2001 Alberta general election

2001 Alberta general election

March 12, 2001 (2001-03-12)
83 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 42 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	53.38%
Majority party Minority party Third party   LIB Leader Ralph Klein Nancy MacBeth Raj Pannu Party Progressive Conservative Liberal New Democratic Leader since December 14, 1992 April 18, 1998 2000 Leader's seat Calgary-Elbow Edmonton-McClung (lost re-election) Edmonton-Strathcona Last election 63 seats, 51.2% 18 seats, 32.8% 2 seats, 8.8% Seats before 64 15 2 Seats won 74 7 2 Seat change 10 8 ±0 Popular vote 627,252 276,854 81,339 Percentage 61.9% 27.3% 8.0% Swing 10.7% 5.5% 0.8%
Premier before election Ralph Klein Progressive Conservative Premier after election Ralph Klein Progressive Conservative

The 2001 Alberta general election was held on March 12, 2001 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

The incumbent Alberta Progressive Conservative Party, led by Ralph Klein, won a strong majority for its tenth consecutive term in government. In addition to increasing its share of the popular vote to almost 62%, the PC Party won a majority of seats in Edmonton for the first time since 1982. In the process, they reduced the opposition to only nine MLAs in total. It was the Tories' biggest majority since the height of the Peter Lougheed era.

The Liberal Party lost 11 seats and ran up a large debt. Its leader, Nancy MacBeth, was defeated in her riding.

The New Democratic Party, led by Raj Pannu, hoped to make gains at the expense of the Liberals in Edmonton and replace them as the official opposition. This did not materialize, but the party did manage to maintain its share of the popular vote and held onto their two seats in the legislature. The NDP attempted to attract young voters with the slogan, "Raj against the Machine".

The right-wing Alberta First Party, contesting its first election, failed to win any seats or come close to winning any. The Social Credit Party, led by James Albers, was unable to build on its moderate success in the 1997 election, and sank back into obscurity. Socred leader Lavern Ahlstrom, however, performed well in Rocky Mountain House and finished second behind the incumbent Ty Lund.

Opinion polls

Evolution of voting intentions at provincial level

Polling firm	Last day of survey	Source	PCA	ALP	ANDP	Other	ME	Sample
Election 2001	March 12, 2001		61.9	27.3	8.0
Pollara	December 1997	[1]	57	—	—	—	—	—
Election 1997	March 11, 1997		51.17	32.75	8.81

Results

Overall voter turnout was 53.38%.^[2]

Party			Party leader	# of candidates	Seats			Popular vote
					1997	Dissolution	Elected	% Change	#	%	% Change
	Progressive Conservative		Ralph Klein	83	63	64	74	+17.5%	627,252	61.91%	+10.74%
	Liberal		Nancy MacBeth	83	18	15	7	-61.1%	276,854	27.33%	-5.42%
	New Democrats		Raj Pannu	83	2	2	2	-	81,339	8.03%	-0.78%
	Independent			29	-	1	-	-	10,528	1.04%	+0.93%
	Alberta First		John Reil	16	*	-	-	*	8,851	0.87%	*
	Social Credit	Coalition[3]	James Albers	12	-	-	-	-	5,361	0.53%	-6.31%
	Alberta Party		Fred Schorning
	Green		David Parker	10	-	-	-	-	2,850	0.28%	+0.17%
	Communist		Naomi Rankin	2	-	-	-	-	117	0.01%	x
	Vacant				*	1
	Total			318	83	83	83	-	1,013,152	100%

Notes:

* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

x - less than 0.005% of the popular vote.

