1997 Alberta general election

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1997 Alberta general election

← 1993 March 11, 1997 (1997-03-11) 2001 →

83 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
42 seats needed for a majority
Turnout53.75%
  Majority party Minority party
 
LIB
Leader Ralph Klein Grant Mitchell
Party Progressive Conservative Liberal
Leader since December 14, 1992 November 13, 1994
Leader's seat Calgary-Elbow Edmonton-McClung
Last election 51 seats, 44.49% 32 seats, 39.73%
Seats before 52 31
Seats won 63 18
Seat change Increase11 Decrease13
Popular vote 483,914 309,748
Percentage 51.17% 32.75%
Swing Increase6.7% Decrease6.98%

  Third party Fourth party
 
NDP
SC
Leader Pam Barrett Randy Thorsteinson
Party New Democratic Social Credit
Leader since 1996 1993
Leader's seat Edmonton-Highlands ran in Red Deer-South (lost)
Last election 0 seats, 11.01% 0 seats, 2.41%
Seats before 0 0
Seats won 2 0
Seat change Increase2 Steady0
Popular vote 83,292 64,667
Percentage 8.81% 6.84%
Swing Decrease2.2% Increase4.43%

Premier before election

Ralph Klein
Progressive Conservative

Premier after election

Ralph Klein
Progressive Conservative

The 1997 Alberta general election was held on March 11, 1997, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

Ralph Klein's Conservatives were re-elected, with increased number of seats in the Legislature. Liberal Official Opposition lost some seats dropping from 32 to 18, but retaining the status of Official Opposition. NDP gained two, to have a grand total of two seats.

Background[edit]

The Progressive Conservative Association had governed Alberta since 1971, and premier Ralph Klein led the party into his second general election as party leader. The previous election in 1993 was the best result for the Liberal Party since its last electoral victory in 1917.

This was the second consecutive election fought on a new set of electoral boundaries, due to an Alberta Court of Appeal decision that was critical of the map created in 1992. The government amended the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act, introducing the present system where the commission is made up of a justice from the Court, two members appointed by the governing party, and two members appointed by the official opposition. A new Commission was created, which issued its recommendations for a new set of electoral boundaries in 1996.[1]

Opinion polls[edit]

Evolution of voting intentions at provincial level
Polling firm Last day
of survey
Source PCA ALP ANDP Other ME Sample
Election 1995 March 11, 1997 51.17 32.75 8.81 7.27
Angus Reid January 25, 1997 [2] 63 24 11 3 3.5 801
Angus Reid August 28, 1995 [3] 64 25 6 5 3.5 811
Election 1993 June 15, 1993 44.49 39.73 11.01 4.77

Results[edit]

Ralph Klein's second election as leader of the PCs was considerably more successful than his first. The party won over half the popular vote, and 63 of the 83 seats in the legislature for its eighth consecutive term in government. The party continued to dominate in Calgary and rural areas, and managed to regain a foothold in Edmonton where it won two seats.

The Liberal Party of Grant Mitchell lost about 7% of the popular vote it had won in the 1993 election. The party's legislative caucus was reduced from 32 members to 18.

Pam Barrett led the New Democratic Party back into the legislature with two seats (both in Edmonton), despite winning an even smaller share of the popular vote than in 1993.

The Social Credit Party also re-emerged, placing a strong second in several rural ridings, but did not win any seats.

Overall voter turnout was 53.75%.[4]

Party Party leader # of
candidates
Seats Popular vote
1993 Elected % Change # % % Change
Progressive Conservative Ralph Klein 83 51 63 +23.5% 483,914 51.17% +6.68%
Liberal Grant Mitchell 83 32 18 -43.8% 309,748 32.75% -6.98%
New Democratic Pam Barrett 77 - 2   83,292 8.81% -2.20%
Social Credit Randy Thorsteinson 70 - - - 64,667 6.84% +4.43%
Natural Law Maury Shapka 16 - - - 1,303 0.14% -0.37%
Green David Parker 7 - - - 1,039 0.11% -0.09%
  Independent 6 - - - 1,092 0.11% -0.82%
Forum William Finn 4 * - * 597 0.06% *
Communist Naomi Rankin 1 - - - 61 0.01% x
Total 347 83 83 - 945,713 100%  
Source: Elections Alberta

