On Day 24 of the Alberta election campaign, United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney will hold a rally with federal Conservative Party of Canada Leader Andrew Scheer in Calgary.
NDP Leader Rachel Notley will also be in southern Alberta, while Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel will be making an education announcement and door-knocking in Edmonton.
Liberal Leader David Khan will be doing media interviews, making an environment announcement and door-knocking in Calgary.
The final five days of campaigning comes as hundreds of thousands of Albertans have already cast their vote.
In the first two days of the advance polls being open, 276,000 people have cast a ballot: 140,000 on Tuesday, and 136,000 on Wednesday. That’s more than during the entire time they were open during the 2015 provincial election.
READ MORE: Record-breaking number of votes cast at Alberta election advance polls
The high number could be attributed to ease of access: this is the first time Elections Alberta has allowed people to vote at any advance polling station. In total, 83,000 of the ballots cast over the past two days — or 30 per cent — have been from Albertans voting outside their riding.
Advance polls will be open across the province until Saturday evening, but not every advance poll is open every day. For more information on how, when and where to vote, click here.
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The Alberta election will take place on April 16.
Where the leaders are Thursday on the campaign trail:
NDP Leader Rachel Notley
Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley says the province doesn’t need a premier or a government that is distracted by an RCMP investigation.
Speaking to health-care workers in Calgary, she says Alberta can do better.
Notley says if she’s re-elected on Tuesday, she would offer an honest, scandal-free government that would diversify the economy, build a pipeline and defend public services.
She is referring to an ongoing investigation by elections officials and the RCMP into parts of the United Conservative Party leadership race that delivered her rival Jason Kenney to victory in 2017.
The party has said the vote used the strictest security standards and Kenney’s lawyer has called any links made to Kenney’s campaign “plainly false and defamatory.”
Notley noted that Alberta voters have already started heading to the polls this week in advance voting.
“They are doing that just as we are seeing what’s unravelling over there at UCP headquarters,” said Notley. “With each new day and each new revelation.
“Alberta does not need this right now. We don’t need a premier and a government that is consumed and distracted with an RCMP investigation into themselves.”
United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney
United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney was joined by federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer for a rally on Thursday in which they attacked what they call the “Trudeau-Notley alliance.”
The Calgary rally saw hundreds of supporters brave a heavy snowfall to attend.
“We know the darkness that falls on the province when you have a government in power that constantly makes it harder and harder for people to get ahead,” said Scheer, who is from Saskatchewan. “That’s why it’s so important that Jason Kenney and the United Conservative Party form government this Tuesday here in Alberta.
“Rachel Notley and Justin Trudeau are cut from the same cloth. They both have the same attitude towards our energy sector. They have both demonized those who have built an industry.
“It’s been winter for far too long in Alberta. But spring is right around the corner. Spring is coming.”
Kenney referenced the heavy snowfall when he addressed his supporters.
“It might feel like winter today but spring is just five days away for Alberta,” he said. “Are you ready to scrap the carbon tax? Are you ready to stand up to the special interests that are attacking Alberta? Are you ready in five days to end the Trudeau-Notley alliance?”
Kenney told the crowd that record numbers of Albertans are out of work and that the economy is struggling.
He also criticized the NDP for using what he called American-style attack ads during the campaign.
Watch below: Gord Steinke gives us a recap of Day 24 on the Alberta election campaign trail.
Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel
Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel was in Edmonton on Thursday where he announcement his party’s education plan.
The party is committed to creating 60,000 new spaces for K-12 students over the next four years.
Mandel said $190 million will be spent to accommodate 15,000 new spaces needed each year and build or modernize 25 schools per year.
The Alberta Party will also continue to support gay-straight alliances in schools by increasing the annual funding for inclusive education to $690 million, Mandel said.
The party will also support the current curriculum review and work with stakeholders to implement the new curriculum “in an orderly fashion.”
The party will also maintain the current funding programs for private and charter schools in Alberta.
Alberta Liberal Party Leader David Khan
Alberta Liberal Party Leader David Khan spent the day in Calgary where he was door-knocking in his Calgary-Mountain View riding and also held a media event where he spoke about his party’s environmental policy.
“To mitigate climate change, we’ve committed to growing renewable energy, a revenue-neutral carbon tax and a voluntary, high-polluting vehicle retirement program,” he said.
Corus Alberta radio coverage
–With files from The Canadian Press’ Bill Graveland and Global News’ Phil Heidenreich
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