 Malcolm Forster
407		 Vincent S. Jansen-Van Doorn
472		     Pat Nelson
Calgary-Fort Wayne Cao
4,136		 Gerry Hart
1,784		 Elizabeth Thomas
583		 Travis Chase
589		 Tyler Charkie
440		 Leo Ollenberger (Separation)
212		 Wayne Cao
Calgary-Hays Arthur Johnston
5,529		 Sharon Howe
1,952		 Rachel Weinfeld
298		 Robert Wawrzynowski
534		 Bernie Amell
378		   new district
Calgary-Lougheed David Rodney
6,334		 Allan Pollock
2,971		 Matthew Koczkur
365		 Tariq Khan
445		 Ryan Boucher
471		   Marlene Graham
Calgary-Mackay Gary Mar
5,640		 Darryl Hawkins
2,615		 Giorgio Cattabeni
395		 Shawn Hubbard
640		 David McTavish
443		 Paul Martin (Independent)
193		 Gary Mar
Calgary-McCall Shiraz Shariff
3,203		 Darshan Kang
2,958		 Gurpreet (Preet) Sihota
264		 Ina Givens
573		 Sean Robert Brocklesby
359		   Shiraz Shariff
Calgary-Montrose Hung Pham
3,318		 Arthur Danielson
1,651		 Jason Nishiyama
434		 Cyril Collingwood
674		 Kevin Colton
355		   Hung Pham
Calgary-North West Greg Melchin
7,768		 Judy Stewart
4,488		 Bob Brunet
518		 Jenell Friesen
622		 Jeffrey Krekoski
636		   Greg Melchin
Calgary-Shaw Cindy Ady
6,732		 John Roggeveen
2,373		 Jarrett Young
300		 Barry Chase
620		 Rick Papineau
380		 Daniel Doherty (Separation)
171		 Cindy Ady
Calgary-West Ron Liepert
6,964		 Derek Smith
4,286		 Chantelle Dubois
434		 John Keyes
988		 James Kohut
732		   Karen Kryczka

Central Calgary

Electoral district Candidates   Incumbent
  PC   Liberal   NDP   Canadian Alliance   Green   Other
Calgary-Buffalo Harvey Cenaiko
3,370		 Terry Taylor
2,777		 Cliff Hesby
455		 Nadine Hunka
290		 Grant Neufeld
656		 Elizabeth Kaur Fielding (Soc. Cred.)
71
Carl Schwartz (Alberta Pty.)
58		 Harvey Cenaiko
Calgary-Currie Jon Lord
4,413		 Dave Taylor
4,984		 Robert Scobel
468		 Ken Mazeroll
348		 Kim Warnke
810		   Jon Lord
Calgary-East Moe Amery
4,492		 Bill Harvey
2,359		 Paul Vargis
461		 Brad Berard
605		 Rick Michalenko
367		 Bonnie-Jean Collins (Communist)
56		 Moe Amery
Calgary-Egmont Denis Herard
5,691		 Michael Queenan
2,371		 Christopher Dovey
599		 David Crutcher
1,657		 George Read
914		   Denis Herard
Calgary-Elbow Ralph Klein
6,968		 Stephen Brown
4,934		 Becky Kelley
343		 Diana-Lynn Brooks
485		 Allison Roth
666		 Trevor Grover (Soc. Cred.)
68
Lloyd Blimke (Ind.)
51		 Ralph Klein
Calgary-Fish Creek Heather Forsyth
6,829		 Tore Badenduck
2,801		 Eric Leavitt
794		 Mike Kuipers
780		 Chris Sealy
561		   Heather Forsyth
Calgary-Glenmore Ron Stevens
6,257		 Avalon Roberts
4,360		 Holly Heffernan
550		 Ernest McCutcheon
572		 Evan Sklarski
531		 Larry R. Heather (Soc. Cred.)
135		 Ron Stevens
Calgary-Mountain View Mark Hlady
4,058		 David Swann
7,155		 John Donovan
711		 Ryan Cassell
589		 Mark MacGillivray
912		   Mark Hlady
Calgary-North Hill Richard Magnus
4,384		 Pat Murray
3,223		 Aileen L. Machell
630		 Brent Best
627		 Susan Stratton
1,264		   Richard Magnus
Calgary-Nose Hill Neil Brown
4,369		 Len Borowski
2,605		 Dirk Huysman
552		 Bill McGregor
1,073		 John Johnson
584		 Raymond Hurst (Soc. Cred.)
163		 new district
Calgary-Varsity Michael W. Smyth
5,585		 Harry B. Chase
6,303		 Mark Gabruch
625		 Ron Beninger
763		 Richard Larson
753		 Len Skowronski (Soc. Cred.)
118		 Murray Smith

Electoral re-distribution

Alberta's electoral laws fix the number of legislature seats at 83. As a result of the Alberta Electoral Boundary Re-distribution, 2004, Calgary gained two seats. Edmonton lost one seat, and one "special consideration" division was eliminated. Dunvegan-Central Peace is the sole remaining "special" division - due to its isolation, it is allowed to have a population below 75% of the provincial average. Lesser Slave Lake is now considered to be a standard rural division as its boundaries were re-drawn so that its population is slightly above 75% of the provincial average. One urbanized division outside Calgary and Edmonton was added, and two rural seats were eliminated.

