2012 Alberta general election

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87 seats in theLegislative Assembly of Alberta 44 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout	54.37%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Alison Redford Danielle Smith Raj Sherman Party Progressive Conservative Wildrose Liberal Leader since October 2, 2011 October 17, 2009 September 10, 2011 Leader's seat Calgary-Elbow Highwood Edmonton-Meadowlark Last election 72 seats, 52.7% 0 seats, 6.8% 9 seats, 26.4% Seats before 66 4 8 Seats won 61 17 5 Seat change 5 13 3 Popular vote 567,312 442,325 127,626 Percentage 43.97% 34.28% 9.89% Swing 8.8pp 27.5pp 16.5pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Brian Mason Glenn Taylor Party New Democratic Alberta Party Leader since July 13, 2004 May 28, 2011 Leader's seat Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood ran inWest Yellowhead (lost) Last election 2 seats, 8.5% 0 seats, 0.0% Seats before 2 1 Seats won 4 0 Seat change 2 1 Popular vote 127,074 16,959 Percentage 9.85% 1.31% Swing 1.3pp 1.3pp
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. Riding names are listed at the bottom.
Premier before election Alison Redford Progressive Conservative Premier after election Alison Redford Progressive Conservative

The2012 Alberta general election was held on April 23, 2012, to elect members of the28th Legislative Assembly of Alberta. ASenate nominee election was called for the same day.^[1]

During the2011 Progressive Conservative Association leadership election, eventual winnerAlison Redford stated that if she becamePremier she intended to pass legislation setting a fixed election date. After taking office, her government introduced a bill relating to the timing of elections, which was passed on December 6, 2011.^[2] Unlike otherfixed election date legislation in Canada, the 2011 Election Amendment Act fixes the election to a three-month period, between March 1 and May 31 in the fourth calendar year. However, like other legislation, this does not affect the powers of the Lieutenant Governor todissolve the Legislature before this period.^[3] The writs of elections weredropped March 26, 2012.

Although theWildrose Party led opinion polls for much of the campaign, on election night the Progressive Conservatives defied expectations to win 61 seats – a net loss of only five – en route to their 12th consecutivemajority government. It is colloquially known as the"Lake of Fire" election for a series of controversies by Wildrose candidates, perceived to have hampered the party's campaign.^[4][5][6][7]

The victory made Redford the third woman elected in her own right as a provincial premier in Canada (afterCatherine Callbeck in Prince Edward Island in 1993, andKathy Dunderdale in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2011), and the first woman elected premier in a province outsideAtlantic Canada. On September 4, 2014, the Alberta PC Party became the longest-running provincial government in Canadian history. Wildrose leaderDanielle Smith would later become the 19th premier of Alberta in October 2022, as leader of theUnited Conservative Party.

Overall, across the province, 1,290,352 valid votes were cast in this election.^[8]

The 27th Alberta Legislature saw a significant decline in the polls for the governing Progressive Conservatives (PCs) and the popularity of PremierEd Stelmach.

The Wildrose Party was the primary beneficiary of voter migration in opinion polls from the governing PCs, after former leaderPaul Hinman won a by-election, and the party electedDanielle Smith as leader. On January 4, 2010, the Wildrose caucus supplanted the New Democrats to become the third-largest in the legislature when PC MLAsRob Anderson (Airdrie-Chestermere) andHeather Forsyth (Calgary-Fish Creek) joined Wildrose. Later in 2010, former PC cabinet ministerGuy Boutilier (Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo) joined, becoming the party's fourth MLA. However, their support has waned in the year following, as did polling fortunes for the Liberal Party, while the Alberta NDP was polling at double its result in the previous election.

The Liberals lost two MLAs during the 27th Legislature —Dave Taylor (Calgary Currie) who left to sit as an independent, before becoming the first MLA for the Alberta Party; andBridget Pastoor (Lethbridge-East) whocrossed the floor to join the PC caucus in November 2011. However, the Liberals gained one MLA in selectingRaj Sherman (Edmonton-Meadowlark) as their leader in September 2011, who had been ejected from the PC caucus in November 2010.

