Alberta general election, 1993
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The Alberta general election of 1993 was the twenty-third general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on June 15, 1993 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. It is notable because it was seen by some as a contest between the former mayors of Calgary and Edmonton, Ralph Klein and Laurence Decore, respectively.
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[edit] Background
In 1992, the Liberal Party was led by Laurence Decore, a former mayor of Edmonton. Despite being the smallest of the three parties in the legislature, the Liberals made major gains by criticizing the Conservatives' fiscal responsibility, the province's rapidly rising debt, and the government's involvement in the private sector which resulted in some companies defaulting on government loans.
In September 1992, Don Getty resigned as provincial premier and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, after polls showed that he would not win re-election. The party convention chose Environment Minister and former Calgary mayor Ralph Klein to succeed Getty. Klein campaigned for the leadership in part by making arguments similar to Decore's. He favoured a near-immediate balancing of the provincial budget and rapid debt repayment thereafter, and declared his government "out of the business of business". By the time Klein dropped the writs, his party had regained the lead on polls.
[edit] Campaign
During the general election campaign, Klein promoted the significant changes that he had made during his time of Premier, distancing the Conservatives from Getty's past administration. Decore, facing a Premier with whom he agreed on many issues, argued that the Progressive Conservative party had no moral authority left on the issues on which Klein was campaigning.[1]
There were several televised debates, however viewership was low since it coincided with the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals .
[[image=Laurence decore.jpg|right|Decore with his "debt clock", which he used to illustrate the rise of Alberta's provincial debt under Don Getty.]]
[edit] Election
Klein's efforts were seen as successful in reinvigorating the Conservatives from certain defeat just under a year earlier. Ending up, they retained a solid majority in the legislature for its seventh consecutive term in government. The Conservatives increased its share of the popular vote marginally, and lost eight seats in the legislature.
The Liberals capitalized on the stagant PC vote and the collapse of the New Democratic Party vote from 26% to 11%. As opposition to the PC government coalesced around Decore and the Liberals, they managed to win almost 40% of the popular vote and 32 seats in the legislature. They formed what still stands as the largest opposition caucus in Alberta history, except for in 1917 when the government majority was smaller but there were far less seats in the legislature. To the surprise of many, Decore stepped down as Liberal leader not long after the election, supposedly being pressured to resign by party insiders who felt that he missed the chance to form the government.
Ray Martin's New Democrats went down to defeat by being shut out of the legislature for the first time since 1967. Most of their seats in Edmonton were lost to the Liberals, due to the popularity of Decore there. As well, Martin suggested that tactical voting was to blame, as the anti-PC vote consolidated around the Liberals. Finally, some defeated NDP legislature members suggested that their platform, if actually implemented, would have been realistic.
[edit] Results
| Party | Party leader | candidates | Seats | Popular vote | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Elected | % Change | # | % | % Change | ||||
| Progressive Conservative |
|
83 | 59 | 51 | -13.6% | 439,981 | 44.49% | +0.20% | |
| Liberal |
|
83 | 8 | 32 | +300% | 392,899 | 39.73% | +11.05% | |
| New Democrats |
|
83 | 16 | - | -100% | 108,883 | 11.01% | -15.28% | |
| Social Credit |
|
39 | - | - | - | 23,885 | 2.41% | +1.94% | |
| Independent | 21 | - | - | - | 9,214 | 0.93% | +0.67% | ||
| Natural Law |
|
45 | * | - | * | 5,017 | 0.51% | * | |
| Confederation of Regions |
|
12 | * | - | * | 3,556 | 0.36% | * | |
| Alberta Political Alliance |
|
4 | * | - | * | 3,548 | 0.36% | * | |
| Green |
|
11 | * | - | * | 1,995 | 0.20% | * | |
| Communist |
|
1 | - | - | - | 47 | x | -0.01% | |
| Total | 382 | 83 | 83 | - | 989,025 | 100% |
|
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| Source: Elections Alberta | |||||||||
Notes:
* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.
x - less than 0.005% of the popular vote
[edit] Members elected
For complete electoral history, see individual districts
Note:
- 1 Pat Black later changed her last name to Nelson.
[edit] See also
| Preceded by 1989 Alberta election |
Alberta elections | Succeeded by 1997 Alberta election |
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