The Current

NDP leader Rachel Notley just made orange the new blue in Alberta

What a difference a day makes. Rachel Notley's New Democrats have rolled over a Conservative dynasty in Alberta. It was an election that unfolded against a confluence of pressing issues from upheaval in the oil patch to voter unhappiness. Today we look at the complications and celebrations.
Rachel Notley is Alberta's next premier after the NDP swept through the province in yesterday's vote. (Dan Riedlhuber/Reuters)

"Friends, I believe that change has finally come to Alberta" - NDP leader Rachel Notley, Alberta's new premier

Albertans are waking up to a new political landscape today.

In a historic night in Canadian politics, the NDP stunned the long ruling Conservative party, sweeping to victory with a majority government.

Leader Rachel Notley became the unlikely slayer of Canada's longest running political dynasty ending 44 years of Tory rule.

Not only did the NDP steamroll through Edmonton, it also turned the Conservative stronghold of Calgary into a sea of orange.

In fact the PCs placed third — making the Wild Rose party the official opposition.

Jim Prentice, who just a month ago, was expected to cakewalk through the election, has resigned, effectively immediately. 

The ramifications of the victory are not only being felt across Wild Rose Country but right across the country.
 

  • Deborah Yedlin is a Business Columnist with the Calgary Herald.
  • Paula Simons is a columnist with the Edmonton Journal.
  • Bruce Cameron is a pollster and the president of Return on Insight in Calgary. 
     

What do you think of Alberta's new government, whether you're in Alberta or watching from elsewhere in the country?

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This segment was produced by The Current's Sarah Grant, Natalie Walters and Calgary Network Producer, Michael O'Halloran.