| Election Name: | 2015 Alberta general election |
| Country: | Alberta |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Party Name: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2012 Alberta general election |
| Previous Year: | 2012 |
| Outgoing Members: | outgoing members |
| Election Date: | May 5, 2015 |
| Elected Members: | elected members |
| Next Election: | 2019 Alberta general election |
| Next Year: | 2019 |
| Seats For Election: | 87 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta |
| Majority Seats: | 44 |
| Opinion Polls: |
|
| Turnout: | 57.0%[1] |
| 1Data1: | Includes votes from the voided election in the riding of Calgary-Foothills |
| Leader1: | Rachel Notley |
| Leader Since1: | October 18, 2014 |
| Leaders Seat1: | Edmonton-Strathcona |
| Last Election1: | 4 seats, 9.85% |
| Seats Before1: | 4 |
| Seats1: | 54 |
| Seat Change1: | 50 |
| Popular Vote1: | 604,518 |
| Percentage1: | 40.62% |
| Swing1: | 30.77pp |
| Leader2: | Brian Jean |
| Leader Since2: | March 28, 2015 |
| Leaders Seat2: | Fort McMurray-Conklin |
| Last Election2: | 17 seats, 34.28% |
| Seats Before2: | 5 |
| Seats2: | 21 |
| Seat Change2: | 16 |
| Popular Vote2: | 360,511 |
| Percentage2: | 24.22% |
| Swing2: | 10.06pp |
| Leader3: | Jim Prentice |
| Leader Since3: | September 6, 2014 |
| Leaders Seat3: | Calgary-Foothills (disclaimed re-election) |
| Last Election3: | 61 seats, 43.97% |
| Seats Before3: | 70 |
| Seats3: | 9 |
| Seat Change3: | 61 |
| Popular Vote3: | 413,610 |
| Percentage3: | 27.79% |
| Swing3: | 16.17pp |
| Leader Since4: | February 1, 2015 |
| Leaders Seat4: | Calgary-Mountain View |
| Last Election4: | 5 seats, 9.89% |
| Seats Before4: | 5 |
| Seats4: | 1 |
| Seat Change4: | 4 |
| Popular Vote4: | 62,153 |
| Percentage4: | 4.18% |
| Swing4: | 5.71pp |
| Leader5: | Greg Clark |
| Leader Since5: | September 21, 2013 |
| Leaders Seat5: | Calgary-Elbow |
| Last Election5: | 0 seats, 1.31% |
| Seats Before5: | 0 |
| Seats5: | 1 |
| Seat Change5: | 1 |
| Popular Vote5: | 33,221 |
| Percentage5: | 2.23% |
| Swing5: | 0.92pp |
| Map Size: | 375px |
| Premier | |
| Before Election: | Jim Prentice |
| Posttitle: | Premier after election |
| After Election: | Rachel Notley |
The 2015 Alberta general election was held on May 5, following a request of Premier Jim Prentice to the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Donald Ethell to dissolve the Legislative Assembly on April 7. This election elected members to the 29th Alberta Legislature. It was only the fourth time in provincial history that saw a change of governing party, and was the last provincial election for both the Alberta Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties, which merged in 2017 to form the United Conservative Party (although each ran a token candidate in the 2019 election).
The provincial Election Act fixed the election date to a three-month period between March 1 and May 31 in the fourth calendar year after the preceding election day in this case, April 23, 2012. However, the act does not affect the powers of the Lieutenant Governor to dissolve the Legislature before this period.[2]
As a result of the election, the Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP) were elected to a majority government under leader Rachel Notley. The NDP formed government for the first time in Alberta history since the NDP's founding in the early 1960s.
The 2015 election is sometimes called the "Orange Chinook", a reference to the province's dramatic swing to the NDP, the NDP's orange colour and the weather shifts occasioned by strong Chinook winds that southern Alberta commonly experiences.[3] [4]
The NDP win ousted the PCs, who were reduced to third place in seats. Prentice resigned as PC leader and MLA for Calgary-Foothills on election night.[5]
The Progressive Conservatives (PCs) had a majority in the outgoing Assembly and had won every provincial election since the 1971 election, making them the longest-serving provincial government in Canadian history being in office for 44 years. This was only the fourth change of governing party in Alberta since becoming a province in 1905, and one of the worst defeats a provincial government has suffered in Canada. 31 PC MLAs lost re-election to the legislature, the largest number in one election in Alberta history. It also marked the first time in almost 80 years that a left-of-centre political party had formed government in Alberta since the defeat of the United Farmers of Alberta in 1935 and the Depression-era radical monetary reform policies of William Aberhart's Social Credit government.[6]
The Wildrose Party under leader Brian Jean remained the Official Opposition, gaining four seats since 2012 despite winning 81,814 fewer votes and a 10.1% lower share of the popular vote than in the previous election. The Alberta Liberal Party and Alberta Party each won a single seat with Alberta Party leader Greg Clark becoming the party's first MLA. The Alberta Liberal Party lost four seats, only returning interim leader David Swann to the Legislative Assembly.
