# Alberta Election 2015: "Mother of mercy, is this the end of Alberta Tories?"
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Created:** [April 18, 2015, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970 "2015-04-18T05:51:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2015, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/61 "2015-05-05T15:49:01Z")
> [@RickJay](#):
>
> Saskatchewan has no sitting Liberal or PC members but does have the super-originally-named Saskatchewan Party, and so on.
Well Connecticut, US, did have the [Connecticut for Lieberman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_for_Lieberman) party, whether they wanted it or not. š
---
### Author:  [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/62 "2015-05-05T17:13:55Z")
> [@RickJay](#):
>
> Just to be pedantic,
>
> 1. Thereās no PC party at the federal level.
> 2. Such Conservatives as are saying anything, according to the (as always) breathless and poorly headlined Huffington Post article, are Alberta Conservatives whoāre doing favours for provincial allies. The federal Conservatives are, quite rightly, not taking a strong stance on who should win a provincial election, which is the way it always goes.
>
> Itās largely a fallacy to think that like government in provincial and federal governments get along, or that unlike governments are enemies. There are links between provincial and federal politics because many of the players and their minions are linked up and they have to play nice in public, but when the business starts that basically matters to a provincial government is how much money the Feds give them, and what matters to the feds is how much the province cooperates with whatever the feds want to do. A Liberal government will cheerily cooperate with the Tories if they get lots of transfer money, and a PC government will cast the federal Tories as the devil incarnate if they donāt feel enough money is being given to them (as happened in Newfoundland quite recently.) Even at the local level provincial and federal counterparts might get along great or might despise each other. I have personal knowledge of a case in the NDP where nearly provincial and federal legislators each consider the other to be roughly equivalent to war criminals.
>
> There is also, of course, the fact that provincial parties donāt always map to federal ones. Alberta has no significant Liberal Party, Quebec has no significant PC or Conservative Party, Saskatchewan has no sitting Liberal or PC members but does have the super-originally-named Saskatchewan Party, and so on.
1)My apologies, apparently I was stuck in 2003ā¦
2)They are statements from elected federal ministers and senators, so we should just ignore what they have to say because it didnāt come straight from the desk of the PMO? I just thought it was amusing that Rona Ambrose is playing the Prophet of Economic Doom. Iām also well aware of how the game is played between provincial and federal politics, and most of the time having people with similar mindsets to your own makes things easier to deal with, although as you have pointed out, thatās not always the case.
---
### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2015, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/63 "2015-05-05T18:18:45Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> That happens in Canada too?!
Absolutely, especially in Alberta.
And the Manning Centre has been importing Republican tactics in the past few years, for the benefit of Conservative party operatives:
[From a 2012 article](http://focusonline.ca/?q=node/355)
> [@](#):
>
> OVER TWO DAYS in January, 2010, the Manning Centre for Building Democracy held a campaign school at Delta Ocean Pointe Resort in Victoria in preparation for the 2011 election. ā¦ āTopics covered included voter identification. Discussion ensued about suppression techniques. Instructors explained voter suppression tactics were borrowed from those used by the US Republican Party. Many kinds of suppression calls were canvassed. Another instructor gave detailed explanations of how robocalls worked, techniques for recording messages, plus costs involved. He distributed his business card upon request. Instructors made it clear that robocalling and voter suppression were an acceptable and normal part of winning political campaigns.
---
### Author:  [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/64 "2015-05-05T23:15:09Z")
Election Day pre-analysis
> [@"\[CTV](#):
>
> ([Alberta election 2015: What you need to know | CTV News](http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/alberta-election-2015-what-you-need-to-know-1.2359648))"]NDP Leader Rachel Notley, who promised to balance the books by 2018 with tax increases for corporations and the wealthy, started off as an underdog. But her popularity soared after a strong showing in the leadersā debate last month. āNow, every single poll is showing that sheās going to win this election today, hard to believe as that is,ā Don Martin, host of CTVās Power Play, told CTV News Channel Tuesday.
> ā¦
>
> **The problem with polls** : Anyone who followed the 2012 Alberta election knows that political polls can be way off. Heading into that election, Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith was the projected winner. But after the ballots were counted on election day, the Wildrose Party ended up with only **17** seats and Alison Redfordās Progressive Conservatives won a solid majority with **61** seats.
---
### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/65 "2015-05-06T00:10:43Z")
Polls close tonight at 8 MDT.
---
### Author:  [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/66 "2015-05-06T00:34:29Z")
> [@RickJay](#):
>
> Just to be pedantic,
>
> 1. Thereās no PC party at the federal level.
