With the writ dropped on May 1st, 2023, Albertans were subjected to the campaigns of the front-runner parties – Alberta’s New Democratic Party (NDP) and the United Conservative Party (UCP). From the month of May until the voting stations close on May 29th, both parties have been neck and neck throughout this campaign period, with Calgary becoming the battleground.
Calgary, a city that historically has been majority conservative, this election will be the turning point of the province, with inflations set at all-time highs throughout the country. Some feel that the future of their livelihoods and their children may be determined by the leader that secures and forms government after May 29, 2023.
When the NDP secured a historical majority government back in 2015, it showed a province that wanted a change. However, when the UCP formed their party by combining the two conservative parties of Alberta in July of 2017, they had a landslide victory for the conservatives in the 2019 provincial elections. This election saw the NDP get booted after forming the government just four years prior. But now, in its first term at forming a government, the UCP had to deal with one of the most profound and unexpected events in Modern Civilization, with the world stopping due to the pandemic caused by Covid-19.
The pandemic created a lot of division among Albertans; there was not a one-way blanket solution to deal with the rising concerns of Albertans throughout the province. Some feel this caused the UCP party and its memberships to call for a special ballot, which saw its leader at that time, Jason Kenny, only win a mere 51% of party support as the leader. This resulted in Kenny stepping down, and the party calling for a leadership race just months away from a provincial general election. To replace Kenny is the UCP’s current party leader, Danielle Smith. Since becoming elected as the leader of the UCP Party and forming her own cabinet, there have been a lot of concerns with the current leader of the UCP, as a lot of them only knew her from her time as a radio host and the leader of the Wild Rose party. But since then, she has done a lot of work connecting with people in rural and urban communities across Alberta.
While the NDP has focused on smear campaigns across social media platforms regarding the most significant issue this election on Health Care, the UCP, on the other hand, continues to drive home tax cuts, job creation, and a better plan towards sustainable and reliable energy production.
The recent provincial election debate that happened on May 18, 2023, may have helped return the confidence of conservative supporters who were on the fence about Danielle Smith. The debate highlighted and showed that both party leaders have different visions and ideas for the Province moving forward while still focusing on many key issues that Albertans are concerned with coming into election day on May 29, 2023. There is something that both party leaders both agreed on and said on live television: is that should any of their parties win enough seats in this election that no Albertan will have to pay to see a family doctor.
Furthermore, with the recent announcement of Calgary’s New arena deal and provincial funding hinging on the results of this provincial election just days prior to the writ being released and the start of the campaigning for both parties, would all of that be enough to entice voters in Calgary to see the much-needed arena come to fruition?
As of writing this article, it still seems to be a close election for Alberta, and the result may come down to voter participation and voter turnout, as Calgary has been pegged as the battleground for this 2023 Provincial Election. The questions remain: have both parties done enough to secure their lead in this election
? Based on past experiences since both parties have recently formed government, the NDP in 2015-2019 and the UCP in 2019-present, have both parties done enough in the past to help them form government again after May 29?
“If elected, the UCP will continue to make life more affordable by cutting your personal income taxes and extending the fuel tax holiday. We’ll crack down on criminals with more officers on the ground and ankle bracelet monitoring of violent offenders out on bail, and we will continue to invest in healthcare and mental health addiction treatment while ensuring no Albertan ever has to pay out of pocket to see a family doctor!” – Danielle Smith (UCP Leader).
“I want to talk about a better future for Alberta, where we fix healthcare, lower household costs, and create jobs. I will work every day to be the premier you deserve, creating jobs and diversifying for the future. I won’t raise your taxes; I will cap your bills!” – Rachel Notley (NDP Leader).