Following the election, Notley and her cabinet were sworn in on May 24.[7]
Overall, across the province, 1,488,248 valid votes were cast in this election.[8]
See main article: 28th Alberta Legislative Assembly. In the 2012 general election the PCs lost a portion of their caucus, but were able to continue as majority government, despite their share of the popular vote decreasing to under 50%. The Wildrose Party formed the official opposition for the first time, while the other two parties in the Assembly, the Alberta Liberal Party and Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP), both held official party status with five and four seats respectively.[9] On September 4, 2014, the PCs became the longest serving political dynasty in Canadian history, at 43 years, 5 days.[10]
Prentice, who succeeded former premier and interim leader of the Progressive Conservatives Dave Hancock in September 2014, was not obligated to call an election until 2016. However, seeking a new mandate to pass his budget, he asked Lieutenant Governor Donald Ethell to dissolve the legislature on April 7. In accordance with Canadian constitutional practice, Ethell granted the request, beginning a month long campaign.[11] The early election call was criticized by some as unethical, as it violated the fixed election dates specified in the Elections Act, but it was constitutionally valid and followed the general practice of the reserve powers of the Crown, specifically the constitutional convention of following the advice of the premier.[12]
The NDP received the most votes (more votes than any other party) overall and in 54 districts (more than half the districts), though did not receive a majority of the vote overall nor in many districts. It received 40.6 percent of the vote and captured 62 percent of the seats in the Legislature.
Due to First-past-the-post voting, the NDP swept the Edmonton seats, won a majority of the seats in Calgary and just less than half of seats in rural Alberta.[13] NDP MLAs were elected in all 21 Edmonton districts, 15 of the 26 Calgary districts and 18 of the 40 districts outside the major cities.[14]
NDP candidates received over 50% of the votes in each Edmonton riding as well as the ridings of Sherwood Park, St. Albert and Lethbridge-West. All opposition (non-NDP) candidates received less than half the votes in the riding where they ran, except for the Wildrose candidates in Cypress-Medicine Hat, Strathmore-Brooks and Olds-Disbury, each of whom captured a majority of the district votes.
The election produced some very close races and small leads for some winning candidates. In Calgary Glenmore the winning candidate won with a lead of six votes over her leading contender. In Calgary McCall an NDP candidate won with less than 30 percent of the vote; in Calgary Shaw an NDP candidate won with but 31 percent of the vote; in Calgary South-East a PC won with only 32.5 percent of the votes cast.
In many ridings the combined votes of the Progressive Conservative and the Wildrose candidates surpassed that of the NDP.
In some ridings such as Red Deer North, Spruce Grove-St. Albert, Calgary-Buffalo, Calgary-Varsity, Lethbridge East and Lethbridge West, the combined vote of the NDP and the Liberal candidates totalled more than 50 percent of the district's votes, thus overwhelming the combined vote of the Conservative and Wild Rose candidate. This also held true for Calgary Mountain View where a Liberal was elected.
In many ridings no Liberal ran, which probably aided the NDP victory in those ridings. These included Lesser Slave Lake, Peace River, Edmonton-McClung, Sherwood Park, West Yellowhead and Whitecourt.
| Party | Votes | Seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 604,518 | 30.8pp | ||||
| 413,610 | 16.2pp | ||||
| 360,511 | 10.1pp | ||||
| 62,153 | 5.7pp | ||||
| 33,221 | 0.9pp | ||||
* The total popular vote includes votes from voided Calgary-Foothills election.
** Incumbent Premier Jim Prentice disclaimed his victory in Calgary-Foothills.[18] According to section 139 of the Alberta Elections Act,[19] if a winning candidate disclaims their right to become an MLA before the end of the appeal period for the official results, that riding's election is declared void.
| Party | 2012 | Gain from (loss to) | 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| align="center" width="50" | NDP | WR | PC | align="center" width="50" | Lib | align="center" width="50" | Alb | 4 | 2 | 44 | 4 | 54 | 17 | (2) | 7 | (1) | 21 | 61 | (44) | 1 | (7) | (1) | 9 | 5 | (4) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 87 | (50) | 3 | (7) | 52 | (1) | 4 | (1) | 86 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The election resulted in a majority government led by the New Democratic Party.
The result in Calgary-Glenmore remained unresolved on election night, as incumbent PC MLA Linda Johnson and NDP challenger Anam Kazim finished the vote count in an exact tie of 7,015 votes each,[20] necessitating a recount process.[20] On May 15, the recount determined NDP candidate Anam Kazim won the riding by six votes.
The Alberta NDP had been leading in most polls since late April. They had been expected to do well in Edmonton, which historically had been more favourable to centre-left parties and candidates than Alberta in general. However, in a result that exceeded even the most optimistic projections for the NDP, Edmonton swung dramatically to support Notley, who represents an Edmonton riding. The NDP took every seat in the city, all by very large margins (4,000 votes or more with absolute majority support). The NDP also won 15 of the 25 seats in Calgary, the power base of the PCs for most of the previous four decades. The NDP also swept the province's third and fourth-largest cities, Lethbridge and Red Deer. NDP support remained relatively lower in rural Alberta, where they won only a handful of ridings in the north of the province, as well as some rural ridings around Edmonton.[21]
Notley later said that she had known a week before the election that the NDP would win. She told the Canadian Press that she had been sitting in a hotel room in either Calgary or Lethbridge when she saw a very credible poll showing the NDP was poised to rebound from a mere four seats in the legislature – the minimum for official party status – to an outright majority. She was stunned at first, but recovered long enough to drop her plans for a whirlwind schedule to close out the campaign. Her original plan would have not only resulted in her looking extremely haggard in her first speech as premier-elect, but would have left her without time to begin a transition.[22]
The PCs finished second in the popular vote, 53,099 votes ahead of the Wildrose. However, their caucus was decimated due to a near-total collapse in the major cities, as well as a more pronounced split in the right-of-centre vote. They were completely shut out in Edmonton, Lethbridge, and Red Deer, and lost 12 of their 20 seats in Calgary. Since the first-past-the-post system awards seats solely on the basis of plurality district contests (not by proportional representation), the PCs were knocked down to third place with 10 seats, and only two outside Calgary. This was further reduced to nine when Prentice disclaimed victory in his riding. The PCs were reduced to their smallest presence in the Legislative Assembly since 1967. With a few exceptions, their support in the cities transferred to the NDP, while their rural support moved to the Wildrose. All but three members of Prentice's cabinet were defeated.