Notes:

* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

x – less than 0.005% of the popular vote

Popular vote
PC
51.17%
Liberal
32.75%
New Democratic
8.81%
Social Credit
6.84%
Others
0.43%
Seats summary
PC
75.90%
Liberal
21.69%
New Democratic
2.41%

Results by riding[edit]

Electoral district Candidates Incumbent
PC Liberal NDP Social Credit Other
Airdrie-Rocky View Carol Louise Haley
8,492
68.93%
James Welsh
2,197
17.83%
Doris Bannister
482
3.91%
Peter Smits
1,125
9.13%
Athabasca-Wabasca Mike Cardinal
3,380
58.65%
Tony Mercredi
1,481
25.70%
Dean Patriquin
300
5.21%
Curtis Gunderson
468
8.12%
Harlan Light (Green)
100
1.74%
Mike Cardinal
Banff-Cochrane Janis Tarchuk
7,180
60.96%
Judy Stewart
3,151
26.75%
Jeff Eamon
754
6.40%
Scott Mudford
661
5.61%
Brian Evans
Barrhead-Westlock Kenneth R. Kowalski
6,195
60.49%
Dale Greig
2,130
20.80%
Joe Woytowich
643
6.28%
J. Harvey Yuill
1,244
12.15%
Kenneth R. Kowalski
Bonnyville-Cold Lake Denis Ducharme
4,593
58.32%
Leo Vasseur
2,323
29.50%
Robert Kratchmer
948
12.04%
Calgary-Bow Bonnie Laing
6,664
54.07%
Mark Dickerson
4,091
33.19%
Brent Johner
1,144
9.28%
Ronnie Shapka (Nat. Law)
158
1.28%
David Crowe (Green)
187
1.52%
Bonnie Laing
Calgary-Buffalo Terri-Lynn Bradford
4,115
43.52%
Gary Dickson
4,310
45.58%
Neil McKinnon
547
5.79%
Raymond Neilson
300
3.17%
Ralph Holt (Nat. Law)
115
1.22%
Gary Dickson
Calgary-Cross Yvonne Fritz
5,964
66.88%
Keith Jones
2,456
27.54%
Maurizio Terrigno
467
5.24%
Yvonne Fritz
Calgary-Currie Jocelyn Burgener
5,952
53.83%
Mairi Matheson
3,636
32.88%
Liz Blackwood
712
6.44%
Jeff Townsend
610
5.52%
Richard Shelford (Nat. Law)
109
0.99%
Jocelyn Burgener
Calgary-East Moe Amery
4,857
59.78%
Kelly McDonnell
1,990
24.49%
Marg Elliot
609
7.50%
Raymond (Chick) Hurst
613
7.54%
Moe Amery
Calgary-Egmont Denis Herard
8,842
64.48%
Pam York
3,336
24.33%
Larry Kowalchuk
654
4.77%
Douglas Cooper
836
6.10%
Denis Herard
Calgary-Elbow Ralph Klein
8,237
57.78%
Harold Swanson
5,195
36.44%
Shawn Christie
307
2.15%
Lera G. Shirley
421
2.95%
Frank Haika (Nat. Law)
75
0.53%
Ralph Klein
Calgary-Fish Creek Heather Forsyth
8,274
66.47%
Marie Cameron
3,020
24.26%
Muriel Turner-Wilkinson
348
2.80%
Jeff Willerton
778
6.25%
Heather Forsyth
Calgary-Foothills Patricia Black
8,849
60.35%
Albert W. Ludwig
4,339
29.59%
Brenda Wadey
720
4.91%
Kevin Davidson
735
5.01%
Patricia Black
Calgary-Fort Wayne Cao
4,410
48.53%
Shirley-Anne Reuben
2,817
31.00%
Ken Sahil
891
9.81%
Bren Blanchet
916
10.08%
Calgary-Glenmore Ron Stevens
8,247
58.02%
Wayne Stewart
4,919
34.61%
Grace Johner
435
3.06%
Vernon Cook
