2004 Alberta general election

The 2004 Alberta general election was held on November 22, 2004 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

2004 Alberta general election

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 11 11 Popular vote 417,092 261,471 Percentage 46.8% 29.4% Swing 15.1% 2.1%   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, 8.0% pre-creation Seats before 2 1 Seats won 4 1 Seat change 2 ±0 Popular vote 90,897 77,506 Percentage 10.2% 8.7% Swing 2.2% —
Popular vote by riding. As this is a first-past-the-post election, seat totals are not determined by total popular vote, but instead by results in each riding.
Premier before election Ralph Klein Progressive Conservative Premier after election Ralph Klein Progressive Conservative

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 2004 Alberta Senate nominee election.

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, having dropped to a minority position in the polls. The Liberals more than doubled their seats by electing 17 MLAs on election night The Liberals dominated in Edmonton and made 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 also placed second in a number of rural ridings. The Conservatives received no more than 56 percent of the vote in any of the three rural regions so was very much over-represented by its almost-total one-party sweep of the rural seats.

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. Despite placing second in the riding of Drayton Valley-Calmar ahead of the Liberals, it did not win any seats.

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.

Electoral System

Alberta's 83 MLAs were elected through First-past-the-post voting in 83 single-member districts.

Election night summary

Overall voter turnout was 45.12%.

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats				Popular vote
				2001	Dissolution	Elected	% Change	#	%	% Change
	Progressive Conservative	Ralph Klein	83	74	73	622	-15.1%	416,886	46.8%	-15.1%
	Liberal	Kevin Taft	82	7	5	162	+220%	261,737	29.4%	+2.1%
	NDP	Brian Mason	83	2	2	4	+100%	90,829	10.2%	+2.1%
	Alberta Alliance	Randy Thorsteinson	83	*	1	1	-	77,466	8.7%	*
	Green	George Read	49	-	-	-	-	24,451	2.8%	+2.5%
	Social Credit	Lavern Ahlstrom	42	-	-	-	-	10,998	1.2%	+0.7%
	Separation	Bruce Hutton	12	*	-	-	-	4,695	0.5%	-0.37%1
	Alberta Party	Bruce Stubbs	4	*	-	-	-	2,481	0.3%	*
	Independent		10	-	-	-	-	994	0.1%	-0.9%
	Communist	Naomi Rankin	2	-	-	-	-	98	<0.1%	~0%
	Vacant			*	2
	Total		450	83	83	83	-	890,635	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.

Popular vote PC   46.81% Liberal   29.39% New Democratic   10.20% Alliance   8.70% Others   4.90%

Seats summary PC   74.70% Liberal   19.28% New Democratic   4.82% Alliance   1.20%

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	Fifth	Sixth—
	Progressive Conservative	62	20	1	0	0	0
	Liberal	16	50	16	0	0	0
	New Democratic Party	4	2	29	27	18	3
	Alberta Alliance	1	10	26	37	9	0
	Green	0	1	9	12	23	4
	Social Credit	0	0	1	3	17	21
	Separation	0	0	0	2	4	6
	Alberta Party	0	0	1	2	0	1

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		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		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		Dave 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		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		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		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

See also: List of political parties in Canada § Alberta

For this election, there were 11 political parties registered with Elections Alberta.

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.

External link

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.

External link

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.

External link

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.

External link

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.

External Link

Alberta Party

Leader: Bruce Stubbs

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

External Link

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 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 Network 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.

• 8:00 p.m. local time: Polls close (03:00, November 23 UTC)
• 8:36 p.m.: CBC projects a PC majority (03:36, November 23 UTC)

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.

Opinion polls

Evolution of voting intentions at provincial level

Polling firm	Last day of survey	Source	PCA	ALP	ANDP	AAP	AG	ASC	SPA	Other	Undecided	ME	Sample
Election 2004	November 22, 2004		46.8	29.4	10.2	8.7	2.8	1.2	0.5	0.4
COMPAS	November 4, 2004		61	19	16	—	3	—	1	1	6	4.5	500
Ipsos-Reid	October 26, 2004		50	26	10	9	—	2	—	4	15	3.5	800
Ipsos-Reid	September 3, 2004		50	22	13	10	4	—	—	—	6	3.5	800
Ipsos-Reid	January 28, 2003		50	24	15	0	—	2	6	3	—	3.5	800
Ipsos-Reid	March 25, 2002		50	31	11	—	—	2	3	2	—	3.5	800
Election 2001	March 12, 2001		61.9	27.3	8.0	—	0.3	0.5	0.9	1.6

• Ipsos-Reid, 2004-10-29: PC 50%, Lib 26%, NDP 10%, AAP 9%, Green 4%
• COMPAS Inc. / Calgary Herald, 2004-11-03, 2004-11-04: PC 61%, Lib 19%, NDP 16%, Green 3%, Separation 1%, Other 1%. The pollsters only prompted for the three "major" parties yet Green and Separation showed up over 1% in the results while the Alliance, which is contesting every riding and holds a seat in the legislature, did not. [1]
• Cameron Strategy Inc. / Global News / Calgary Herald, 2004-11-08-11-16: PC 47%, Lib 21%, NDP 11%, AAP 9%, Green 5%
• Ipsos-Reid, 2004-11-12 to 2004-11-17: PC 44%, Lib 29%, NDP 12%, AAP 9%, Green 4% (800 adults, MoE 3.5%)

Works cited

Bibliography

• Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2005). Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the General Enumeration and General Election of the Twenty-sixth Legislative Assembly (Report). Edmonton: Alberta Legislative Assembly, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer.
• Alberta. Electoral Boundaries Commission (February 2003). "Proposed Electoral Division Areas, Boundaries, and Names for Alberta. Final Report to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta". Edmonton: Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Retrieved May 29, 2020.

Further reading

• Bell, Edward; Jansen, Harold; Young, Lisa (2007). "Sustaining A Dynasty in Alberta: The 2004 Provincial Election". Canadian Political Science Review. 1 (2): 27–49. ISSN 1911-4125. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
• Mutimer, David, ed. (2010). Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs, 2004. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442642287.
• Wesley, Jared J.; Colbourne, Michael (June 2, 2005). Framing Democracy: Media Politics and the 2004 Alberta Election (PDF). The Annual Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association. London, Ontario. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2021.

External links

• Elections Alberta
• Alberta Legislative Assembly
• Final Report of the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission
• Riding maps (2003 representation)
• Official Results of the 2004 Election

Media coverage

• CBC Coverage: Alberta Votes 2004