NDP sweep of Edmonton confirmed; Madu out as minister with fall to Ip in southwest
The Alberta NDP swept the province's capital city for a second time during Monday's provincial election.
Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party won a majority government in Alberta with 49 seats, losing 14 to the NDP.
That party, led by Rachel Notley, was elected in all 20 of Edmonton's ridings.
When the NDP won the 2015 election under Notley's helm, the party swept Edmonton then, too.
The latest sweep wasn't evident until Tuesday morning, as results trickled in throughout the night.
Among the highest-profile contests was Edmonton-South West, where Nathan Ip defeated UCP deputy premier Kaycee Madu by earning 56.5 per cent of the vote. Madu earned 42.2 while Green Party candidate Jeff Cullihall earned 1.3 per cent.
"It's still sinking in, but I'm elated. I'm deeply honoured," Ip, an Edmonton Public School Board vice-chair and trustee, told CTV News Edmonton late Monday evening.
Describing the 28-day campaign as gruelling, he added, "I'm excited to get to work for the people of Edmonton-South West. Tomorrow, I'm going to pack up my campaign office and start thinking about what the transition will look like. But maybe after that I'll take a break."
Edmonton-South West was the lone Edmonton riding the United Conservatives won in 2019, with Madu receiving just under 45 per cent of the vote and the NDP's candidate, John Archer, trailing behind at less than 42 per cent.
Madu did not speak to media on Monday but in a statement posted to social media the next morning, he thanked constituents for the opportunity to serve them and congratulated both Ip and the United Conservative Party.
Madu was a member of cabinet in both former premier Jason Kenney's and Danielle Smith's governments. He last served as the minister of skilled trades and professions. In February 2022, he lost his job as justice minister for calling Edmonton's police chief after receiving a distracted driving ticket.
SOHI REACTS TO NDP SWEEP
Overall in Edmonton, the NDP received almost 62 per cent of the popular vote and the UCP 35 per cent.
The last seat to finish reporting Tuesday morning was Edmonton-City Centre, which David Shepherd won with a 50.7-per cent lead over UCP candidate Richard Wong.
Notley handily won her Edmonton-Strathcona riding with 79.7 per cent of the vote. The UCP's Emad El-Zein won 17.3 per cent and the Green Party's Robert Gooding-Townsend 1.9 per cent.
Former city councillor Jon Dziadyk, running for the UCP, lost Edmonton-Castle Downs to the NDP's Nicole Goehring. They received 41.1 and 50 per cent of the vote, respectively.
"Calgary still has representation in the provincial government. We don't," Edmonton's mayor, Amarjeet Sohi, noted on Tuesday.
"I hope that provincial government would keep that in mind. That a million people in our city will not have a voice, a direct voice, in the cabinet. So how do we create opportunities for those voices to be included?"
Sohi said Alberta's capital city has been treated unfairly by past governments but that he was hopeful Smith and her government could give the city more attention now that the election was over.
"This is a opportunity for [the] premier to reset that relationship and really look at why many Edmontonians remain dissatisfied with the provincial government. And the results are quite evident that a UCP government, a UCP party, has been completely shut out of Edmonton, not having a single seat. That speaks to many Edmontonians' dissatisfaction. But we want to work with government to help them overcome and understand why that is the case."
He also acknowledged the city has good relationships with some of the UCP candidates who were elected around the city.
The NDP also held its seat in St. Albert.
In addition to Edmonton-South West, the NDP flipped several seats in the province's 87-seat legislature, including in Sherwood Park and Calgary.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.