Session: J4 - Roundtable: Politics in Alberta: The NDP's First Year in Power

Date: May 31, 2016 | Time: 01:30pm to 03:00pm | Location: Social Sciences 10

Chair/Président: Harold Jansen (University of Lethbridge)

Discussant/Commentatrice - 1: Melanee Thomas (University of Calgary)

Discussant/Commentateur - 2: Ian Urquhart (University of Alberta)

Participants & Authors/Auteurs:

Anthony Sayers (University of Calgary), David Stewart (University of Calgary) : The Alberta Election, 2015

The 2015 Alberta election brought an end to over 40 years of Progressive Conservative government. The Tories were reduced to third-party status in the Alberta Legislative Assembly, with the Wildrose Party forming the official opposition. Albertans elected their first ever New Democratic Party government, 83 years after its predecessor party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, was founded in Calgary. This remarkable election outcome followed an apparently successful year for the governing PCs. They selected a new leader in former federal cabinet minister Jim Prentice and absorbed eleven floor-crossing Wildrose MLAs. The result also came despite the governing party easily outspending its opponents during the election. This paper will explore what the NDP victory tells us about Alberta political culture and election dynamics in the province.