Political parties

For this election, there were 11 political parties registered with Elections Alberta. See also: List of Alberta political parties.

Parties that elected MLAs in the previous election

The parties are listed in descending order of number of MLAs elected in 2001.

Progressive Conservative Party

Leader: Ralph Klein

In the 2001 election, the Progressive Conservatives recorded a result that was comparable to those achieved in their years of dominance under Peter Lougheed. The Tories received 627,252 out of 1,013,152 votes cast and won 74 seats, gaining 11 seats over and above their 1997 result at the expense of the Liberals. This result was achieved due to a resurgence of the party in Edmonton, where the Tories won a majority of seats for the first time since 1982. Premier Ralph Klein easily retained his Calgary-Elbow seat.

On April 8, 2002, Doug Griffiths retained the Tories' seat in Wainwright in the only by-election held since the 2001 election, albeit with a substantially reduced plurality. The Tories lost only one seat since the 2001 election, after Edmonton-Norwood MLA Gary Masyk crossed the floor to join the Alberta Alliance. As expected, the Tories nominated a full slate of candidates for the 2004 election.

External link

Liberal Party

Leader: Kevin Taft

The 2001 election was generally regarded to be as a disaster for the Liberals. Although the Liberals retained Official Opposition status and received 276,854 votes, the party lost 11 seats to the Tories and won only seven seats, six of them in Edmonton. Leader Nancy Macbeth even lost her own seat in Edmonton-McClung - she resigned days after the election and was replaced by Ken Nicol, the Opposition's sole representative outside the capital.

Nicol eventually resigned as MLA for Lethbridge East and as Leader of the Opposition to run (unsuccessfully) for the Liberals in the federal election, as did Edmonton-Ellerslie MLA Debby Carlson. These seats remained vacant through dissolution. The Liberals were led in the 2004 election by Edmonton-Riverview MLA Kevin Taft, who was elected to the position in March 2004. The Liberals had 82 candidates in the 2004 election - they were absent from the ballot in Drumheller-Stettler after failing to file papers for their expected candidate, Don McMann before the deadline.

External link

New Democratic Party

Leader: Brian Mason

In 2001, the New Democrats were unable to claim Official Opposition status from the floundering Liberals, but Leader Raj Pannu managed to hold the party's two existing seats—Pannu's own in Edmonton—Strathcona and Brian Mason's seat in Edmonton Highlands (later merged into Edmonton Highlands-Norwood). The “NDs”, as they were then known, received 81,339 votes. Pannu resigned the leadership in July 2004, with Mason filling the role of interim leader before being elected to that position in September 2004. The party has also ceased abbreviating its name as "ND in favour of the more traditional “NDP” abbreviation. The NDP nominated a full slate of candidates for the 2004 election.

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Other registered parties

The parties are listed in descending order of number of candidates nominated in 2004.

Alberta Alliance

Leader: Randy Thorsteinson

The Alberta Alliance was registered in October 2002 and held its founding convention in February 2003. Its leader, Randy Thorsteinson had led Social Credit through a modest rebirth before quitting that party in April 1999. The party's sole MLA, Gary Masyk (Edmonton-Norwood) crossed the floor from the governing Progressive Conservatives on June 29, 2004. The Alliance nominated a full slate of candidates for the 2004 election, the only other party besides the Tories and the NDP to do so.

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Greens

Leader: George Read

Also known as the "Green Party of Alberta", the Alberta Greens ran 10 candidates in the 2001 election, who combined for 2,850 votes. In the 2004 election, the Greens nominated 49 candidates - more than 4 times the highest number of candidates they had previously run in an election.

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Social Credit Party

Leader: Lavern Ahlstrom

Prior to the 2001 election, the Social Credit Party was in turmoil following the departure of party leader Randy Thorsteinson. Under Lavern Ahlstrom, the party nominated 12 candidates in the 2001 election (down from 70 in 1997), and received 5,361 votes (down from 64,667). The party had 42 candidates for the 2004 election.

