Alberta Election 2012

Alberta is going to the polls on Monday, April 23, and there are five major parties contending for seats in the Legislature:

The Progressive Conservatives have been in power since 1971, winning majority governments in the last 11 provincial elections! The leader of the PC Party (and our current Premier) is Alison Redford, who was elected by the party in October of last year.

The Liberal Party is the official opposition, holding 8 seats going into this election. Albertans in general are famous for their vehement anti-Liberal sentiments, and the Alberta Liberals have not been in power since 1921! The leader of this unfortunate party is Raj Sherman.

The Wildrose Party hasn't been around for long (its origins go back to 2007), but it has already gained lots of support from Albertans fed up with the PC Party's long reign. According to a recent poll the Wildrose is likely to win a majority government in the upcoming election! Their leader is Danielle Smith.

The New Democratic Party (NDP) has 2 seats in the Legislature and is hoping to gain more this election. On their website they say, "We believe that it’s time that Alberta’s prosperity, drawn from our shared natural resource wealth, worked for all Albertans, not just a select few." Their leader is Brian Mason.

The Alberta Party describes themselves on their website as "a new political movement dedicated to transforming government through citizen engagement." According to polls, they are unlikely to get a seat in the upcoming election. Their leader is Glenn Taylor.

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Note: When I wrote this post, I decided to endorse the Wildrose Party for the reasons listed below. However, I have since resolved to no longer endorse any political party on this blog.

1. They've pledged to take numerous steps to increase democracy and accountability in provincial politics.

2. They acknowledge that there are good alternatives to public schools (e.g. Catholic schools, private schools, and homeschooling) and have decided "to foster a culture of educational choice, innovation and competition."

3. The party has decided to support "private health care for certain procedures as a way to alleviate long waiting times" (as reported by the Globe and Mail). They also say they will remain dedicated to "fixing" the the public health care system.

4. They want to balance the budget. I quote from their website: "Albertans work hard, pay their taxes, and live within their means – and they expect their government to do the same." I just hope they don't make too many cuts (and I'm not convinced that their idea to send cheques back to Albertans in surplus years is a good idea).

5. They support "conscious rights", which allows "public servants to opt-out of providing services they consider morally objectionable. This could allow a marriage counsellor to refuse to wed same-sex couples or a doctor to refuse to prescribe birth-control" (as reported by the National Post).

6. The Wildrose Party is the only party with enough support to dethrone the PC Party, which has dominated provincial politics for over 40 years.