The Wildrose had its legislative caucus greatly reduced in 2014 when then-leader and Leader of the Official Opposition Danielle Smith and all but 5 Wildrose MLAs crossed the floor to sit with the governing PCs. In the 2015 general election, the party rebounded to 21 seats and retained Official Opposition status. All of their gains were in rural ridings taken from the PCs, and they failed to win a seat in Edmonton or Calgary.
Greg Clark, leader of the Alberta Party, won the first ever seat for his party in the Legislative Assembly. He won the seat of Calgary-Elbow.
For the first time the NDP won a majority of seats in Calgary, taking 15 of the city's 26 seats. This centre-left success was deepened by a Liberal candidate and an Alberta Party candidate also scoring wins in that city. Such had not happened since 1921, when Labour candidates and Independents took seats there.[23]
Bold indicates cabinet members, and party leaders are italicized. Candidate names appear as they appeared on the ballot.
Colour band in gulley indictes winner of the election.
All results are sourced from Elections Alberta.[24]
|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater| ||Jeff Johnson
5,016 - 29.9%| ||Travis Olson
4,973 - 29.6%| |||| ||Colin Piquette
6,797 - 40.5%| ||| |||||Jeff Johnson|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock| ||Maureen Kubinec
4,876 - 26.6%|| ||Glenn van Dijken
7,206 - 39.3%| ||| ||Tristan Turner
6,232 - 34.0%| ||| |||||Maureen Kubinec|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Bonnyville-Cold Lake| ||Craig Copeland
3,594 - 30.4%|| ||Scott Cyr
5,452 - 46.2%| ||| ||Josalyne Head
2,136 - 18.1%| ||Rob Fox
628 - 5.3%| |||||Genia Leskiw†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Dunvegan-Central Peace-Notley| ||Rhonda Clarke-Gauthier
2,766 - 28.8%| ||Kelly Hudson
3,147 - 32.8%| |||| ||Margaret McCuaig-Boyd
3,692 - 38.4%| ||| |||||Hector Goudreau†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Fort McMurray-Conklin| ||Don Scott
1,502 - 22.3%|| ||Brian Jean
2,950 - 43.9%| ||Melinda Hollis
204 - 3.0%| ||Ariana Mancini
2,071 - 30.8%| ||| |||||Don Scott|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo| ||Mike Allen
2,486 - 25.9%|| ||Tany Yao
3,835 - 40.0%| ||Robin Le Fevre
345 - 3.6%| ||Stephen Drover
2,915 - 30.4%| ||| |||||Mike Allen|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Grande Prairie-Smoky| ||Everett McDonald
4,968 - 30.8%|| ||Todd Loewen
5,343 - 33.2%| ||Kevin McLean
787 - 4.9%| ||Todd Russell
5,009 - 31.1%| ||| |||||Everett McDonald|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Grande Prairie-Wapiti|| ||Wayne Drysdale
6,229 - 35.6%| ||Laila Goodridge
4,175 - 23.8%| ||| ||Mary Dahr
5,062 - 28.9%| ||Rory Tarant
2,048 - 11.7%| |||||Wayne Drysdale|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills| ||Darrell Younghans
3,004 - 24.4%|| ||David Hanson
4,763 - 38.7%| ||| ||Catherine Harder
4,214 - 34.2%| ||| ||Brian Deheer (Green)
339 - 2.8%|||Shayne Saskiw†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Lesser Slave Lake| ||Pearl Calahasen
1,944 - 21.5%| ||Darryl Boisson
3,198 - 35.3%| |||| ||Danielle Larivee
3,915 - 43.2%| ||| |||||Pearl Calahasen|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Peace River| ||Frank Oberle
3,529 - 36.4%| ||Nathan Steinke
1,979 - 20.4%| |||| ||Debbie Jabbour
3,821 - 39.4%| ||Sherry Hilton
376 - 3.9%| |||||Frank Oberle
|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview| ||Tony Caterina
2,524 - 15.5%| ||Stephanie Diacon
1,248 - 7.6%| ||Tomi Yellowface
359 - 2.2%|| ||Deron Bilous
12,049 - 73.8%| ||Owais Siddiqui
147 - 0.9%| |||||Deron Bilous|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Calder| ||Thomas "Tom" Bradley
3,222 - 17.8%| ||Andrew Altimas
1,565 - 8.6%| ||Amit "Sunny" Batra
527 - 2.9%|| ||David Eggen
12,837 - 70.7%| ||| |||||David Eggen|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Centre| ||Catherine Keill
2,228 - 13.5%| ||Joe Byram
772 - 4.7%| ||Laurie Blakeman
4,199 - 25.4%|| ||David Shepherd
8,983 - 54.4%| ||| ||Greg Keating (Ind.)
295 - 1.8%
Rory Joe Koopmans (Ind.)