583
4.10%
Dianne Mirosh
Calgary-Lougheed Marlene Graham
7,761
65.89%
Darryl G. Hawkins
2,906
24.67%
Mara Vogel
533
4.53%
Hub Blanchet
560
4.75%
Jim Dinning
Calgary-McCall Shiraz Shariff
5,118
58.67%
Amar Singh
2,701
30.96%
Rory M. Cory
876
10.04%
Harry Sohal
Calgary-Montrose Hung Pham
4,556
58.56%
Diane Danielson
2,576
33.11%
Christopher Dick
536
6.89%
Neeraj Varma (Nat. Law)
94
1.21%
Hung Pham
Calgary-Mountain View Mark Hlady
5,468
48.36%
Patricia Ennis
3,269
28.91%
Gordon M. Christie
2,085
18.44%
Jason Nicholas
450
3.98%
Mark Hlady
Calgary-North Hill Richard Charles Magnus
6,379
58.36%
John Schmale
3,297
30.16%
Jason Ness
1,183
10.82%
Richard Charles Magnus
Calgary-North West Greg Melchin
9,190
53.19%
Frank Bruseker
7,226
41.82%
Jeff Pattinson
342
1.98%
Douglas A. Picken
503
2.91%
Frank Bruseker
Calgary-Nose Creek Gary Mar
7,815
64.33%
Peter Willott
2,894
23.82%
Doral Johnson
696
5.73%
Greg Greene
715
5.89%
Gary Mar
Calgary-Shaw Jonathan Niles Havelock
12,304
75.21%
Sharon L. Howe
2,860
17.48%
Shawn Keown
485
2.96%
Michael Roth
624
3.81%
Almas Walden (Nat. Law)
69
0.42%
Jonathan Niles Havelock
Calgary-Varsity Murray D. Smith
7,232
51.34%
Carrol Jaques
5,414
38.43%
Dirk Huysman
640
4.54%
Mike Bressers
646
4.59%
Joel Ashworth (Green)
132
0.94%
Murray D. Smith
Calgary-West Karen Kryczka
8,478
56.18%
Paul Adams
4,995
33.10%
Rudy Rogers
534
3.54%
Craig Chandler
1,070
7.09%
Danny Dalla-Longa
Cardston-Taber-Warner Ron Hierath
5,157
59.06%
James Jackson
1,471
16.85%
Suzanne Sirias
518
5.93%
Ken Rose
1,568
17.96%
Clover Bar-Fort Saskatchewan Rob Lougheed
6,864
47.61%
Muriel Abdurahman
6,364
44.14%
Michael Berezowsky
922
6.39%
Max Cornelssen (Ind.)
235
1.63%
Muriel Abdurahman
Cypress-Medicine Hat Lorne Taylor
5,754
63.18%
Beverley Britton Clarke
2,217
24.34%
Don Crisall
383
4.21%
Maurice Perron
728
7.99%
Lorne Taylor
Drayton Valley-Calmar Tom Thurber
6,492
60.41%
Moe Hamdon
2,912
27.10%
Tom Fuller
823
7.66%
Roy Andresen (Ind.)
488
4.55%
Tom Thurber
Drumheller-Chinook Shirley McClellan
6,063
63.28%
Einar B. Davison
1,432
14.95%
Dale Trefz
2,056
21.46%
Dunvegan Glen Clegg
5,149
54.56%
Fred Trotter
3,314
35.11%
Margaret McCuaig-Boyd
961
10.18%
Glen Clegg
Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview Julius E. Yankowsky
3,484
34.93%
Johanne Tardif
3,127
31.35%
Bill Stephenson
2,842
28.49%
Doug Smith
376
3.77%
Andy Chichak (Ind.)
100
1.00%
William Finn (Forum)
29
0.29%
Edmonton-Calder Lynn Faulder
3,860
32.32%
Lance D. White
4,802
40.21%
Alex McEachern
3,250
27.21%
Edmonton-Castle Downs Ihor Broda
4,373
40.43%
Pamela Paul
4,456
