1997 Alberta general election

The 1997 Alberta general election was held on March 11, 1997, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

The Progressive Conservative government led by Premier Ralph Klein won its eighth consecutive mandate going back to 1971, increasing its share of votes and seats in the Legislature relative to the previous election in 1993. The Liberal Party retained Official Opposition status, though it lost nearly half its seats. After an electoral wipeout in 1993, the NDP returned to the Legislature by winning two seats.

Background

The Progressive Conservative Association had governed Alberta since 1971, and premier Ralph Klein led the party into his second general election as party leader. The previous election in 1993 was the best result for the Liberal Party since its last electoral victory in 1917.

This was the second consecutive election fought on a new set of electoral boundaries, due to an Alberta Court of Appeal decision that was critical of the map created in 1992. The government amended the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act, introducing the present system where the commission is made up of a justice from the Court, two members appointed by the governing party, and two members appointed by the official opposition. A new Commission was created, which issued its recommendations for a new set of electoral boundaries in 1996.

Opinion polls

Results

Ralph Klein's second election as leader of the PCs was considerably more successful than his first. The party won over half the popular vote, and 63 of the 83 seats in the legislature for its eighth consecutive term in government. The party continued to dominate in Calgary and rural areas, and managed to regain a foothold in Edmonton where it won two seats.

The Liberal Party of Grant Mitchell lost about 7% of the popular vote it had won in the 1993 election. The party's legislative caucus was reduced from 32 members to 18.

Pam Barrett led the New Democratic Party back into the legislature with two seats (both in Edmonton), despite winning an even smaller share of the popular vote than in 1993.

The Social Credit Party also re-emerged, placing a strong second in several rural ridings, but did not win any seats.

Overall voter turnout was 53.75%.

Notes:

* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

x – less than 0.005% of the popular vote