40 - 0.2%|||Laurie Blakeman|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Glenora| ||Heather Klimchuk
3,145 - 17.3%| ||Don Koziak
1,394 - 7.6%| ||Karen Sevcik
553 - 3.0%|| ||Sarah Hoffman
12,473 - 68.4%| ||Chris Vilcsak
463 - 2.5%| ||David Parker (Green)
195 - 1.1%|||Heather Klimchuk|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Gold Bar| ||David Dorward
4,147 - 18.6%| ||Justin J. James
1,422 - 6.4%| ||Ronald Brochu
702 - 3.2%|| ||Marlin Schmidt
15,349 - 68.9%| ||Cristina Stasia
662 - 3.0%| |||||David Dorward|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood| ||Jonathan Weiqun Dai
1,778 - 12.0%| ||Joshua Loeppky
967 - 6.5%| ||Matthew R. Smith
494 - 3.3%|| ||Brian Mason
11,555 - 78.1%| ||| |||||Brian Mason|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Mill Creek| ||Gene Zwozdesky
3,848 - 23.9%| ||Saqib Raja
1,365 - 8.5%| ||Harpreet Gill
1,896 - 11.8%|| ||Denise Woollard
9,025 - 55.9%| ||| |||||Gene Zwozdesky|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Mill Woods| ||Sohail Quadri
2,920 - 19.1%| ||Baljit Sall
1,437 - 9.4%| ||Roberto Maglalang
850 - 5.6%|| ||Christina Gray
9,930 - 64.9%| ||| ||Aura Leddy (Ind.)
129 - 0.8%
Naomi Rankin
(Communist)
44 - 0.3%|||Sohail Quadri|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Riverview| ||Steve Young
3,732 - 19.3%| ||Ian Crawford
1,350 - 7.0%| ||Donna Wilson
1,416 - 7.3%|| ||Lori Sigurdson
12,108 - 62.8%| ||Brandon Beringer
487 - 2.5%| ||Sandra Wolf Lange (Green)
135 - 0.7%
Glenn Miller (Ind.)
59 - 0.3%|||Steve Young|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Rutherford| ||Chris LaBossiere
3,940 - 22.5%| ||Josef Pisa
1,644 - 9.4%| ||Michael Chan
741 - 4.2%|| ||Richard Feehan
11,214 - 63.9%| ||| |||||Fred Horne†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Strathcona| ||Shelley Wegner
2,242 - 13.6%| ||| ||Steve Kochan
658 - 4.0%|| ||Rachel Notley
13,592 - 82.4%| ||| |||||Rachel Notley
|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Castle Downs| ||Thomas Lukaszuk
4,182 - 23.1%| ||Gerrit Roosenboom
1,383 - 7.6%| ||Todd Ross
880 - 4.9%|| ||Nicole Goehring
11,689 - 64.5%| ||| |||||Thomas Lukaszuk|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Decore| ||Janice Sarich
2,847 - 18.4%| ||Dean R. Miller
1,289 - 8.3%| ||Bradley Lawrence Whalen
691 - 4.5%|| ||Chris Nielsen
10,531 - 67.9%| ||| ||Trey Capnerhurst (Green)
150 - 1.0%|||Janice Sarich|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Ellerslie| ||Harman Kandola
3,549 - 19.8%| ||Jackie Lovely
2,499 - 13.9%| ||Mike McGowan
839 - 4.7%|| ||Rod Loyola
11,034 - 61.6%| ||| |||||Naresh Bhardwaj§|-|style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Manning| ||Gurcharan Garcha
2,599 - 15.1%| ||Atiq Rehman
1,475 - 8.6%| ||Adam Mounzer
776 - 4.5%|| ||Heather Sweet
12,376 - 71.8%| ||| |||||Peter Sandhu§|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-McClung| ||David Xiao
4,408 - 25.9%| ||Steve Thompson
2,373 - 14.0%| |||| ||Lorne Dach
9,412 - 55.4%| ||John Hudson
808 - 4.8%| |||||David Xiao|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Meadowlark| ||Katherine O'Neill
3,924 - 22.8%| ||Amber Maze
1,972 - 11.5%| ||Dan Bildhauer
1,507 - 8.8%|| ||Jon Carson
9,796 - 57.0%| ||| |||||Raj Sherman†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-South West| ||Matt Jeneroux
6,316 - 27.8%| ||Cole Kander
2,290 - 10.1%| ||Rudy Arcilla
1,199 - 5.3%|| ||Thomas Dang
12,352 - 54.4%| ||Krishna Tailor
543 - 2.4%| |||||Matt Jeneroux|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Edmonton-Whitemud| ||Stephen Mandel
7,177 - 32.2%| ||Chad Peters
1,423 - 6.4%| ||Steven Townsend
629 - 2.8%|| ||Bob Turner
12,805 - 57.4%| ||| ||Kathryn Jackson (Green)
182 - 0.8%
John Baloun (Ind.)
73 - 0.3%|||Stephen Mandel|-|style="background:whitesmoke;"|Sherwood Park| ||Cathy Olesen
5,655 - 25.9%| ||Linda Osinchuk
4,815 - 22.1%| |||| ||Annie McKitrick
11,365 - 52.0%| ||| |||||Cathy Olesen|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|St. Albert| ||Stephen Khan
6,340 - 27.9%| ||Shelley Biermanski
2,858 - 12.6%| ||Bill Alton
778 - 3.4%|| ||Marie Renaud
12,220 - 53.9%| ||Trevor Love
493 - 2.2%| |||||Stephen Khan
|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Drayton Valley-Devon| ||Diana J. McQueen
5,182 - 30.5%|| ||Mark Smith
6,284 - 37.0%| ||| ||Katherine Swampy
4,816 - 28.4%| ||Connie Jensen
416 - 2.5%| ||Jennifer R. Roach (Green)
276 - 1.6%|||Diana McQueen|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Innisfail-Sylvan Lake| ||Kerry Towle
5,136 - 28.0%|| ||Don MacIntyre
7,829 - 42.7%| ||| ||Patricia Norman
4,244 - 23.1%| ||Danielle Klooster
1,135 - 6.2%| |||||Kerry Towle|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills| ||Wade Bearchell
5,274 - 26.3%|| ||Nathan Cooper
10,692 - 53.4%| ||| ||Glenn R. Norman
3,366 - 16.8%| ||Jim Adamchick
685 - 3.4%| |||||Bruce Rowe†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Red Deer-North| ||Christine Moore
3,836 - 22.7%| ||S.H. "Buck" Buchanan
4,173 - 24.7%| ||Michael Dawe
3,262 - 19.3%|| ||Kim Schreiner
4,969 - 29.4%| ||Krystal Kromm
683 - 4.0%| |||||Mary Anne Jablonski†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Red Deer-South| ||Darcy Mykytyshyn
5,414 - 27.6%| ||Norman Wiebe
4,812 - 24.6%| ||Deborah Checkel
738 - 3.8%|| ||Barb Miller
7,024 - 35.9%| ||Serge Gingras
1,035 - 5.3%| ||Ben Dubois (Green)
274 - 1.4%
Patti Argent (Ind.)