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Separation Party

Interim Leader: Bruce Hutton

The Separation Party of Alberta was founded in June 2004 taking over the rights of the Alberta First Party. Bruce Hutton became interim leader. As a separatist party, it is the separatist successor to the Alberta Independence Party, which ran some independent candidates in the 2001 election, but never achieved official party status. The separatist cause was first taken up by the Western Canada Concept in the early 1980s when Gordon Kesler won a by-election. The Separation Party had 12 candidates in the 2004 election. See Alberta separatism.

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Alberta Party

Leader: Bruce Stubbs

The Alberta Party did not nominate any candidates in 2001, but nominated four candidates for the 2004 election.

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Communist Party

Leader: Naomi Rankin

The Communist Party nominated two candidates in the 2001 election, who combined for 117 votes. They ran two candidates in the 2004 election.

The Equity Party

Leader: Emil van der Poorten

The The Equity Party ran no candidates in this election, The party was de-registered after the Alberta government amended the Elections Act to force a party to run at least one candidate, the party failed to field a candidate and was de-registered.

Reform Party

Leader: David Salmon

The Alberta Party, Equity Party and the Reform Party did not run any candidates in the 2001 election. The Equity Party and Reform Party were also absent from the ballot in 2004. The party was de-registered after the Alberta government amended the Elections Act to force a party to run at least one candidate, the party failed to field a candidate and was de-registered.

De-registered parties

The Natural Law Party of Alberta was de-registered by Elections Alberta in 2001, after they stopped filing financial statements. In 2001 The Natural Law Party did not nominate any candidates.

Independent candidates

29 independent candidates ran in the 2001 election. These candidates won a total of 10,528 votes. 10 independents ran in 2004.

Standings in the 25th Legislature

Standings after the 25th general election

Political party Calgary Edmonton Urbanized Rural Special Total
Progressive Conservative 21 11 20 20 2 74
Liberal 0 6 1 0 0 7
New Democrat 0 2 0 0 0 2
Totals 21 19 21 20 2 83

Standings at dissolution

Political party Calgary Edmonton Urbanized Rural Special Total
Progressive Conservative 21 10 20 20 2 73
Liberal 0 5 0 0 0 5
New Democrat 0 2 0 0 0 2
Alberta Alliance 0 1 0 0 0 1
Vacant 0 1 1 0 0 2
Totals 21 19 21 20 2 83

Timeline

March 27, 2004 - Kevin Taft becomes leader of the Alberta Liberals.

June 29, 2004 - Gary Masyk crosses the floor from the Progressive Conservatives to the Alberta Alliance.

July 13, 2004 - Raj Pannu resigns as leader of the Alberta New Democrats. Brian Mason is appointed interim leader.

September 9, 2004 - Alberta Alliance kicked off five-city "I Blame Ralph" tour in Edmonton.
Ralph Klein announces Senate Election

September 18, 2004 - Brian Mason formally becomes leader of the Alberta New Democrats.

October 25, 2004 - At the request of Premier Ralph Klein, Lieutenant-Governor Lois Hole dissolves the legislature and sets the election day for November 22.

October 28, 2004 - Premier Klein is harshly criticized by opposition parties and activist groups after he claims that protestors on Alberta's Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) who had heckled him did not look severely disabled.

October 31, 2004 - Premier Klein's mother, Florence Gray dies at the age of 80 following a year-long illness. All major parties announce they will suspend their provincial campaigns while the premier mourns.

November 4, 2004 - Global Television re-iterates that they will not invite Alberta Alliance leader Randy Thorsteinson to their leaders debate, because his party did not elect any members in the previous election and their sole MLA crossed the floor. The decision sparks anger amongst Alliance members and even disappoints the other three leaders.

November 8, 2004 - Close of nomination's and the Global television leaders debate involving Klein, Taft and Mason.

November 13, 2004 - NDP leader Mason releases a brochure entitled Health Care for Dummies in an effort to mock the premier's reluctance to discuss health care in detail during the campaign.

November 18, 2004 - Advance polling stations open.

November 19, 2004, - Advance polling stations open, and Students across the province vote in Alberta Student Vote, 2004.

November 20, 2004 - Advance polling stations open.

November 22, 2004 - Voting day for the 26th Alberta general election.

December 9, 2004 - The Court of Queen's Bench rules that Chris Kibermanis (Lib.) won the election in Edmonton Castle Downs by three votes, upholding the result of the initial, election-night result. The PC candidate, Thomas Lukaszuk, appealed to the Court of Appeal of Alberta.

January 24, 2005 - The Alberta Court of Appeal rules that Lukaszuk won the election in Edmonton Castle Downs by three votes, overturning the result of the first vote-count, which had given the seat to Kibermanis of the Liberals. Kibermanis accepted defeat and did not appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Poll numbers

References

  1. ↑ Election Alberta (July 28, 2008). 2008 General Report (PDF). p. 158. Retrieved April 29, 2011.

External links

Media coverage

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