>
> 2. Such Conservatives as are saying anything, according to the (as always) breathless and poorly headlined Huffington Post article, are Alberta Conservatives whoāre doing favours for provincial allies. The federal Conservatives are, quite rightly, not taking a strong stance on who should win a provincial election, which is the way it always goes.
>
> Itās largely a fallacy to think that like government in provincial and federal governments get along, or that unlike governments are enemies. There are links between provincial and federal politics because many of the players and their minions are linked up and they have to play nice in public, but when the business starts that basically matters to a provincial government is how much money the Feds give them, and what matters to the feds is how much the province cooperates with whatever the feds want to do. A Liberal government will cheerily cooperate with the Tories if they get lots of transfer money, and a PC government will cast the federal Tories as the devil incarnate if they donāt feel enough money is being given to them (as happened in Newfoundland quite recently.) Even at the local level provincial and federal counterparts might get along great or might despise each other. I have personal knowledge of a case in the NDP where nearly provincial and federal legislators each consider the other to be roughly equivalent to war criminals.
>
> There is also, of course, the fact that provincial parties donāt always map to federal ones. Alberta has no significant Liberal Party, Quebec has no significant PC or Conservative Party, Saskatchewan has no sitting Liberal or PC members but does have the super-originally-named Saskatchewan Party, and so on.
This may be true, BUTāboth Ryan Jean and Jim Prentice were cabinet ministers under Stephen Harper. If both of them lose, Harper also loses his puppet master control over Alberta politics. Since he doesnāt want to say anything directly, he had Rona Ambrose speak up about the ārisky experimentā in Alberta if the NDP win.
---
### Author:  [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/67 "2015-05-06T01:05:58Z")
> [@eschereal](#):
>
> Election Day pre-analysis
See, hereās the thing though: the polls are supposed to be accurate within a few percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The 2012 election must have been the 20th time! Everything should be back to normal now.
---
### Author:  [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/68 "2015-05-06T02:25:13Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> That happens in Canada too?!
We learned it from you , Dad! We learned it from you! [runs away sobbing]
---
### Author:  [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/69 "2015-05-06T03:16:05Z")
Wow, that looks kind of brutal, I thought you people were supposed to be nice?
---
### Author:  [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/70 "2015-05-06T03:27:49Z")
Those Notley Crue shirts are pretty hilarious
---
### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/71 "2015-05-06T03:33:10Z")
CBC says itās an NDP majority.
Er, what?
---
### Author:  [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/72 "2015-05-06T03:41:02Z")
> [@Sunspace](#):
>
> CBC says itās an NDP majority.
>
> Er, what?
Never thought Iād see the day. Makes me miss the place a little.
---
### Author:  [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/73 "2015-05-06T03:47:19Z")
What will this probably mean for Alberta?
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### Author:  [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/74 "2015-05-06T04:01:58Z")
Well as a GOA employee work is going to be a bit different for me! Never thought Iād see that in my lifetime. I had hoped for an NDP minority at the very best, never thought Iād see a majority.
Albertans to Prentice: ābye Felicia!ā.
---
### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/75 "2015-05-06T04:03:27Z")
I just happen to be hearing an orange shirt today. Wonder whether that had anything to do with it? š
---
### Author:  [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/76 "2015-05-06T04:03:39Z")
Prentice just resigned both as PC leader and as MLA for the riding he just won. No great surprise there.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/77 "2015-05-06T04:11:39Z")
> [@Sunspace](#):
>
> I just happen to be hearing an orange shirt today. Wonder whether that had anything to do with it? š
Synesthesia flaring up?
---
### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/78 "2015-05-06T04:12:36Z")
So, this is what it looks like, with new numbers in bold, previous seats held in parentheses, and a +/- to show the magnitude of the change:
NDP: **54** (4) +50
Wildrose: **20** (5) +15
PC: **11** (70) -59
Liberals: **1** (5) -4
Alberta Party: **1** (0) +1
Vacant at Dissolution: 2
---
### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/79 "2015-05-06T04:19:08Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#):
>
> Synesthesia flaring up?
Well, when they say a shirt is āloudāā¦ š
---
### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2015, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alberta-election-2015-mother-of-mercy-is-this-the-end-of-alberta-tories/717970/80 "2015-05-06T04:22:44Z")
Shoot, I missed one Independent at disolution, so it should be:
NDP: **54** (4) +50
Wildrose: **20** (5) +15
PC: **11** (70) -59
Liberals: **1** (5) -4
Alberta Party: **1** (0) +1
Independent: **1** (0) -1
Vacant at Dissolution: **2** (0) -2
And I assume these numbers are āelected and leadingā, so there could be some minor changes before the numbers are final. Still, a solid majority government (44 needed for a majority, 45 when the Speaker is taken into account).
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