232 - 1.2%
William Berry (Ind.)
60 - 0.3%|||Cal Dallas†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre| ||Tammy Coté
5,296 - 31.8%|| ||Jason Nixon
6,670 - 40.1%| ||| ||Hannah Schlamp
2,791 - 16.8%| ||| ||Joe Anglin (Ind.)
1,871 - 11.3%|||Joe Anglin|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Spruce Grove-St. Albert| ||Rus Matichuk
6,362 - 25.6%| ||Jaye Walter
4,631 - 18.7%| ||Reg Lukasik
916 - 3.7%|| ||Trevor Horne
11,546 - 46.5%| ||Gary Hanna
1,081 - 4.4%| ||Brendon Greene (Green)
269 - 1.1%|||Vacant|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Stony Plain| ||Ken Lemke
4,944 - 25.7%| ||Kathy Rondeau
5,586 - 29.1%| ||Mike Hanlon
657 - 3.4%|| ||Erin Babcock
7,268 - 37.8%| ||Sandy Simmie
538 - 2.8%| ||Matt Burnett (Green)
220 - 1.1%|||Ken Lemke|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|West Yellowhead| ||Robin Campbell
3,433 - 32.3%| ||Stuart Taylor
3,055 - 28.8%| |||| ||Eric Rosendahl
4,135 - 38.9%| ||| |||||Robin Campbell|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Whitecourt-Ste. Anne| ||George VanderBurg
4,721 - 31.1%| ||John Bos
4,996 - 33.0%| |||| ||Oneil Carlier
5,442 - 35.9%| ||| |||||George VanderBurg
|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Battle River-Wainwright| ||Blake Prior
5,057 - 31.2%|| ||Wes Taylor
6,862 - 42.3%| ||Ron Williams
500 - 3.1%| ||Gordon Naylor
3,807 - 23.5%| ||| |||||Vacant|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Drumheller-Stettler| ||Jack Hayden
5,388 - 33.9%|| ||Rick Strankman
7,570 - 47.7%| ||| ||Emily Shannon
2,927 - 18.4%| ||| |||||Rick Strankman|-|style="background:whitesmoke;"|Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville| ||Jacquie Fenske
5,527 - 28.3%| ||Joe Gosselin
3,959 - 20.2%| ||Peter Schneider
475 - 2.4%|| ||Jessica Littlewood
8,983 - 45.9%| ||Derek Christensen
324 - 1.7%| ||Allison Anderson (Green)
285 - 1.5%|||Jacquie Fenske|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Lacombe-Ponoka| ||Peter Dewit
5,018 - 27.6%|| ||Ron Orr
6,502 - 35.7%| ||| ||Doug Hart
5,481 - 30.1%| ||Tony Jeglum
1,206 - 6.6%| |||||Rod Fox§|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Leduc-Beaumont| ||George Rogers
6,225 - 28.3%| ||Sharon Smith
6,543 - 29.7%| |||| ||Shaye Anderson
8,321 - 37.8%| ||Bert Hoogewoonink
612 - 2.8%| ||Josh Drozda (Green)
301 - 1.4%|||George Rogers|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Strathcona-Sherwood Park| ||Dave Quest
6,623 - 30.1%| ||Rob Johnson
5,286 - 24.0%| |||| ||Estefania Cortes-Vargas
9,376 - 42.6%| ||Lynne Kaiser
721 - 3.3%| |||||Dave Quest|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Vermilion-Lloydminster|| ||Richard Starke
5,935 - 47.4%| ||Danny Hozack
4,171 - 33.3%| ||| ||Saba Mossagizi
2,428 - 19.4%| ||| |||||Richard Starke|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Wetaskiwin-Camrose| ||Verlyn Olson
5,951 - 34.7%| ||Bill Rock
3,685 - 21.5%| |||| ||Bruce Hinkley
7,531 - 43.9%| ||| |||||Verlyn Olson
|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Acadia| ||Jonathan Denis
4,602 - 29.0%| ||Linda Carlson
4,985 - 31.4%| ||Nicholas Borovsky
765 - 4.8%|| ||Brandy Payne
5,506 - 34.7%| ||| |||||Jonathan Denis|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Buffalo| ||Terry Rock
3,738 - 28.1%| ||Leah Wamboldt
1,351 - 10.2%| ||David Khan
3,282 - 24.7%|| ||Kathleen Ganley
4,671 - 35.1%| ||| ||Sabrina Lee Levac (Green)
263 - 2.0%|||Kent Hehr†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Cross| ||Rick Hanson
4,501 - 35.3%| ||Moiz Mahmood
2,060 - 16.2%| ||Manjot Singh Gill
1,194 - 9.4%|| ||Ricardo Miranda
4,602 - 36.1%| ||| ||Peter Meic (Green)
236 - 1.9%
Katherine Le Rougetel (Ind.)
