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 + Evolution of voting intentions at provincial level Polling firmLast day of survey Source PCA ALP ANDP Other SampleElection 1997March 11, 199751.1732.758.817.27Angus ReidJanuary 25, 19976324113Angus ReidAugust 28, 1995642565Election 1993June 15, 199344.4939.7311.014.77
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%.
PartyParty leader# ofcandidatesSeatsPopular vote1993Elected% Change#%% Change Ralph Klein 83 51 63 +23.5% 483,914 51.17% +6.68% Grant Mitchell 83 32 18 -43.8% 309,748 32.75% -6.98% Pam Barrett 77 - 2 83,292 8.81% -2.20% Randy Thorsteinson 70 - - - 64,667 6.84% +4.43% Maury Shapka 16 - - - 1,303 0.14% -0.37% David Parker 7 - - - 1,039 0.11% -0.09%Independent 6 - - - 1,092 0.11% -0.82% William Finn 4 * - * 597 0.06% * Naomi Rankin 1 - - - 61 0.01% xTotal34783 83 - 945,713 100% Source: Elections Alberta
Notes:
* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.
x – less than 0.005% of the popular vote
Results by riding
|Airdrie-Rocky View||| |Carol Louise Haley8,49268.93% | |James Welsh2,19717.83% | |Doris Bannister4823.91% | |Peter Smits1,1259.13%
|Athabasca-Wabasca||| |Mike Cardinal3,38058.65% | |Tony Mercredi1,48125.70% | |Dean Patriquin3005.21% | |Curtis Gunderson4688.12% | |Harlan Light (Green)1001.74%||| |Mike Cardinal |- |Banff-Cochrane||| |Janis Tarchuk7,18060.96% | |Judy Stewart3,15126.75% | |Jeff Eamon7546.40% | |Scott Mudford6615.61%
|Brian Evans |- |Barrhead-Westlock||| |Kenneth R. Kowalski6,19560.49% | |Dale Greig2,13020.80% | |Joe Woytowich6436.28% | |J. Harvey Yuill1,24412.15%
|Kenneth R. Kowalski |- |Bonnyville-Cold Lake||| |Denis Ducharme4,59358.32% | |Leo Vasseur2,32329.50%
|Robert Kratchmer94812.04%
|Calgary-Bow||| |Bonnie Laing6,66454.07% | |Mark Dickerson4,09133.19% | |Brent Johner1,1449.28%
|Ronnie Shapka (Nat. Law)1581.28%David Crowe (Green)1871.52%||| |Bonnie Laing |- |Calgary-Buffalo | |Terri-Lynn Bradford4,11543.52%||| |Gary Dickson4,31045.58% | |Neil McKinnon5475.79% | |Raymond Neilson3003.17% | |Ralph Holt (Nat. Law)1151.22%||| |Gary Dickson |- |Calgary-Cross||| |Yvonne Fritz5,96466.88% | |Keith Jones2,45627.54%
|Maurizio Terrigno4675.24%
|Yvonne Fritz |- |Calgary-Currie||| |Jocelyn Burgener5,95253.83% | |Mairi Matheson3,63632.88% | |Liz Blackwood7126.44% | |Jeff Townsend6105.52% | |Richard Shelford (Nat. Law)1090.99%||| |Jocelyn Burgener |- |Calgary-East||| |Moe Amery4,85759.78% | |Kelly McDonnell1,99024.49% | |Marg Elliot6097.50% | |Raymond (Chick) Hurst6137.54%
|Moe Amery |- |Calgary-Egmont||| |Denis Herard8,84264.48% | |Pam York3,33624.33% | |Larry Kowalchuk6544.77% | |Douglas Cooper8366.10%
|Denis Herard |- |Calgary-Elbow||| |Ralph Klein8,23757.78% | |Harold Swanson5,19536.44% | |Shawn Christie3072.15% | |Lera G. Shirley4212.95% | |Frank Haika (Nat. Law)750.53%||| |Ralph Klein |- |Calgary-Fish Creek||| |Heather Forsyth8,27466.47% | |Marie Cameron3,02024.26% | |Muriel Turner-Wilkinson3482.80% | |Jeff Willerton7786.25%
|Heather Forsyth |- |Calgary-Foothills||| |Patricia Black8,84960.35% | |Albert W. Ludwig4,33929.59% | |Brenda Wadey7204.91% | |Kevin Davidson7355.01%
|Patricia Black |- |Calgary-Fort||| |Wayne Cao4,41048.53% | |Shirley-Anne Reuben2,81731.00% | |Ken Sahil8919.81% | |Bren Blanchet91610.08%