41.20%
Peter Johnsen
1,494
13.81%
David H. Friesen
460
4.25%
Edmonton-Centre Don Weiderman
3,634
33.36%
Laurie Blakeman
4,769
43.78%
Jenn Smith
1,845
16.94%
Alan Cruikshank
420
3.86%
Emil van der Poorten (Forum)
98
0.90%
Richard Johnsen (Nat. Law)
83
0.76%
Michael Henry
Edmonton-Ellerslie Jasbeer Singh
2,641
25.96%
Debby Carlson
5,752
56.54%
Henry Johns
913
8.97%
Ken Way
840
8.26%
Debby Carlson
Edmonton-Glengarry Don Clarke
3,474
34.38%
Bill Bonner
4,765
47.15%
William Kobluk
1,366
13.52%
Barbie-Jo Williams
335
3.32%
David Sharkey (Nat. Law)
76
0.75%
Carl Williams (Ind.)
46
0.46%
Laurence Decore
Edmonton-Glenora Kim MacKenzie
4,368
36.18%
Howard Sapers
5,785
47.92%
Arlene Young
1,198
9.92%
Jon Dykstra
630
5.22%
Sam Thomas (Nat. Law)
69
0.57%
Howard Sapers
Edmonton-Gold Bar Susan Green
5,819
37.52%
Hugh MacDonald
7,528
48.55%
Walter Heneghan
1,970
12.70%
David J. Parker (Green)
92
0.59%
Maury Shapka (Nat. Law)
75
0.48%
Bettie Hewes
Edmonton-Highlands Jim Campbell
2,793
24.96%
Chris Smith
2,284
20.41%
Pam Barrett
5,638
50.38%
Tim Friesen
419
3.74%
Edmonton-Manning Tony Vandermeer
4,358
35.44%
Ed Gibbons
5,140
41.80%
Hana Razga
2,229
18.13%
R. Jordan Harris
524
4.26%
Peter Sekulic
Edmonton-McClung Michael Mooney
5,259
40.71%
Grant Mitchell
6,322
48.94%
Richard Vanderberg
713
5.52%
Patrick D. Ellis
542
4.20%
Wade McKinley (Nat. Law)
61
0.47%
Grant Mitchell
Edmonton-Meadowlark Laurie Pushor
4,672
38.72%
Karen Leibovici
6,047
50.11%
Terry McNally
831
6.89%
Aaron Hinman
435
3.60%
Geoff Toane (Nat. Law)
55
0.46%
Karen Leibovici
Edmonton-Mill Creek Sukhi Randhawa
3,679
28.23%
Gene Zwozdesky
6,757
51.84%
Stephen Crocker
1,804
13.84%
Christie Forget
776
5.95%
Edmonton-Mill Woods Ziad N. Jaber
2,993
29.97%
Don Massey
5,113
51.19%
Ricardo Acuna
1,266
12.68%
John Filp
546
5.47%
Raymond Boyko (Green)
52
0.52%
Don Massey
Edmonton-Norwood Andrew Beniuk
2,583
27.98%
Sue Olsen
3,357
36.36%
Sherry McKibben
2,767
29.97%
Ray Loyer
485
5.25%
Andrew Beniuk
Edmonton-Riverview Gwen Harris
5,122
35.43%
Linda Sloan
6,066
41.96%
Donna Fong
2,261
15.64%
David Prenoslo
805
5.57%
William Chapman (Nat. Law)
87
0.60%
Naomi Rankin (Comm.)
61
0.42%
Edmonton-Rutherford Brenda Platzer
5,078
38.91%
Percy Wickman
6,007
46.03%
Will Hodgson
1,156
8.86%
David Lincoln
674
5.16%
Ian Zaharko (Ind.)
19
0.15%
Percy Wickman
Edmonton-Strathcona John Logan
4,096
30.44%
Mary MacDonald
4,214
31.31%
Raj Pannu
4,272
31.74%
John Forget
552
4.10%
Eshwar Jagdeo (Nat. Law)
47
0.35%
Myles Kitagawa (Green)
236
1.75%
Al Zariwny
Edmonton-Whitemud David Hancock
7,973
50.79%
Corky Meyer