Popular vote PC   61.91% Liberal   27.33% New Democratic   8.03% Others   2.73%

Seats summary PC   89.16% Liberal   8.43% New Democratic   2.41%

Results by riding

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Other
Airdrie-Rocky View		Carol Louise Haley 13,195 79.79%		Carol L'Abbee 2,043 12.35%		Christopher Hill 592 3.58%		Tom Humble (Ind.) 683 4.13%		Carol Louise Haley
Athabasca-Wabasca		Mike Cardinal 4,238 66.62%		Al Wurfel 1,264 19.87%		Colin Piquette 606 9.53%		David Klassen (SoCred) 153 2.41% Ian Hopfe (Green) 94 1.48%		Mike Cardinal
Banff-Cochrane		Janis Tarchuk 9,418 69.94%		Norman Kent 2,147 15.95%		Cathy Harrop 1,311 9.74%		Cory Morgan (Ind.) 538 4.00%		Janis Tarchuk
Barrhead-Westlock		Kenneth R. Kowalski 7,183 69.06%		Laurie Hodge 1,259 12.10%		Suzanne Forbes 569 5.47%		Jeff Willerton (SoCred) 1352 13.00%		Kenneth R. Kowalski
Bonnyville-Cold Lake		Denis Ducharme 5,641 70.37%		Ronald Young 1,755 21.89%		Ellen Ulfsten 313 3.90%		James William Skretteberg (Ind.) 275 3.43%		Denis Ducharme
Calgary-Bow		Alana S. DeLong 8,274 63.82%		Kelly McDonnell 3,230 24.91%		Jeff Bayliss 858 6.62%		Margaret (Peggy) Askin (Ind.) 184 1.42% Jan Triska (Green) 394		Bonnie Laing
Calgary-Buffalo		Harvey Cenaiko 5,582 53.92%		Brian Edy 4,135 39.94%		Neil McKinnon 473 4.57%		Dave Schwartz (SoCred) 113 1.09%		Gary Dickson
Calgary-Cross		Yvonne Fritz 6,816 74.67%		Keith Jones 1,836 20.11%		Ramiro Mora 441 4.83%				Yvonne Fritz
Calgary-Currie		Jon Lord 6,922 61.75%		Pat Murray 2,667 23.79%		Garth Mundle 1,114 9.94%		J. Bruce Miller (Ind.) 434 3.87%		Jocelyn Burgener
Calgary-East		Moe Amery 6,038 70.32%		Brendan Dunphy 2,010 23.41%		Giorgio Cattabeni 328 3.82%		Alan Schoonover (Ind.) 109 1.27% Jason Devine (Comm.) 41		Moe Amery
Calgary-Egmont		Denis Herard 10,338 74.08%		Wayne Lenhardt 2,613 18.72%		Shawn Christie 567 4.06%		Bradley R. Lang (Ind.) 399 2.86%		Denis Herard
Calgary-Elbow		Ralph Klein 10,213 66.68%		Harold Swanson 4,533 29.59%		Mathew Zachariah 369 2.41%		Monier Rahall (Ind.) 166 1.08%		Ralph Klein
Calgary-Fish Creek		Heather Forsyth 9,716 74.39%		Marc Doll 2,853 21.84%		Ryan Todd 465 3.56%				Heather Forsyth
Calgary-Foothills		Pat Nelson 12,070 67.21%		Harry B. Chase 5,051 28.13%		Jon Adams 784 4.37%				Patricia Black
Calgary-Fort		Wayne Cao 6,740 68.29%		Brian Huskins 2,004 20.30%		Vinay Dey 501 5.08%		Raymond (Chick) Hurst (SoCred) 160 1.62% Michael Alvarez-Toye (Green) 121 1.23% Metro Peter Demchynski (Ind.) 102 1.04% Brian Slater (Ind.) 100 1.02% Wyatt McIntyre (Ab. First) 99 1.00%		Wayne Cao
Calgary-Glenmore		Ron Stevens 9,678 67.51%		Michael Broadhurst 3,708 25.86%		Jennifer Stewart 441 3.08%		James S. Kohut (Green) 467 3.27%		Ron Stevens
Calgary-Lougheed		Marlene Graham 8,952 73.95%		Pete Montgomery 2,538 20.97%		Marc Power 577 4.77%				Marlene Graham
Calgary-McCall		Shiraz Shariff 6,558 69.94%		John Phillips 2,082 22.20%		Preet Sihota 449 4.79%		Darryl Elvers (Ab. First) 139 1.48% Rory M. Cory (SoCred) 121 1.29%		Shiraz Shariff
Calgary-Montrose		Hung Pham 6,329 70.35%		Art Danielson 2,093 23.27%		Robert Scobel 543 6.04%				Hung Pham
Calgary-Mountain View		Mark Hlady 6,462 60.23%		Jennifer Spencer 2,610 24.33%		Keith Purdy 1,637 15.26%				Mark Hlady
