Alberta general election, 1971

Alberta general election, 1971

August 30, 1971 (1971-08-30)

75 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 38 seats were needed for a majority   Majority party Minority party   Leader Peter Lougheed Harry Strom Party Progressive Conservative Social Credit Leader since 1965 December 12, 1968 Leader's seat Calgary-West Cypress Last election 6 seats, 26.0% 55 seats, 44.6% Seats before 10 55 Seats won 49 25 Seat change 39 30 Popular vote 296,934 262,953 Percentage 46.4% 41.1% Swing 20.4% 3.5%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Grant Notley Bob Russell Party New Democratic Liberal Leader since 1968 March 13, 1971 Leader's seat ran in Spirit River-Fairview ran in St. Albert (lost) Last election 0 seats, 16.0% 3 seats, 10.8% Seats before 0 0 Seats won 1 0 Seat change 1 ±0 Popular vote 73,038 6,475 Percentage 11.4% 1.0% Swing 4.6% 9.8%

Premier before election Harry Strom Social Credit Premier-designate Peter Lougheed Progressive Conservative

The Alberta general election of 1971 was the seventeenth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 30, 1971 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

The Progressive Conservative Party, led by Peter Lougheed, broke the 36-year hegemony on Alberta politics of the Social Credit Party. Ernest C. Manning had resigned as Social Credit leader and premier in 1968, a year after leading the Socreds to their ninth consecutive majority government. His successor, Harry E. Strom, had been unable to revive what was seen as a tired regime; the party had been in government for almost two generations and was seen as old-fashioned, being first elected before oil was found in a big way in Alberta.

Lougheed, on the other hand, had significant momentum going into the 1971 election, increasing his caucus from the six members elected in 1967 to ten, after two floor crossings and two by-election wins (one of which was Manning's riding). The collapse of the other opposition parties made the PCs the only credible challenger to the Socreds. Lougheed, with 46% of the popular vote, won 49 of the 75 seats in the legislature and formed a strong majority government. This would be the first of 12 consecutive victories for the PCs; they would remain in government without interruption until their defeat in 2015, making them the longest serving political dynasty in Canadian history.^[1] Thus, the 1971 election is considered to be a classic example of a realigning election.

Ironically, Social Credit garnered a record number of votes in this election compared to previous elections, which had been plagued by low turn-outs. The party lost only a small share of their popular vote from 1967 and finished only five points behind the Tories. However, the Tories converted this slim lead into a large lead in seats due to their success in the province's two largest cities: Edmonton, where the Tories won every seat, and Calgary, where they took all but five. While many of the Social Credit losses came by small margins, those losses were enough to cost the party almost half of its caucus.

The defeat sent Social Credit into headlong decline. While it managed to stay in the legislature until 1982, it was never again a significant force in Alberta politics.

The Liberal Party was shut out of the legislature. It had had no momentum going into the election. One Liberal, Bill Dickie, had crossed the floor to the PCs. Another, William Switzer, died in 1969. The remaining Liberal, Michael Maccagno, resigned to make an unsuccessful bid for federal parliament.

Alberta New Democratic Party leader Grant Notley was the only New Democrat to win election. He sat as the only New Democrat in the legislature until 1982. His daughter Rachel Notley would lead the NDP to victory over the Tories in 2015, ending its 44 years in office.

Results

Daylight saving time plebiscite

Alberta voters also voted in a province-wide plebiscite whether or not to endorse a proposal to adopt daylight saving time (summer time). The proposal had been rejected by a very slim margin in 1967. This time however it passed with a wide margin of 61.37% of the vote.

For break down of results see individual districts

Members elected

For complete electoral history, see individual districts

See also

• 1948 Electrification Plebiscite
• 1957 Liquor Plebiscite
• 1967 Daylight Saving Plebiscite
• List of Alberta political parties

References

Elections and referendums in Alberta
General elections	1905 1909 1913 1917 1921 1926 1930 1935 1940 1944 1948 1952 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1979 1982 1986 1989 1993 1997 2001 2004 2008 2012 2015 next
Senate nominee elections	1989 1998 2004 2012
Municipal elections	1968 1971 1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013
Referendums	1915 1920 1923 1948 1957 1967 1971
See also: List of Alberta by-elections