On January 25, 2011, Ed Stelmach abruptly announced that he would not seek re-election, and would resign as leader of the Progressive Conservatives and as premier after a successor was chosen. Alison Redford was chosen as Stelmach's successor on October 1, 2011, and following her election the PCs improved their results in opinion polls. Her new government presented six pieces of legislation, the most notable of which regarded fixed election dates, an investigation into health care, and tougher penalties for impaired driving. All six bills were passed in the fall 2011 sitting of the 27th Legislature.^[9] The 2012 election is a result of the fixed election legislation, which fixed the date of the next provincial election in Alberta between March 1 and May 31, 2012, and requires subsequent elections in that period in the fourth calendar year thereafter. The law does not affect the ability of Alberta's Lieutenant-Governor to dissolve the assembly and call an election before that time. However, that is not likely to occur duringmajority governments. The legislature was dissolved and the writs were dropped on March 26, 2012.

A year after the previous general election the Alberta Greens became mired in an internal dispute that resulted in the collapse of the party, and its de-registration by Elections Alberta. Some of the former Green party executive, including former deputy leader Edwin Erickson, eventually joined theAlberta Party, while others regrouped and founded theEvergreen Party of Alberta.^[10]

As indicated on the maps, the rural vote split largely on regional lines. Wildrose support was concentrated largely inSouthern Alberta while the party won only one seat north of the53rd parallel, while the PCs were reduced to just one seat in rural Southern Alberta. Wildrose won only three urban seats (two in Calgary and one in Medicine Hat) while the PCs won the majority of seats in both Calgary and Edmonton, swept Edmonton's suburbs and swept the two seats contested in each of Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge and Red Deer. The Liberals were confined to the two largest cities, winning three seats in Calgary and two in Edmonton. The New Democrats won all four of their seats in Edmonton.

The PCs polled about 44 percent of the popular vote, and four cabinet ministers were defeated. The Wildrose won 17 seats to become theOfficial Opposition for the first time. It was a net increase of thirteen seats for the party, although two of the four Wildrose incumbents (Guy Boutilier andPaul Hinman) were defeated by their PC challengers. The party polled more than 34 percent of the popular vote, more than five times their share in the previous election, and finished a close second in dozens of constituencies.

TheLiberals saw their share of the vote plummet by almost two thirds and polled under ten percent for the first time since1982. The result therefore appeared to give credence to speculation that Liberal voters from last election voted "strategically" for moderate PC candidates to defeat the more conservative Wildrose Party. Nevertheless, the five Liberal incumbents seeking re-election all managed to do so, with the Liberals losing the three seats where their incumbents did not run again. It was the Liberals' lowest seat total since the 1986 election. The Liberals were relegated tothird party status in the Legislature for the first time since 1993.

TheNew Democrats won four seats, double their previous total and enough to secureofficial party status in the Legislature. Both NDP incumbents were re-elected. The NDP polled just under ten percent of the vote, marginally less than the Liberals' share and a modest increase from the last election.

Notes:

1. Results at the count.^[12]
2. Results change is compared to the Alberta Greens in 2008.
3. Elections Alberta lists Bart Hampton as leader of the Separation Party of Alberta, however the party's only candidate is party president Glen Dundas.^[13]

The voter turnout was 54%.^[14]

Notes:

1. Morton was an incumbent inFoothills-Rocky View
2. Benito sat as a Progressive Conservative in the 27th Legislative Assembly, lost the candidate nomination, and ran as an independent
3. Boutilier was elected as a Progressive Conservative in the 2008 election
4. Danyluk was an incumbent inLac La Biche-St. Paul
5. Lund was an incumbent inRocky Mountain House

• 
  Graph of polling from the 2008 election to the 2012 election
• 
  Graph of polling during the 2012 election showing trends by polling firm and party

The following is a summary ofopinion polls leading up to the 2012 election.