5,953
37.92%
Charan Khehra
1,012
6.45%
Kevin Bialobzyski
635
4.04%
Randy T. Fritz (Nat. Law)
59
0.38%
Mike Percy
Fort McMurray Guy C. Boutilier
5,420
55.64%
John S. Vyboh
4,008
41.14%
Rodney McCallum
280
2.87%
Adam Germain
Grande Prairie-Smoky Walter Paszkowski
5,753
64.49%
John A. Croken
1,995
22.36%
Linda Smith
1,143
12.81%
Walter Paszkowski
Grande Prairie-Wapiti Wayne Jacques
5,592
63.08%
Ray Stitsen
2,003
22.59%
Campbell Ross
1,247
14.07%
Wayne Jacques
Highwood Don Tannas
9,551
69.76%
Howard Paulsen
1,944
14.20%
Hugh Logie
592
4.32%
John Bergen
1,566
11.44%
Don Tannas
Innisfail-Sylvan Lake Gary Severtson
7,012
59.53%
Raymond C. Reckseidler
2,206
18.73%
Linda Neilson
583
4.95%
Carl Thorsteinson
1,960
16.64%
Gary Severtson
Lac La Biche-St. Paul Paul Langevin
4,799
53.71%
Vital Ouellette
2,901
32.47%
Grace Johnston
419
4.69%
Peter Tychkowsky
483
5.41%
Don Ronaghan (Forum)
191
2.14%
Louis Real Theriault (Ind.)
114
1.28%
Paul Langevin
Lacombe-Stettler Judy Gordon
6,414
61.62%
Garfield Marks
1,181
11.35%
Lynne Gendron
1,068
10.26%
Bob Argent
1,725
16.57%
Judy Gordon
Leduc Albert Klapstein
6,857
51.42%
Terry Kirkland
4,797
35.97%
Bill Schlacht
767
5.75%
Henry Neumann
891
6.68%
Terry Kirkland
Lesser Slave Lake Pearl M. Calahasen
3,389
60.33%
Ralph Chalifoux
1,139
20.28%
Glenn Laboucan
442
7.87%
Robert J. Alford
624
11.11%
Pearl M. Calahasen
Lethbridge-East Leah Waters
3,813
29.46%
Ken Nicol
7,578
58.54%
Inga Jesswein
674
5.21%
Jonathan Williams
853
6.59%
Ken Nicol
Lethbridge-West Clint Dunford
5,679
45.23%
Leslie Vaala
4,765
37.95%
Tom Hovan
806
6.42%
Brian Stewart
1,043
8.31%
Don Ferguson (Green)
240
1.91%
Clint Dunford
Little Bow Barry McFarland
6,726
69.17%
Alida Hess
2,075
21.34%
Marko Hilgersom
868
8.93%
Barry McFarland
Livingstone-Macleod David Coutts
5,337
50.84%
Ernie Patterson
3,924
37.38%
Gwen De Maere
508
4.84%
Bob Bysouth
703
6.70%
Medicine Hat Rob Renner
5,853
51.48%
Trevor Butts
3,232
28.43%
George Peterson
1,065
9.37%
Dale Glasier
1,177
10.35%
Rob Renner
Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills Richard Marz
6,958
56.95%
Dave Herbert
1,562
12.78%
Anne Wilson
247
2.02%
Don MacDonald
3,422
28.01%
Peace River Gary Friedel
3,745
61.25%
Bruce MacKeen
2,323
37.99%
Gary Friedel
Ponoka-Rimbey Halvar C. Jonson
5,750
63.80%
Joshua Phillpotts
912
10.12%
Liz Wetheral
879
9.75%
Randy Jones
1,439
15.97%
Halvar C. Jonson
Red Deer-North Stockwell Day
4,683
55.37%
Norm McDougall
2,547
30.11%
Linda Kaiser
560
6.62%
E. Patricia Argent
655
7.74%
Stockwell Day
Red Deer-South Victor Doerksen
5,751
46.91%
Larry Pimm
4,966
