It’s election day in Alberta with Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party fighting to win a second consecutive majority government, while Rachel Notley’s NDP is trying to regain the government it lost in 2019.
Here are the latest developments (all times are MT):
10:17 p.m.
Alberta's mental health and addictions minister has lost his seat in Calgary-Currie.
Nicholas Milliken, with the United Conservative Party, lost to the NDP's Janet Eremenko.
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10:15 p.m.
The leader of the Green Party of Alberta has lost in Edmonton-Rutherford.
Jordan Wilkie lost to NDP candidate Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse.
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9:55 p.m.
Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley has been re-elected as the legislature member for Edmonton-Strathcona.
Notley rode the “orange wave” to victory in 2015, toppling the Progressive Conservatives after 44 years in power in Alberta.
Her 2015 win was aided by vote splitting between the governing Progressive Conservatives and the Opposition Wildrose Party.
The PCs and Wildrose joined forces to create the United Conservative Party in 2017 and under Jason Kenney captured a majority in 2019.
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9:40 p.m.
The Canadian Press has called a United Conservative victory in eight constituencies.
A few of those ridings were affected by the wildfires in Alberta.
Residents in Drayton Valley-Devon and West Yellowhead outside Edmonton were forced to leave their homes earlier this month.
Peace River in northern Alberta was also affected by wildfire.
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9:36 p.m.
United Conservative Leader Danielle Smith has been re-elected as the legislature member for Brooks-Medicine Hat.
She won the seat in a byelection in November, more than seven years after she left the Alberta legislature.
Smith called the byelection shortly after she won the leadership race to replace Jason Kenney as United Conservative Party leader and premier in October.
She has been dogged during the election campaign by past comments, including comparing those who took the COVID-19 vaccine to followers of Adolf Hitler.
A report that came mid-campaign from the ethics commissioner also concluded that Smith undermined the rule of law by pressuring her justice minister to end a criminal court case of a COVID-19 protester.
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9:10 p.m.
Early results in the Alberta election show the NDP was holding strong in Edmonton while the UCP was leading in most rural ridings.
Calgary is still a toss-up in with razor-thin margins in many seats.
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8:45 p.m.
Alberta’s United Conservatives jumped out to a lead over the NDP in early returns tonight in what has been forecast to be a tight race in the provincial election.
Advance polls set a record of more than 758,000 votes cast, eclipsing the previous record of more than 700,000 in 2019.
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8 p.m.
Polls have closed in Alberta in an election expected to be a nail-biter finish between the United Conservative Party and the NDP.
Both the UCP's Danielle Smith and the NDP's Rachel Notley have been premier and leaders of the official Opposition.
Advance polls suggest voter turnout will be heavy.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2023.
The Canadian Press