• December 12, 2008:Calgary-Mountain View MLADavid Swann wins the Leadership of theAlberta Liberals replacingKevin Taft.
• May 15, 2009: Calgary-Glenmore MLARon Stevens resigns to accept a judgeship.
• July 16, 2009: TheAlberta Greens is deregistered byElections Alberta.
• July 18, 2009:Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo MLAGuy Boutilier is removed from the Progressive Conservative caucus.
• August 29, 2009:Robert Leddy is chosen as the interim leader of the Alberta Party replacing Bruce Stubbs.^[32]
• September 14, 2009: Aby-election inCalgary-Glenmore elects Wildrose Alliance interim leaderPaul Hinman.
• October 17, 2009: The Wildrose Alliance selectsDanielle Smith to replacePaul Hinman as leader in aconvention in Edmonton.
• November 7, 2009: Aleadership review of Premier Ed Stelmach is held at a PC convention in Edmonton. He garners 77.4% support.
• January 4, 2010: MLAsRob Anderson andHeather Forsyth defect from the PC to the Wildrose Alliance.^[33]
• January 28, 2010:Edwin Erickson is acclaimed as leader of theAlberta Party replacing Robert Leddy.
• February 24, 2010: Alberta Boundaries Commission releases its interim report on new provincial boundaries.
• April 12, 2010:Calgary-Currie MLADave Taylor leaves the Liberal caucus to sit as an independent.^[34]
• June 25, 2010:PC, turnedIndependent, MLAGuy Boutilier joins the Wildrose Alliance.^[35]
• November 22, 2010:Edmonton-Meadowlark MLARaj Sherman is removed from the Progressive Conservative caucus.
• November 24, 2010:Sue Huff becomes interim Alberta Party leader after Edwin Erickson resigns.
• December 1, 2010: The Legislative Assembly passes a bill outlining87 electoral districts,^[36] up from the current 83. The last re-distribution was in2004.
• January 24, 2011:Calgary-Currie MLADave Taylor sits as Alberta Party's first MLA.
• January 25, 2011: Premier Ed Stelmach announces his intention not to run for re-election, and announces he will resign his post as Premier when a successor has been chosen at a leadership convention.^[37][38]
• February 1, 2011:David Swann, Leader of theAlberta Liberal Party, announces his intention to step down as leader after the spring 2011 legislative session, though still acting as an MLA fromCalgary-Mountain View.^[39]
• May 28, 2011:Glenn Taylor is elected leader of theAlberta Party.^[40]
• June 26, 2011: The Wildrose Alliance Party votes to change its name toWildrose Party.^[41]
• September 10, 2011:Raj Sherman iselected leader of the Liberal Party.
• September 12, 2011: Independent MLA Raj Sherman joins the Liberal caucus.^[42]
• October 1, 2011:Alison Redford iselected leader of the PC Association.
• October 7, 2011: Redford is sworn in as premier.^[43]
• November 21, 2011: LiberalBridget Pastoor crosses the floor to join the PC caucus.^[44]
• December 6, 2011: Third and final reading of Bill 21, legislating a general election between March 1 and May 31, 2012.^[2]
• December 22, 2011: TheEvergreen Party of Alberta is registered withElections Alberta,Larry Ashmore is the leader.^[45][46]
• January 27, 2012:Vermilion-Lloydminster MLALloyd Snelgrove leaves the PCs to sit as an independent.^[47]
• March 2012:Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLARichard Marz resigns.^[48]
• March 26, 2012:27th Alberta Legislative Assembly is dissolved, and thewrits are dropped.^[49][50]
• April 9, 2012: Nominations close at 2:00 pmMT (UTC−6),^[50] with 429 people running in 87 ridings.^[11]
• April 12, 2012: A leader's debate is hosted by the Alberta media and news outlets at 6:30 pm MT. It was broadcast on multiple television and radio stations, Redford, Sherman, Smith, and Mason were in attendance.^[51]
• April 19, 2012: Advance polls open 9:00 am to 8:00 pm MT.^[50]
• April 20, 2012: Advance polls open 9:00 am to 8:00 pm MT.^[50]
• April 21, 2012: Advance polls open 9:00 am to 8:00 pm MT.^[50]
• April 23, 2012:Election Day
  • Polls open 9:00 am to 8:00 pm MT.^[50]
  • Media outlets declare a PC majority at 9:00 pm.^[52][53]
• May 3, 2012: Official announcement of the results.^[50]

Bold indicatescabinet members, andparty leaders areitalicized.

• 2012 Alberta Senate nominee election
• Alberta Liberal Party candidates, 2012 Alberta provincial election
• Alberta New Democratic Party candidates, 2012 Alberta provincial election
• Alberta Party candidates, 2012 Alberta provincial election
• Evergreen Party of Alberta candidates, 2012 Alberta provincial election
• Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta candidates, 2012 Alberta provincial election
• Wildrose Party candidates, 2012 Alberta provincial election

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