40.51%
Joanne Stanley
367
2.99%
Randy Thorsteinson
1,145
9.34%
Victor Doerksen
Redwater Dave Broda
5,297
43.76%
Mary Anne Balsillie
4,980
41.14%
Tom Turner
737
6.09%
Don Bell
987
8.15%
E. Benjamin Toane (Nat. Law)
71
0.59%
Nicholas Taylor
Rocky Mountain House Ty Lund
5,610
54.69%
Roxanne V. Prior
880
8.58%
Christine McMeckan
481
4.69%
Lavern J. Ahlstrom
3,264
31.82%
Ty Lund
Sherwood Park Iris Evans
8,610
47.80%
Bruce Collingwood
8,305
46.11%
Vaughn Dyrland
1,064
5.91%
Bruce Collingwood
Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert Gary Swinamer
5,388
42.52%
Colleen Soetaert
6,275
49.51%
Thomas Elchuk
476
3.76%
Clinton Day
491
3.87%
Colleen Soetaert
St. Albert Mary O'Neill
6,696
43.53%
Len Bracko
6,680
43.43%
Chris Samuel
1,198
7.79%
John Reil
781
5.08%
Len Bracko
Stony Plain Stan Woloshyn
6,267
48.85%
Peter Marchiel
3,906
30.44%
Felice Young
895
6.98%
Pat Hansard
1,742
13.58%
Stan Woloshyn
Strathmore-Brooks Lyle Oberg
7,235
72.40%
Roger Nelson
1,272
12.73%
Richard Knutson
600
6.00%
Dan Borden
862
8.63%
Vegreville-Viking Ed Stelmach
6,090
49.71%
Ross Demkiw
3,639
29.70%
Greg Kurulok
1,684
13.74%
Clifford Gundermann
810
6.61%
Ed Stelmach
Vermilion-Lloydminster Steve West
5,616
55.33%
Pat Gulak
2,787
27.46%
Wes Neumeier
602
5.93%
Jeff Newland
1,125
11.08%
Steve West
Wainwright Robert A. (Butch) Fischer
6,232
52.61%
Ronald Williams
1,568
13.24%
Lilas I. Lysne
668
5.64%
Jerry D. Barber
3,348
28.27%
Robert A. (Butch) Fischer
West Yellowhead Ivan J. Strang
4,498
41.96%
Duco Van Binsbergen
3,795
35.40%
Glenn Taylor
2,130
19.87%
John Ahlstrom
275
2.57%
Duco Van Binsbergen
Wetaskiwin-Camrose LeRoy Johnson
7,244
58.39%
Jody Saddleback
1,166
9.40%
Rick Jantz
2,060
16.60%
Karen Richert
1,622
13.07%
Bruce Hinkley (Forum)
279
2.26%
Ken Rostad
Whitecourt-Ste. Anne Peter Trynchy
5,759
54.12%
Sara Lynn Burrough
2,954
27.76%
Chauncey Featherstone
704
6.62%
Earle Cunningham
1,183
11.12%
Peter Trynchy

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Stinson, Douglas (July 1, 1999). "Knowing Where to Draw the Line - Alberta Views - The Magazine for Engaged Citizens". albertaviews.ca. Archived from the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  2. ^ "Provincial Political Scene In Alberta, The Alberta Public Agenda". Ipsos. February 11, 1997.
  3. ^ "Provincial Political Scene In Alberta, The Alberta Public Agenda". Ipsos. October 30, 1995.
  4. ^ Election Alberta (July 28, 2008). 2008 General Report (PDF). p. 158. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2011.

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