Danielle Smith's UCP holds onto power in Alberta
Danielle Smith is still the premier of Alberta, surviving a vigorous campaign and a tight vote Monday against NDP challenger Rachel Notley.
Unofficial results at midnight showed Smith's United Conservative Party elected or leading in about 50 ridings to hold majority control of the province's 87-seat legislature.
"To paraphrase our dear friend Ralph Klein: Welcome to another miracle on the prairies!" Smith said to loud cheers in Calgary.
"Many folks wrote us off, even just as recently as last month. But you know what happened? Despite it all, Albertans chose to move our province forward!"
Smith acknowledged a fierce and well-funded challenge from the NDP. She appeared alone on stage and called Notley a "loyal Albertan who loves this province."
She promised to earn the trust of Albertans, including the hundred of thousands who did not vote for her party.
"My oath is to serve all Albertans, no matter how you voted," Smith said.
"I will work every day to listen, to improve and to demonstrate to you that I can be trusted to improve on the issues that you care so deeply about."
She asked Albertans for unity going forward and vowed to work on affordability, public safety and improving the economy.
Smith also promised to fight Ottawa on environmental and energy policies, arguing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's plans are "harmful" to the province.
NOTLEY CONCEDES, VOWS TO STAY ON
The NDP is expected to steal some seats, including Sherwood Park, Calgary-Varsity and Calgary-Falconridge, from Smith's party but fell short of power for the second consecutive vote.
"As a movement, we have grown our support in every corner of this province. I'm very pleased that we will be welcoming at least 10 more MLAs to our caucus," Notley told supporters in Edmonton.
"However tonight, I also know that we are all deeply disappointed in the overall result…Moments ago, I called [premier-elect] Danielle Smith to concede the race and I congratulated her party on their victory."
Notley, backed by her family on stage, told her MLAs to "get ready to get right back down to work."
She accepted responsibility for the loss and vowed to serve as leader of the Official Opposition.
Leader of the NDP Rachel Notley gives her concession speech in Edmonton on Monday May 29, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Notley was aiming to end Smith's eight-month premiership, after the former head of the Wildrose Party won the UCP leadership race in October. Her predecessor, Jason Kenney, announced his resignation in May 2022.
The NDP leader, who was re-elected in Edmonton-Strathcona, last led Alberta as premier in 2019. She was defeated by Kenney on April 16 of that year, with the UCP winning 63 of the province's 87 seats.
Early results of this vote also confirm Alberta's two-party legislature will continue, with the Alberta Party and Liberals failing to win a seat for the second-straight vote.
The CTV News declaration was made just before 11 p.m. MT.
The results trickled in slowly. An Elections Alberta official said the organization was investigating the cause of those issues but that reports of tabulators not working were not true.
POLLS PREDICTED A NAIL-BITER
Almost all of the polls predicted a close race, with the NDP dominating in Edmonton and the UCP winning easily outside of the big cities, making Calgary the battleground and the focus for most of the campaign.
Notley led a pitch that hammered Smith on trust issues, pointing to her recent ethics violation, controversial statements by her candidates, and comments she made before becoming premier encouraging more private health care and out-of-pocket payments to access it.
The NDP said Smith and the UCP were not capable of fixing a "crisis" of long emergency room wait times and surgery lineups, alleging comments Smith made against vaccine mandates and in support of COVID-19 rule breakers were driving doctors away.
Smith and her candidates slammed Notley for bringing in a carbon tax as premier and her plans to both raise taxes on big businesses and back a federal Liberal target of creating a net-zero power grid by 2035.
The UCP promised to focus on the economy, with Smith offering a tax break on the first day of the campaign. Smith also argued that the former NDP government "failed" with policies that hiked taxes and "killed jobs."
The UCP and NDP were the only parties to run a full slate of 87 candidates.
The Green Party had the third most with 41 and the Alberta Party and Liberals, which each won a seat in 2015, ran just 19 and 15 candidates, respectively.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why drivers in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada will see a gas price spike, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
Toxic forever chemicals in drinking water: Is Canada doing enough?
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
McDonald's customers left with 'zero value' collection of free hot drink stickers after company ends program
It took years for Vinnie Deluca to collect more than 400 cards worth of free McDonald's McCafe coffee, a collection that now has "zero value" after the company discontinued the program.
Biden scores endorsements from Kennedy family, looking to shore up support against Trump and RFK Jr.
U.S. President Joe Biden will accept endorsements from at least 15 members of the Kennedy political family during a campaign stop in Philadelphia on Thursday as he aims to undermine Donald Trump and marginalize the candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When new leaders took over in ancient Maya, they didn't just bury the former royals. They burned their bodies in public
New archeological investigations in Guatemala reveal that the ancient Maya people had a ritual of burning royal human remains as a public display of political regime change.
Party's over: Coyotes play final game as Arizona franchise before move to Salt Lake City
Mullett Arena buzzed like few times in the two years since the Arizona Coyotes moved in, the fans amped for one last desert hurrah.