WATCH: NDP’s historic win in Alberta’s provincial election. Reid Fiest reports on Alberta’s “orange crush.”
It was a historic night for Alberta as the province turned orange with the NDP lead by Rachel Notley winning a decisive majority government, ending the Progressive Conservatives’ 44-year reign over the province.
The New Democrats won 53 of the legislature’s 87 seats, while the Wildrose came in second with 21 and the PCs were reduced to just 10 seats.
WATCH: The Alberta legislature before and after the election
“I believe that change has finally come to Alberta,” Notley told a crowd of supporters in her victory speech Tuesday night. “I haven’t run the numbers yet, shall we say, but what I think is true is that we have elected the most women in any government in Canadian history.”
Alberta’s new NDP government will feature a number of first time MLAs and include several post-secondary students and three who are believed to be the first openly gay members of Alberta’s legislature. The new NDP caucus is also nearly split evenly in terms of men and women.
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By the numbers: Alberta Election 2015
Elections Alberta said there were just over 1.4 million votes cast in the 2015 election with a voter turnout of roughly 58 per cent.
PC Leader Jim Prentice quickly resigned as leader following his party’s defeat and also walked away from his newly-won seat in Calgary-Foothills.
The election result came as a surprise to many as the PCs held 70 seats before the election was called and, at the outset of the campaign, political watchers expected them to win another majority government.
READ MORE: Prime Minister congratulates Rachel Notley during ‘cordial call’
Prentice, who dropped the writ a year earlier than necessary, faced an uphill battle from the start, following the resignation of disgraced Tory leader Allison Redford. The PCs first budget failed to deliver on a promise to increase funding for classrooms, cut health spending and froze wages for public sector workers.
The Tory leader’s remarks to a radio station in March blamed Albertans for getting the province into a financial mess when he said “we all need to look in the mirror.”
The fallout led to an NDP surge across the province and in Edmonton, New Democrats swept the provincial capital winning all 19 seats, including Notley who won in Edmonton-Strathcona.
Among some of the PCs to lose were many former cabinet ministers including Health Minister Stephen Mandel and former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk. Both were beaten by NDP opponents.
Below is a look at Edmonton’s political landscape before and after the provincial election.
*With files from Erika Tucker
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