Alberta re-elects PC majority, rejects Wildrose

CBC:

Albertans have elected another Progressive Conservative majority government, making Alison Redford the province's first elected female premier.

The Tories, led by Redford, were elected in 61 ridings and captured 44 per cent of the popular vote. The Wildrose is elected in 17 and had 34.5 per cent of the vote. The Liberals took five seats, while the NDP claimed four ridings.

Voters have elected 11 Tory majorities in a row — this will be the 12th — since Peter Lougheed first led his party to power in 1971, but polling during this campaign suggested the streak could end.
In the end, voters turned out in large numbers, suggesting that strategic voting to keep the Wildrose Party out of power may have played a role in the Tory win.

Pollster and CBC analyst Bruce Cameron suggested the Tories may have benefited from strategic voting, where people who would normally vote for the Liberals and the NDP voted for the Tories in a bid to keep the Wildrose from power. Some centrist and left-wing voters expressed concern over the issue of conscience rights and the racist and anti-gay comments made by two Wildrose candidates.

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