Calgary-North Hill		Richard Charles Magnus 7,034 63.60%		Darryl G. Hawkins 2,529 22.87%		Christine McGregor 1,067 9.65%		Darcy Kraus (Ab. First) 404 3.65%		Richard Charles Magnus
Calgary-North West		Greg Melchin 15,292 71.38%		Paul Allard 4,971 23.21%		Patricia Alward 828 3.87%		Douglas A. Picken (SoCred) 299 1.40%		Greg Melchin
Calgary-Nose Creek		Gary Mar 11,997 74.58%		Peter Willott 3,263 20.28%		Eileen Nesbitt 776 4.82%				Gary Mar
Calgary-Shaw		Cindy Ady 20,306 80.60%		Jim McPherson 3,595 14.27%		Ryan Falkenberg 729 2.89%		Peter Singleton (Ab. First) 222 0.88% Kevin Agar (Ind.) 153>br/>0.61% Darren Popik (Ind.) 151 0.60%		Jonathan Niles Havelock
Calgary-Varsity		Murray D. Smith 8,173 59.14%		Carrol Jaques 3,938 28.49%		Susan Scott 1,309 9.47%		Tavis Du Preez (Green)<by/>334 2.90%		Murray D. Smith
Calgary-West		Karen Kryczka 12,866 72.92%		Lorne B. Neudorf 3,459 19.60%		Greg Klassen 1,263 7.16%				Karen Kryczka
Cardston-Taber-Warner		Broyce G. Jacobs 5,256 53.58%		Ron Hancock 1,747 17.81%		Suzanne Sirias 240 2.45%		John Reil (Ab. First) 2557 26.07%		Ron Hierath
Clover Bar-Fort Saskatchewan		Rob Lougheed 9,674 62.59%		W.H. (Skip) Gordon 4,606 29.80%		Merrill Stewart 1,142 7.39%				Rob Lougheed
Cypress-Medicine Hat		Lorne Taylor 7,222 72.71%		Beverley Britton Clarke 2,074 20.88%		Cliff Anten 598 6.02%				Lorne Taylor
Drayton Valley-Calmar		Tony Abbott 7,673 68.29%		Roger Coles 2,229 19.84%		Mark Patty 588 5.23%		Roger Stefura (Ind.) 729 6.49%		Tom Thurber
Drumheller-Chinook		Shirley McClellan 6,684 72.77%		Greg Pyra 0,921 10.03%		Gerry Hamilton 546 5.94%		Eileen Walker (Ind.) 819 8.92% Peter Smits (SoCred) 184 2.00%		Shirley McClellan
Dunvegan		Hector G. Goudreau 5,857 67.02%		Bruce Rutley 1,888 21.60%		Yvonne Sinkevich 508 5.81%		Ron (Earl) Miller (Ind.) 248 2.85% Fred Euler (Ind.) 208 2.39%		Glen Clegg
Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview		Julius E. Yankowsky 4,732 45.61%		Bauni Mackay 3,290 31.71%		Elisabeth Ballermann 1,985 19.13%		Ken Shipka (Ind.)>br/>211 2.04% Teo Zanetic (Ab. First) 92 0.89% Tanya Gill (Ind.) 56 0.54%		Julius E. Yankowsky
Edmonton-Calder		Brent Rathgeber 5,128 41.90%		Lance D. White 4,654 38.03%		Christine Burdett 2,432 19.87%				Lance D. White
Edmonton-Castle Downs		Thomas A. Lukaszuk 5,971 51.03%		Boris Yaremko 4,479 38.28%		Michael Charrois 1,235 10.56%				Pamela Paul
Edmonton-Centre		Don J. Weideman 4,446 38.16%		Laurie Blakeman 5,095 43.73%		David Eggen 1,959 16.82%		Naomi J. Rankin (Comm.) 76 0.66%		Laurie Blakeman
Edmonton-Ellerslie		Sukhi Randhawa 4,209 41.95%		Debby Carlson 4,481 44.66%		Deborah Morrison 1,299 12.95%				Debby Carlson
Edmonton-Glengarry		Andrew Beniuk 4,715 44.85%		Bill Bonner 4,784 45.51%		Shane Watt 1,004 9.55%				Bill Bonner
Edmonton-Glenora		Drew Hutton 5,515 45.57%		Howard Sapers 5,328 44.03%		Guy Desrosiers 1,232 10.18%				Howard Sapers
Edmonton-Gold Bar		David Fletcher 5,981 39.85%		Hugh MacDonald 7,654 51.00%		Peter Cross 1,159 7.72%		Margaret Marean (Green) 193 1.29%		Hugh MacDonald
Edmonton-Highlands		Robert Bilida 3,477 34.51%		Kim Cassady 1,921 19.07%		Brian Mason 4,641 46.07%				Brian Mason
Edmonton-Manning		Tony Vandermeer 5,903 45.44%		Ed Gibbons 5,523 42.51%		Hana Razga 1,538 11.84%				Ed Gibbons
Edmonton-McClung		Mark P. Norris 6,976 50.41%		Nancy J. MacBeth 5,920 42.78%		Lorne Dach 804 5.81%		Patrick D. Ellis (Ind.) 133 0.96%		Nancy J. MacBeth