143 - 1.1%|||Yvonne Fritz†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Currie| ||Christine Cusanelli
4,577 - 24.7%| ||Terry DeVries
3,769 - 20.3%| ||Shelley Wark-Martyn
1,441 - 7.8%|| ||Brian Malkinson
7,387 - 39.8%| ||Tony Norman
1,006 - 5.4%| ||Nelson Berlin (Green)
373 - 2.0%|||Christine Cusanelli|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-East| ||Moe Amery
3,971 - 28.3%| ||Ali Waissi
3,633 - 25.9%| ||Naser Al-Kukhun
806 - 5.7%|| ||Robyn Luff
5,506 - 39.2%| ||| ||Bonnie Devine (Communist)
138 - 1.0%|||Moe Amery|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Elbow| ||Gordon Dirks
6,254 - 30.3%| ||Megan Brown
1,786 - 8.7%| ||John Roggeveen
565 - 2.7%| ||Catherine Welburn
3,256 - 15.8%|| ||Greg Clark
8,707 - 42.2%| ||Larry R. Heather (Social Credit)
67 - 0.3%|||Gordon Dirks|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Fish Creek|| ||Richard Gotfried
6,198 - 32.9%| ||Blaine Maller
5,568 - 29.6%| ||| ||Jill Moreton
6,069 - 32.2%| ||Allison Wemyss
850 - 4.5%| ||Martin Owen (Social Credit)
148 - 0.8%|||Heather Forsyth†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Fort| ||Andy Bao Nguyen
3,204 - 22.7%| ||Jeevan Mangat
3,003 - 21.3%| ||Said Abdulbaki
476 - 3.4%|| ||Joe Ceci
7,027 - 49.8%| ||Vic Goosen
410 - 2.9%| |||||Wayne Cao†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Glenmore| ||Linda Johnson
7,015 - 33.2%| ||Chris Kemp-Jackson
5,058 - 23.9%| ||David Waddington
1,345 - 6.4%|| ||Anam Kazim
7,021 - 33.2%| ||Terry Lo
719 - 3.4%| |||||Linda Johnson|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Klein| ||Kyle Fawcett
4,878 - 26.8%| ||Jeremy Nixon
4,206 - 23.0%| ||David Gamble
1,104 - 6.0%|| ||Craig Coolahan
8,098 - 44.3%| ||| ||Noel Keough (Green)
0 - 0.0%|||Kyle Fawcett|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Mountain View| ||Mark Hlady
4,699 - 23.9%| ||Terry Wong
2,070 - 10.5%|| ||David Swann
7,204 - 36.7%| ||Marc Andrew Chikinda
5,673 - 28.9%| ||| |||||David Swann|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Varsity| ||Susan Billington
5,700 - 30.2%| ||Sharon Polsky
2,598 - 13.8%| ||Pete Helfrich
1,862 - 9.9%|| ||Stephanie McLean
8,297 - 43.9%| ||| ||Carl Svoboda (Green)
424 - 2.2%|||Donna Kennedy-Glans†
|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Bow| ||Byron Nelson
5,419 - 33.0%| ||Trevor Grover
3,752 - 22.8%| ||Matt Gaiser
682 - 4.2%|| ||Deborah Drever
5,669 - 34.5%| ||Jonathon Himann
459 - 2.8%| ||David Reid (Green)
448 - 2.7%|||Alana DeLong†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Foothills|| ||Jim Prentice
7,163 - 40.3%| ||Keelan Frey
3,216 - 18.1%| ||Ali Bin Zahid
1,271 - 7.2%| ||Anne Wilson
5,748 - 32.4%| ||| ||Janet Keeping (Green)
363 - 2.0%|||Jim Prentice|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Greenway|| ||Manmeet Bhullar
5,337 - 42.8%| ||Devinder Toor
2,627 - 21.1%| ||| ||Don Monroe
4,513 - 36.2%| ||| |||||Manmeet Bhullar|-|style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Hawkwood| ||Jason Luan
6,378 - 31.2%| ||Jae Shim
4,448 - 21.7%| ||Harbaksh Singh Sekhon
736 - 3.6%|| ||Michael Connolly
7,443 - 36.4%| ||Beth Barberree
925 - 4.5%| ||Polly Knowlton Cockett (Green)
455 - 2.2%
Len Skowronski (Social Credit)
90 - 0.4%|||Jason Luan|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Hays|| ||Ric McIver
6,671 - 38.3%| ||Bob Mailloux
4,562 - 26.2%| ||Shawn Emran
722 - 4.1%| ||Carla Drader
5,138 - 29.5%| ||| ||Graham MacKenzie (Green)
250 - 1.4%
Zachary Doyle (Social Credit)
93 - 0.5%|||Ric McIver|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Lougheed|| ||Dave Rodney
5,939 - 35.0%| ||Mark Mantei
4,781 - 28.2%| ||Leila Keith
817 - 4.8%| ||Mihai Ion
5,437 - 32.0%| ||| |||||Dave Rodney|-|style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Mackay-Nose Hill| ||Neil Brown
4,587 - 27.4%| ||Kathy Macdonald
4,914 - 29.3%| ||Prab Lashar
768 - 4.6%|| ||Karen M. McPherson
6,177 - 36.9%| ||| ||Sandy Kevin Aberdeen (Green)
316 - 1.9%|||Neil Brown|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-McCall| ||Jagdeep Kaur Sahota
2,317 - 18.2%| ||Happy Mann
3,367 - 26.4%| ||Avinash S. Khangura
2,224 - 17.5%|| ||Irfan Sabir
3,812 - 29.9%| ||| ||Burhan Khan (Ind.)
