Tonight, voters in Alberta go to the polls in one of the most hotly-contested provincial elections in the province's history. Polling indicates an historic upset is possible, with the left-wing NDP in position to deal a crushing blow to the long-ruling Tories, but pre-election surveys have fooled us before in Canada. Polls close at 10 PM ET (8 PM local), and we'll be bringing you the results as they come in.
Click here for our backgrounder on Alberta politics, and
click here for our guide to the province's key electoral battlegrounds.
Results: Elections Alberta | ABVote.ca | CBC | Calgary Herald
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:04 PM PT: Polls have closed! Stay tuned for results. Usually we start seeing numbers come in within 30 minutes or so, but we will keep a close eye on the numbers.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:19 PM PT: Daveberta has a good overview of key races to watch.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:22 PM PT: It's very, very early, but so far, the results are breaking down to 32% Wildrose, 31% NDP, 31% PC.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:27 PM PT: Results are still very, very early, but the Edmonton numbers are looking like a bloodbath for the PCs. CTV has called Edmonton-Strathcona for the NDP, which is Rachel Notley's seat. No surprise there.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:31 PM PT: With 177 polls reporting (of 7,141), the NDP is leading the popular vote by 37% to 29% to the PCs, 27% for the Wildrose. Still very early.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:32 PM PT: The NDP is currently leading in 38 seats; PCs 20; Wildrose 12.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:35 PM PT: CTV News in Edmonton is reporting that they are projecting an NDP government. They're not yet projecting whether that's either a minority or majority, yet.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:35 PM PT (Steve Singiser): With all ridings not yet reporting, it is worth noting that while 44 is the magic number later, it isn't now. As long as NDP can stay in the lead in more ridings than the combined total of PC/Wildrose, you gotta like their chances.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:36 PM PT (David Nir): HOLY WOW! 44 years of Tory rule, GONE!!!
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:39 PM PT: Folks, for progressive Albertans, this is a pretty emotional night. What a win.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:42 PM PT: Heh, a CTV reporter notes that the "mood is less than electric" in the PC Party headquarters right now.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:43 PM PT (David Nir): One amazing thing to consider: Tory Premier Jim Prentice did not have to call this election. He could have waited—in fact, he should have waited, as Alberta theoretically has a law that calls for fixed election dates every four years. Had he not presumptuously called this hasty election, the PCs would not have just gotten their asses so thoroughly kicked tonight.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:46 PM PT: The NDP is now leading or elected in 55 seats, well beyond the 44 needed to win a majority. What a historic night, my friends.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:47 PM PT (David Nir): One key thing to note for American observers is that the NDP's win is not like the Democrats suddenly winning a majority in the Deep South. For one thing, Canadian politics isn't as polarized and Canadian voters tend to be more elastic. But for another, the Tories and the far-right Wildrose are splitting the right-leaning vote almost perfectly.
At the same time, the center-left Liberal Party has finally died. That means you have a unified left under the NDP banner but a fractured right—a situation that almost never obtains under the U.S. two-party system. It's a proverbial perfect storm for the NDP, but it means a bright new day for Alberta progressives.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:57 PM PT: To give you an idea of what a Tory bloodbath this is, popular former Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel has lost longtime Tory stronghold Edmonton-Whitemud in a landslide to the NDP.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 7:59 PM PT: CTV is projecting the Wildrose to be the Official Opposition party of Alberta, relegating the PCs to third place in Alberta's legislature. Wow.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 8:01 PM PT:
BREAKING: CTV projects Wildrose official opposition, knocking PCs to 3rd place in Alberta
— @CTVNews
Tue May 05, 2015 at 8:01 PM PT (Steve Singiser): Kids, here is but one small microcosm of the ass-kicking being visited on the PC tonight. In Edmonton-Glenora, the incumbent was Heather Klimchuk (PC), who defeated an NDP opponent in 2012 by a 38-26 margin. Tonight, her riding has already been called by the CBC. That's because, with about 25 percent of polls reporting, she is losing. By a 70-16 margin. Nothing like a little 66 point swing at the margin to take the wind out of your sails!
Tue May 05, 2015 at 8:01 PM PT: On local TV right now, I've seen more bodies at a farm equipment option. Empty chairs and dour faces everywhere. I love it!
Tue May 05, 2015 at 8:05 PM PT: For the beleaguered Liberals, their leader David Swann is leading, but longtime Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman, who has held Edmonton-Centre since 1997, has lost.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 8:17 PM PT: With 43 of 80 polls reporting, Jim Prentice is only leading by 40-33 in his home riding of Calgary-Foothills. Wow.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 8:22 PM PT: A couple of seats worth noting: The NDP appears to have won former PC Premier Ed Stelmach's riding (Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville), and the upstart centrist Alberta Party is leading by a significant margin in Calgary-Elbow, which was the seat of former Premiers Redford and Klein.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 8:23 PM PT: CTV is projecting PC leader Jim Prentice to win his home riding of Calgary-Foothills.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 8:25 PM PT (David Nir): Unlike 2012, when the polls badly blew the final results by 20 percent or more, this time, they were quite accurate. Our own Drew Linzer created the chart below, which found the NDP polling at an average of 41 percent. Right now, they're taking 40. Not bad.
(click to enlarge)
Tue May 05, 2015 at 8:27 PM PT: CTV has called Calgary-Elbow for the Alberta Party, and Fort McMurray-Conklin for the Wildrose. With that, it appears that every leader will win their seat -- as long as David Swann can hold on in Calgary-Mountainview, that is.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 8:34 PM PT: CTV has called Calgary-Mountainview for Liberal leader David Swann. The Alberta Liberal Party lives on!
Tue May 05, 2015 at 8:48 PM PT: Check out our man Stephen Wolf's visualization of the riding-by-riding results so far, in map form!
Tue May 05, 2015 at 9:03 PM PT: Jim Prentice just announced that he is resigning from elected office, effective immediately.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 9:24 PM PT (David Nir): You'll want to check out this map (and follow Daily Kos Elections' Dan Donner on Twitter):
Tue May 05, 2015 at 9:31 PM PT (David Nir): Check out that massive orange blob:
Tue May 05, 2015 at 10:06 PM PT: The biggest winner tonight? Canada's pollsters, who desperately had to salvage their reputation after 2012's Alberta polling debacle.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 10:16 PM PT: CTV is reporting that trays of unopened champagne bottles are being carted away from the PC election headquarters, where all attendees have gone home and staff are tearing down Alberta flags from the walls.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 10:20 PM PT: It doesn't get any closer than this: In Calgary-Glenmore, PC incumbent Linda Johnson is in a literal tie with her NDP opponent, Anam Kazim, with both candidates scoring 7,015 votes with all polls reporting. This one's going to a recount, of course!
Tue May 05, 2015 at 10:30 PM PT (Stephen Wolf): Here's an updated interactive map of the results: https://www.google.com/...
Tue May 05, 2015 at 10:36 PM PT: Other close ridings: Little Bow, where the Wildrose won by 12 votes with all polls reporting and Chestermere-Rockyview, where the PCs lead by 7 votes with 84 of 92 polls reporting.
Tue May 05, 2015 at 11:01 PM PT: Folks, the DKE crew is signing off for the night. What an amazing election night – the most exciting campaign I've witnessed since the 2008 Presidential race! To recap, at present, with only a handful of polls outstanding province-wide, the NDP are leading or elected in 54 seats, the Wildrose in 21, the PCs in 10, and the Liberals and the Alberta Party with one seat each. A truly historic finish.