Edmonton-Meadowlark		Bob Maskell 6,108 48.50%		Karen Leibovici 5,674 45.06%		Mike Hudema 636 5.05%		Peggy Morton (Ind.) 144 1.14%		Karen Leibovici
Edmonton-Mill Creek		Gene Zwozdesky 8,085 55.51%		Bharat Agnihotri 4,229 29.04%		Edwin Villania 1,893 13.00%		Kyle Harvey (Ab. First) 220 1.51% Harlan Light (Green) 97 0.67%		Gene Zwozdesky
Edmonton-Mill Woods		Carl Benito 4,402 43.69%		Don Massey 4,920 48.83%		Mel H. Buffalo 725 7.20%				Don Massey
Edmonton-Norwood		Gary Masyk 3,304 38.06%		Brian Bechtel 3,164 36.45%		Harvey Voogd 2,196 25.30%				Sue Olsen
Edmonton-Riverview		Wendy Kinsella 5,883 39.29%		Kevin Taft 7,420 49.55%		Doug McLachlan 1,469 9.81%		Jerry Paschen (Green) 165 1.10%		Linda Sloan
Edmonton-Rutherford		Ian McClelland 6,173 48.08%		Rick Miller 5,558 43.29%		Shane MacDonald 1,071 8.34%				Percy Wickman
Edmonton-Strathcona		John Logan 4,749 34.27%		Jim Jacuta 1,944 14.03%		Raj Pannu 6,998 50.50%		James Lakinn (Ab. First) 136 0.98%		Raj Pannu
Edmonton-Whitemud		David Hancock 10,884 58.45%		Bruce King 6,503 34.92%		Katie Oppen Benschop 1,178 6.33%				David Hancock
Fort McMurray		Guy C. Boutilier 5,914 64.36%		John S. Vyboh 1,759 19.14%		Lyn Gorman 1,498 16.30%				Guy C. Boutilier
Grande Prairie-Smoky		Mel Knight 6,241 67.51%		Barry Robinson 1,777 19.22%		Leon R. Pendleton 842 9.11%		Dennis Young (Ind.) 380 4.11%		Walter Paszkowski
Grande Prairie-Wapiti		Gordon J. Graydon 5,674 65.40%		Ray Stitsen 1,489 17.16%		Elroy Deimert 819 9.44%		Ivo Noga (SoCred) 432 4.98% Terry Dueck (Ind.) 136 Robert Weberg (Ind.) 112 1.29%		Wayne Jacques
Highwood		Don Tannas 13,321 79.71%		Leonard Borowski 2,000 11.97%		Gunhild Hoogensen 773 4.63%		Julie Walker (Green) 581 3.48%		Don Tannas
Innisfail-Sylvan Lake		Luke Ouellette 9,725 74.40%		Garth E. Davis 2,652 20.29%		Eileen Clancy Teslenko 651 4.98%				Gary Severtson
Lac La Biche-St. Paul		Ray Danyluk 5,335 59.92%		Vital Ouellette 3,195 35.88%		John Williams 356 4.00%				Paul Langevin
Lacombe-Stettler		Judy Gordon 8,221 70.00%		Doug McDavid 2,500 21.29%		Lorenzo Fiorito 455 3.87%		Douglas R. Chitwood (Ind.) 554 4.72%		Judy Gordon
Leduc		Albert Klapstein 9,235 66.69%		Joyce Assen 3,575 25.82%		Leilani O'Malley 957 6.91%				Albert Klapstein
Lesser Slave Lake		Pearl M. Calahasen 4,766 73.80%		Rick Noel 1,429 22.13%		Doris Bannister 232 3.59%				Pearl M. Calahasen
Lethbridge-East		Ron Carroll 4,704 36.87%		Ken Nicol 6,939 54.39%		Gaye Metz 542 4.25%		Mark Ogden (Ab. First) 554 4.34%		Ken Nicol
Lethbridge-West		Clint Dunford 6,685 47.97%		Leslie Vaala 5,496 39.43%		Mark Sandilands 1,062 7.62%		Brian Stewart (Ab. First) 662 4.75%		Clint Dunford
Little Bow		Barry McFarland 6,881 64.70%		Arij Langstraat 2,534 23.82%		Andrea Enes 319 3.00%		Jon Koch (Ind.) 885 8.32%		Barry McFarland
Livingstone-Macleod		David Coutts 6,340 60.47%		Ernie Patterson 3,035 28.95%		James Tweedie 553 5.27%		Larry Lybbert (Ab. First) 519 4.95%		David Coutts
Medicine Hat		Rob Renner 8,109 61.80%		Karen Charlton 4,166 31.75%		Luke Lacasse 787 6.00%				Rob Renner
Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills		Richard Marz 10,553 80.51%		Gayleen Roelfsema 1,663 12.69%		Brenda L. Dyck 383 2.92%		Nicholas Semmler (SoCred) 460 3.51%		Richard Marz