1,010 - 7.9%|||Darshan Kang†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-North West|| ||Sandra Jansen
6,320 - 32.7%| ||Jeff Callaway
5,163 - 26.7%| ||Neil Marion
935 - 4.8%| ||Karen Mills
5,724 - 29.6%| ||Chris Blatch
1,176 - 6.1%| |||||Sandra Jansen|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Northern Hills| ||Teresa Woo-Paw
5,343 - 30.7%| ||Prasad Panda
4,392 - 25.3%| ||Harry Lin
1,000 - 5.8%|| ||Jamie Kleinsteuber
6,641 - 38.2%| ||| |||||Teresa Woo-Paw|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-Shaw| ||Jeff Wilson
5,348 - 30.7%| ||Brad Leishman
5,301 - 30.4%| ||Alexander Barrow
668 - 3.8%|| ||Graham Sucha
5,449 - 31.2%| ||Evert Smith
661 - 3.8%| |||||Jeff Wilson|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-South East|| ||Rick Fraser
7,663 - 32.5%| ||Brandon Lunty
6,892 - 29.2%| ||Gladwin Gill
1,304 - 5.5%| ||Mirical Macdonald
7,358 - 31.2%| ||| ||Jordan Mac Isaac (Green)
374 - 1.6%|||Rick Fraser|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Calgary-West|| ||Mike Ellis
8,312 - 46.8%| ||Gerard Lucyshyn
4,512 - 25.4%| ||| ||Mizanur Rahman
4,940 - 27.8%| ||| |||||Mike Ellis|-|style="background:whitesmoke;"|Chestermere-Rocky View| ||Bruce McAllister
7,454 - 36.0%|| ||Leela Sharon Aheer
7,676 - 37.0%| ||| ||William James Pelech
3,706 - 17.9%| ||| ||Jamie Lall (Ind.)
1,093 - 5.3%
Coral Bliss Taylor (Green)
405 - 2.0%
Matt Grant (Ind.)
391 - 1.9%|||Bruce McAllister|-
|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Airdrie| ||Peter Brown
6,181 - 28.9%|| ||Angela Pitt
7,499 - 35.1%| ||| ||Chris Noble
6,388 - 29.9%| ||Jeremy Klug
912 - 4.3%| ||Jeff Willerton (Ind.)
399 - 1.9%|||Rob Anderson†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Banff-Cochrane| ||Ron Casey
5,555 - 28.2%| ||Scott Wagner
5,692 - 28.9%| |||| ||Cameron Westhead
8,426 - 42.8%| ||| |||||Ron Casey|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Cardston-Taber-Warner| ||Brian Brewin
4,356 - 35.5%|| ||Grant Hunter
5,126 - 41.8%| ||| ||Aaron Haugen
2,407 - 19.6%| ||Delbert Bodnarek
378 - 3.1%| |||||Gary Bikman§|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Cypress-Medicine Hat| ||Bob Olson
3,389 - 21.6%|| ||Drew Barnes
8,544 - 54.6%| ||Eric Musekamp
528 - 3.4%| ||Bev Waege
3,201 - 20.4%| ||| |||||Drew Barnes|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Highwood| ||Carrie Fischer
6,827 - 33.0%|| ||Wayne Anderson
8,504 - 41.1%| ||| ||Leslie Mahoney
3,937 - 19.0%| ||Joel Windsor
892 - 4.3%| ||Martin Blake (Green)
390 - 1.7%
Jeremy Fraser (Social Credit)
187 - 0.9%|||Danielle Smith§|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Lethbridge-East| ||Tammy L. Perlich
4,743 - 25.3%| ||Kent Prestage
3,918 - 20.9%| ||Bill West
1,201 - 6.4%|| ||Maria Fitzpatrick
8,918 - 47.5%| ||| |||||Bridget Pastoor†|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Lethbridge-West| ||Greg Weadick
3,938 - 21.0%| ||Ron Bain
3,063 - 16.3%| ||Sheila Pyne
634 - 3.4%|| ||Shannon Phillips
11,144 - 59.3%| ||| |||||Greg Weadick|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Little Bow| ||Ian Donovan
4,793 - 35.3%|| ||David Schneider
4,803 - 35.4%| ||Helen McMenamin
377 - 2.8%| ||Bev Muendel-Atherstone
3,364 - 24.8%| ||| ||Caleb Van Der Weide (Social Credit)
249 - 1.8%|||Ian Donovan|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Livingstone-Macleod| ||Evan P. Berger
6,404 - 34.7%|| ||Pat Stier
7,362 - 39.9%| ||Alida Hess
464 - 2.5%| ||Aileen Burke
4,338 - 22.9%| ||| |||||Pat Stier|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Medicine Hat| ||Blake Pedersen
3,427 - 21.1%| ||Val Olson
5,790 - 35.6%| |||| ||Bob Wanner
6,160 - 37.9%| ||Jim Black
731 - 4.5%| ||David Andrew Phillips (Ind.)
