This Week
Alberta held its 30th provincial election on Monday. Unofficial results give the incumbent UCP government 49 seats, returning the UCP to government with a majority. The NDP increased their seat count to 38, the largest Official Opposition in Alberta’s history. One of the elected UCP candidates will sit as an independent in the Legislature, however, as Premier Smith said Lacombe-Ponoka’s Jennifer Johnson would not sit with the UCP caucus given past comments that emerged during the campaign. The UCP caucus will have 14 fewer MLAs than they did after the 2019 election.
Voter turnout was 62.4%, down from 69.9% in the 2019 election. The UCP won the popular vote with 52.6%, down 2.3% since 2019. Meanwhile, the NDP increased their share of the popular vote to 44%, an 11.3% increase since 2019.
Seats that saw fewer than 100 votes between candidates will have an automatic recount. This includes Calgary-Acadia, where the incumbent Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Tyler Shandro and NDP candidate Diana Batten are separated by only 7 votes. Calgary-Glenmore will also see a recount as UCP incumbent Whitney Issik lost to NDP candidate Nagwan Al-Guneid by 30 votes. Recounts will be completed by June 8.
Premier Smith is expected to announce her new cabinet next week. The front bench will see new faces since several incumbent Cabinet Ministers did not win re-election. These include former Health Minister Jason Copping, former Minister of Culture Jason Luan, former Immigration Minister and Deputy Premier Kaycee Madu, former Mental Health and Addictions Minister Nicholas Milliken, and former Minister of Seniors Community and Social Services Jeremy Nixon.
Alberta remains in a state of emergency due to numerous wildfires. Six evacuation orders remain in place and over 4,300 Albertans are evacuated.
What’s Next
New Cabinet: Premier Smith is expected to announce cabinet next week.
Announcements
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