|Calgary-Glenmore||| |Ron Stevens8,24758.02% | |Wayne Stewart4,91934.61% | |Grace Johner4353.06% | |Vernon Cook5834.10%
|Dianne Mirosh |- |Calgary-Lougheed||| |Marlene Graham7,76165.89% | |Darryl G. Hawkins2,90624.67% | |Mara Vogel5334.53% | |Hub Blanchet5604.75%
|Jim Dinning |- |Calgary-McCall||| |Shiraz Shariff5,11858.67% | |Amar Singh2,70130.96%
|Rory M. Cory87610.04%
|Harry Sohal |- |Calgary-Montrose||| |Hung Pham4,55658.56% | |Diane Danielson2,57633.11%
|Christopher Dick5366.89% | |Neeraj Varma (Nat. Law)941.21%||| |Hung Pham |- |Calgary-Mountain View||| |Mark Hlady5,46848.36% | |Patricia Ennis3,26928.91% | |Gordon M. Christie2,08518.44% | |Jason Nicholas4503.98%
|Mark Hlady |- |Calgary-North Hill||| |Richard Charles Magnus6,37958.36% | |John Schmale3,29730.16% | |Jason Ness1,18310.82%
|Richard Charles Magnus |- |Calgary-North West||| |Greg Melchin9,19053.19% | |Frank Bruseker7,22641.82% | |Jeff Pattinson3421.98% | |Douglas A. Picken5032.91%
|Frank Bruseker |- |Calgary-Nose Creek||| |Gary Mar7,81564.33% | |Peter Willott2,89423.82% | |Doral Johnson6965.73% | |Greg Greene7155.89%
|Gary Mar |- |Calgary-Shaw||| |Jonathan Niles Havelock12,30475.21% | |Sharon L. Howe2,86017.48% | |Shawn Keown4852.96% | |Michael Roth6243.81% | |Almas Walden (Nat. Law)690.42%||| |Jonathan Niles Havelock |- |Calgary-Varsity||| |Murray D. Smith7,23251.34% | |Carrol Jaques5,41438.43% | |Dirk Huysman6404.54% | |Mike Bressers6464.59% | |Joel Ashworth (Green)1320.94%||| |Murray D. Smith |- |Calgary-West||| |Karen Kryczka8,47856.18% | |Paul Adams4,99533.10% | |Rudy Rogers5343.54% | |Craig Chandler1,0707.09%
|Danny Dalla-Longa |- |Cardston-Taber-Warner||| |Ron Hierath5,15759.06% | |James Jackson1,47116.85% | |Suzanne Sirias5185.93% | |Ken Rose1,56817.96%
|Clover Bar-Fort Saskatchewan||| |Rob Lougheed6,86447.61% | |Muriel Abdurahman6,36444.14% | |Michael Berezowsky9226.39%
|Max Cornelssen (Ind.)2351.63% || |Muriel Abdurahman |- |Cypress-Medicine Hat||| |Lorne Taylor5,75463.18% | |Beverley Britton Clarke2,21724.34% | |Don Crisall3834.21% | |Maurice Perron7287.99%
|Lorne Taylor |- |Drayton Valley-Calmar||| |Tom Thurber6,49260.41% | |Moe Hamdon2,91227.10% | |Tom Fuller8237.66%
|Roy Andresen (Ind.)4884.55% || |Tom Thurber |- |Drumheller-Chinook||| |Shirley McClellan6,06363.28% | |Einar B. Davison1,43214.95%
|Dale Trefz2,05621.46%
|Dunvegan||| |Glen Clegg5,14954.56% | |Fred Trotter3,31435.11% | |Margaret McCuaig-Boyd96110.18%
|Glen Clegg |- |Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview||| |Julius E. Yankowsky3,48434.93% | |Johanne Tardif3,12731.35% | |Bill Stephenson2,84228.49% | |Doug Smith3763.77% | |Andy Chichak (Ind.)1001.00%William Finn (Forum)290.29%
|Edmonton-Calder | |Lynn Faulder3,86032.32%||| |Lance D. White4,80240.21% | |Alex McEachern3,25027.21%
|Edmonton-Castle Downs | |Ihor Broda4,37340.43%||| |Pamela Paul4,45641.20% | |Peter Johnsen1,49413.81% | |David H. Friesen4604.25%
|Edmonton-Centre | |Don Weiderman3,63433.36%||| |Laurie Blakeman4,76943.78% | |Jenn Smith1,84516.94% | |Alan Cruikshank4203.86% | |Emil van der Poorten (Forum)980.90%Richard Johnsen (Nat. Law)830.76% || |Michael Henry |- |Edmonton-Ellerslie | |Jasbeer Singh2,64125.96%||| |Debby Carlson5,75256.54% | |Henry Johns9138.97% | |Ken Way8408.26%