137 - 0.8%|||Blake Pedersen|-| style="background:whitesmoke;"|Strathmore-Brooks| ||Molly Douglass
4,452 - 27.0%|| ||Derek Fildebrandt
8,652 - 52.5%| ||Ali Abdulbaki
200 - 1.2%| ||Lynn MacWilliam
2,463 - 15.0%| ||Einar B. Davison
304 - 1.8%| ||Mike Worthington (Green)
322 - 2.0%
Glen Dundas (Alberta First)
72 - 0.4%|||Jason Hale†
The following is a summary of published polls of voter intentions.
| Date of Polling | Polling Firm | class=unsortable | Margin of Error (19 times out of 20) | PC | Wildrose | Liberal | NDP | Alberta | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 5, 2015 | Election 2015 | 27.8 | 24.2 | 4.2 | 40.6 | 2.2 | 1.0 | |||
| Forum Research | ±3 pp | 23 | 23 | 4 | 45 | 3 | 2 | |||
| Insights West | ±3.1 pp | 23 | 27 | 4 | 42 | 3 | 2 | 9 | ||
| EKOS Research Associates | ±3.4 pp | 22.5 | 24.0 | 5.6 | 44.3 | 2.2 | 1.4 | |||
| Forum Research | ±3 pp | 21 | 24 | 5 | 42 | 5 | 3 | |||
| Mainstreet Research | ±1.85 pp | 21 | 26 | 5 | 44 | 3 | 14 | |||
| Ipsos-Reid | ±4.1 pp | 24 | 26 | 9 | 37 | 3 | 1 | |||
| EKOS Research Associates | ±3.7 pp | 23.1 | 21.3 | 6.3 | 42.2 | 4.6 | 2.6 | |||
| ThinkHQ | ±2.1 pp | 20 | 27 | 9 | 39 | 4 | 1 | |||
| Leger Marketing | ±2.8 pp | 30 | 24 | 6 | 38 | 1 | 1 | 16 | ||
| Return On Insight | ±3.6 pp | 24 | 21 | 10 | 38 | 4 | ||||
| Televised leaders' debate | ||||||||||
| Mainstreet Research | ±1.49 pp | 26 | 32 | 8 | 31 | 4 | 21 | |||
| Forum Research | ±3 pp | 20 | 25 | 7 | 38 | 6 | 5 | |||
| Mainstreet Research | ±1.78 pp | 25 | 35 | 4 | 31 | 4 | 19 | |||
| Mainstreet Research | ±1.76 pp | 24 | 31 | 10 | 30 | 5 | 23 | |||
| Forum Research | ±2 pp | 27 | 30 | 12 | 28 | 2 | 2 | |||
| Dissolution of the 28th Alberta Legislative Assembly, campaign begins | ||||||||||
| Mainstreet Research | ±1.78 pp | 27 | 31 | 12 | 26 | 3 | 24 | |||
| ThinkHQ | ±2.3 pp | 25 | 31 | 12 | 26 | 5 | 1 | |||
| Insights West | ±3.9 pp | 31 | 27 | 14 | 22 | 2 | 5 | |||
| Mainstreet Research | ±1.8 pp | 30 | 30 | 17 | 18 | 5 | 20 | |||
| Brian Jean becomes leader of the Wildrose Party | ||||||||||
| Environics | 46 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 4 | |||||
| David Swann becomes interim leader of the Liberal Party | ||||||||||
| Raj Sherman resigns as leader of the Liberal Party | ||||||||||
| Insights West | 42 | 14 | 19 | 18 | 7 | |||||
| Heather Forsyth becomes interim leader of the Wildrose Party | ||||||||||
| Mainstreet Research | 44 | 20 | 14 | 18 | 4 | |||||
| Danielle Smith resigns as leader of the Wildrose Party, crosses the floor with 8 caucus members to the PCs | ||||||||||
| Insights West | 35 | 29 | 15 | 16 | 5 | |||||
| Rachel Notley becomes leader of the New Democratic Party | ||||||||||
| Lethbridge College | 32.6 | 30.8 | 12.8 | 16.8 | 7.0 | |||||
| Jim Prentice becomes leader of the Progressive Conservative Association and Premier | ||||||||||
| Leger Marketing | 29 | 33 | 18 | 16 | 4 | |||||
| Leger Marketing | 26 | 31 | 20 | 19 | 4 | |||||
| Brian Mason resigns as leader of the New Democratic Party, becomes interim leader | ||||||||||
| Insights West | 21 | 50 | 11 | 16 | 2 | |||||
| Alison Redford resigns as Premier and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association, Dave Hancock becomes interim leader and Premier | ||||||||||
| ThinkHQ | 19 | 46 | 16 | 15 | 3 | 1 | ||||
| Angus Reid | 23 | 46 | 15 | 13 | 4 | |||||
| Leger Marketing | 25 | 38 | 16 | 15 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| Environics | 36 | 33 | 18 | 12 | 2 | |||||
| Lethbridge College | 36.1 | 29.4 | 15.7 | 12.2 | 1.1 | 5.6 | ||||
| Leger Marketing | 33 | 34 | 15 | 15 | 3 | |||||
| Leger Marketing | 29 | 37 | 17 | 14 | 3 | |||||
| ThinkHQ | 26 | 38 | 13 | 16 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| Leger Marketing | 40 | 28 | 12 | 13 | 6 | |||||
| Environics | 45 | 29 | 13 | 12 | 1 | |||||
| Lethbridge College | 44.6 | 23.9 | 11.1 | 14.0 | 3.0 | 3.4 | ||||
| Environics | 43 | 26 | 14 | 13 | 3 | |||||
| Forum Research | 39 | 36 | 9 | 12 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Election 2012 | ±0.0 pp | 44.0 | 34.3 | 9.9 | 9.8 | 1.3 | 0.7 | |||
The following media outlets endorsed the Progressive Conservatives during the campaign:
No media endorsements were made for any of the other parties.