Peace River		Gary Friedel 3,782 64.29%		Susan Callihoo 1,544 26.25%		Steve Crocker 338 5.75%		John Iftody (Ab. First) 206 3.50%		Gary Friedel
Ponoka-Rimbey		Halvar C. Jonson 6,797 71.87%		Tim Falkiner 1,296 13.70%		Linda Roth 574 6.07%		Charles Park (Ind.) 764 8.08%		Halvar C. Jonson
Red Deer-North		Mary Anne Jablonski 5,025 57.04%		Norm McDougall 3,110 35.30%		Jim Guthrie 309 3.51%		Patti Argent (Ab. First) 356 4.04%		Mary Anne Jablonski
Red Deer-South		Victor Doerksen 7,684 59.93%		Garfield Marks 3,927 30.63%		Erika Bullwinkle 512 3.99%		Bob Argent (Ab. First) 459 3.58% Ryan Lamarche (Ind.) 203 1.58%		Victor Doerksen
Redwater		Dave Broda 7,319 58.14%		Andrew Raczynski 3,924 31.17%		Mike Radojcic 658 5.23%		Tony Ollenberger (Ab. First) 647 5.14%		Dave Broda
Rocky Mountain House		Ty Lund 7,820 70.27%		Wijnand Horemans 1,171 10.52%		Doug Mac Angus 408 3.67%		Lavern J. Ahlstrom (SoCred) 1705 15.32%		Ty Lund
Sherwood Park		Iris Evans 13,243 64.03%		Louise Rogers 5,787 27.98%		Chris Harwood 1,606 7.76%				Iris Evans
Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert		Doug Horner 8,010 55.23%		Colleen Soetaert 5,832 40.22%		Dale Apostal 616 4.25%				Colleen Soetaert
St. Albert		Mary O'Neill 9,537 52.50%		Len Bracko 7,479 41.17%		Michelle Mungall 1,122 6.18%				Mary O'Neill
Stony Plain		Stan Woloshyn 9,197 67.06%		Monika Cappis 3,228 23.54%		Stephen Lindop 1,261 9.19%				Stan Woloshyn
Strathmore-Brooks		Lyle Oberg 8,585 74.92%		Barry Morishita 1,774 15.48%		Don MacFarlane 290 2.53%		Christopher Sutherland (Ind.) 511 4.46% Rudy Martens (SoCred) 273 2.38%		Lyle Oberg
Vegreville-Viking		Ed Stelmach 7,191 60.63%		Ross Demkiw 3,391 28.59%		Greg Kurulok 1,243 10.48%				Ed Stelmach
Vermilion-Lloydminster		Lloyd Snelgrove 6,978 73.01%		David Tschorn 0,980 10.25%		Raymond Stone 976 10.21%		Grant West (Ab. First) 589 6.16%		Steve West
Wainwright		Robert A. (Butch) Fischer 6,910 63.53%		Ronald Williams 1,269 11.67%		Lilas I. Lysne 420 3.86%		Jerry D. Barber (Ab. First) 1,394 12.82% Jeff Newland (Ind.) 868 7.98%		Robert A. (Butch) Fischer
West Yellowhead		Ivan J. Strang 5,763 59.10%		Lyle Benson 3,180 32.61%		Noel Lapierre 801 8.21%				Ivan J. Strang
Wetaskiwin-Camrose		LeRoy Johnson 9,090 72.25%		Stewart Larkin 1,671 13.28%		Philip Penrod 1,420 11.29%		Ben Lussier (Ind.) 382 3.04%		LeRoy Johnson
Whitecourt-Ste. Anne		George VanderBurg 7,579 68.41%		Derril Butler 2,890 26.09%		Wade Franko 570 5.15%				Peter Trynchy

References

1. Evenson, Brad (December 6, 1997). "Inside Politics". Edmonton Journal. p. A3.
2. Election Alberta (July 28, 2008). 2008 General Report (PDF). p. 158. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2011.
3. "Political parties to merge". CBC News. February 7, 2000. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2011.

Further reading

• Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2001). The report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 2000 provincial confirmation process and Monday, March 12, 2001, Provincial General Election of the twenty-fifth Legislative Assembly. Edmonton: Alberta Legislative Assembly, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer.
• Mutimer, David, ed. (2007). Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs, 2001. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442684126.