Wildrose candidate David Hanson is the new Lac La Biche MLA. But NDP 'parachute' candidate almost sent him into freefall
As the dust settles (and the cold May wind brings in snow and sleet) on election night, Lac La Biche County residents are getting ready for another Alberta Legislative term with an opposition member as their representative. Congratulations Dave Hanson, as you carry on the two-term history of Wildrose representation in the area. We wish you well in your task.
This time around, however, the governing party he is to oppose is something new, as the majority of provincial voters have brought in a New Democrat government. And while the Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills riding stuck with the Wildrose, it is by no means a clear mandate for Hanson.
Relative unknown- actually completely unknown - NDP parachute candidate Catherine Harder ran up the numbers. The university student from Camrose who was ‘learning’ about the area during her 28-day campaign drew to within just a few hundred votes of Hanson in an election that saw about 12,000 constituents cast a ballot. Hanson won with approximately 4,400 votes, Harder drew almost 4,000, PC hopeful Darrell Younghans was a distant third with 2,800 votes and Lac La Biche’ s Brian Deheer drew 310 votes for his Green Party platform.
Despite the sweeping changes across the province, voter turnout in the Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills riding was down from the last provincial election in 2012.
With less than 12,000 voters from an eligible list of 19,500, the 60 per cent voter turnout was almost 10 per cent less than the last time voters cast ballots for provincial candidates.
Across the province, 2.5 million voters were eligible to cast a ballot. Of those, approximately 1.5 million did, or just about 60 per cent.
The tide of NDP victories - and the losses of many incumbents - are to many, a sign that Albertans voted against the historic PC rule.
In the Lac La Biche riding, it wasn’ t so much that the people voted against PC candidate Darrell Younghans, it was they voted against the party he represented. Also important to remember for the man who did get elected in this area is that an anonymous NDP candidate got very close to taking your seat. That should serve as a clear sign to Hanson that many residents aren’ t overly satisfied with the role of the Wildrose either.
So with a new government taking over, with oil prices still causing economic distress in Alberta, infrastructure demands at an all-time high, and many Albertans still wondering what just happened ... the main question is simple.
What will the election mean for us?