|Debby Carlson |- |Edmonton-Glengarry | |Don Clarke3,47434.38%||| |Bill Bonner4,76547.15% | |William Kobluk1,36613.52% | |Barbie-Jo Williams3353.32% | |David Sharkey (Nat. Law)760.75%Carl Williams (Ind.)460.46% || |Laurence Decore |- |Edmonton-Glenora | |Kim MacKenzie4,36836.18%||| |Howard Sapers5,78547.92% | |Arlene Young1,1989.92% | |Jon Dykstra6305.22% | |Sam Thomas (Nat. Law)690.57%||| |Howard Sapers |- |Edmonton-Gold Bar | |Susan Green5,81937.52%||| |Hugh MacDonald7,52848.55% | |Walter Heneghan1,97012.70%
|David J. Parker (Green)920.59%Maury Shapka (Nat. Law)750.48% || |Bettie Hewes |- |Edmonton-Highlands | |Jim Campbell2,79324.96% | |Chris Smith2,28420.41%||| |Pam Barrett5,63850.38% | |Tim Friesen4193.74%
|Edmonton-Manning | |Tony Vandermeer4,35835.44%||| |Ed Gibbons5,14041.80% | |Hana Razga2,22918.13% | |R. Jordan Harris5244.26%
|Peter Sekulic |- |Edmonton-McClung | |Michael Mooney5,25940.71%||| |Grant Mitchell6,32248.94% | |Richard Vanderberg7135.52% | |Patrick D. Ellis5424.20% | |Wade McKinley (Nat. Law)610.47%||| |Grant Mitchell |- |Edmonton-Meadowlark | |Laurie Pushor4,67238.72%||| |Karen Leibovici6,04750.11% | |Terry McNally8316.89% | |Aaron Hinman4353.60% | |Geoff Toane (Nat. Law)550.46%||| |Karen Leibovici |- |Edmonton-Mill Creek | |Sukhi Randhawa3,67928.23%||| |Gene Zwozdesky6,75751.84% | |Stephen Crocker1,80413.84% | |Christie Forget7765.95%
|Edmonton-Mill Woods | |Ziad N. Jaber2,99329.97%||| |Don Massey5,11351.19% | |Ricardo Acuna1,26612.68% | |John Filp5465.47% | |Raymond Boyko (Green)520.52%||| |Don Massey |- |Edmonton-Norwood | |Andrew Beniuk2,58327.98%||| |Sue Olsen3,35736.36% | |Sherry McKibben2,76729.97% | |Ray Loyer4855.25%
|Andrew Beniuk |- |Edmonton-Riverview | |Gwen Harris5,12235.43%||| |Linda Sloan6,06641.96% | |Donna Fong2,26115.64% | |David Prenoslo8055.57% | |William Chapman (Nat. Law)870.60%Naomi Rankin (Comm.)610.42%
|Edmonton-Rutherford | |Brenda Platzer5,07838.91%||| |Percy Wickman6,00746.03% | |Will Hodgson1,1568.86% | |David Lincoln6745.16% | |Ian Zaharko (Ind.)190.15% || |Percy Wickman |- |Edmonton-Strathcona | |John Logan4,09630.44% | |Mary MacDonald4,21431.31%||| |Raj Pannu4,27231.74% | |John Forget5524.10% | |Eshwar Jagdeo (Nat. Law)470.35%Myles Kitagawa (Green)2361.75%||| |Al Zariwny |- |Edmonton-Whitemud||| |David Hancock7,97350.79% | |Corky Meyer5,95337.92% | |Charan Khehra1,0126.45% | |Kevin Bialobzyski6354.04% | |Randy T. Fritz (Nat. Law)590.38%||| |Mike Percy |- |Fort McMurray||| |Guy C. Boutilier5,42055.64% | |John S. Vyboh4,00841.14% | |Rodney McCallum2802.87%
|Adam Germain |- |Grande Prairie-Smoky||| |Walter Paszkowski5,75364.49% | |John A. Croken1,99522.36% | |Linda Smith1,14312.81%
|Walter Paszkowski |- |Grande Prairie-Wapiti||| |Wayne Jacques5,59263.08% | |Ray Stitsen2,00322.59% | |Campbell Ross1,24714.07%
|Wayne Jacques |- |Highwood||| |Don Tannas9,55169.76% | |Howard Paulsen1,94414.20% | |Hugh Logie5924.32% | |John Bergen1,56611.44%
|Don Tannas |- |Innisfail-Sylvan Lake||| |Gary Severtson7,01259.53% | |Raymond C. Reckseidler2,20618.73% | |Linda Neilson5834.95% | |Carl Thorsteinson1,96016.64%
|Gary Severtson |- |Lac La Biche-St. Paul||| |Paul Langevin4,79953.71% | |Vital Ouellette2,90132.47% | |Grace Johnston4194.69% | |Peter Tychkowsky4835.41% |