Say giidby to at least a dozen seats Ediie...while you were so busy sucking the tailpipes of Ottawa Liberals in Beemers, you forgot that most of your province work for a living and are not to happy with wannabe Liberals who devise new ways to tax and spend their hard won productivity.

Hapless Eddie will have a near minority government and will be replaced by Ted Morton before the year is out.

23 seats. With the WRA holding the balance of power and Ed delivering his resignation speech from a plane en route to the Dominican.

23 seats. With the WRA holding the balance of power and Ed delivering his resignation speech from a plane en route to the Dominican.

or

19 seats and three pcs cross over to the WRA (ted morton amoung them?) to give the WRA the balance of power.

12net

a couple of libs in calgree. a few new pcs in yadmonton , a couple of WRA in rural and maybe two in calgree.

However many it takes to serve notice on Fast Eddie that governments are supposed to be there to -enforce- contracts, no break 'em.

But please don't give the Liberals a majority. That would be like shooting your own foot off to remove a leech.

He only needs to lose ONE .... His own!

I'm living here in Ted Mortons riding, and hope Mackenzie Redux is correct.

Problem is all my friends are vasalating between the WRA or not voting at all...

I hope the predictions for the WRA are true.
Ed will still have a majority tomorrow, but a reduced one.
I hope the days of voting for a conservative just because are past and voters will pay attention to the candidate. If it can happen in AB maybe it can happen with liberal voters in Toronto.

On a quick trip to Lloydminster this past weekend, Stelmach and Snelgrove appeared to be the only election signs east of Edmonton.

I don't see a big change in the seat count.

The PC party will lose 10 seats in total.

Did I just hear on CFRA that HArper is sueing the libs for libel?? Great move if so!

Prediction: Tories win, Liberals whine, someone on the CBC calls Albertans stupid. During his concession speech some loser says "you've sent the PCs a message" and claims a moral victory.

The WRA has been almost invisible this election, blowing a real opportunity to make a breakthrough. My local candidate doesn't even have a website! Haven't seen any evidence of campaigning either.

Argh, what a bunch of hapless leaders in Alberta today...

Northern Lights said:
"Problem is all my friends are vasalating between the WRA or not voting at all"

It is exactly that vote split and PC voter poll absence that will put a number of new liberals and a few dips in former Tory seats..possibly reducing the PCs to a near minority government.

The expression, "Liberal, Tory, same old story," is most true in Alberta. Save for King Ralph's first term (Ralph was a once Liberal himself) the PCs have governed (and spent) like drunken Liberals. In the last leadership race another liberal in conservative clothing, Jim Dinning, almost won the leadership. Not selecting Ted Morton as leader was the biggest mistake Alberta PCs ever made.

I predict the PCs will win either a weak majority or a strong minority. The best outcome would be for a minority with the WRA holding the balance of power so they could steer the government in the "right" direction.

I voted WRA in my riding, but it will most certainly go PC. The current MLA is the Deputy Premier and the riding is very affluent. I just hope enough ridings elsewhere in the Province give the WRA a chance.

I predict that there will be a pair of untoned buttocks on each seat in the Legislature for the next session. The owners of said buttocks shall govern in a manner not inconsistent with their own interests or those of the state dependent public. Who dares to defy my wisdom?

Northern Alberta will return to solid PC support since Stelmach is seen to have stood up to the Alberta Oilgarchy based out of Calgary.

The Libs and NDP both say Stelmach did not go far enough with his royalty review.

WRA represents the laissez-faire stance southern Alberta was used to when Ralphie willingly became a do-nothing premier during his last days.

WRA will siphon seats and hand seats to Liberals, who in the next session will agitate for even more royalties. Therefore, the next legislature will be even less in the pocket of Big Oil than the previous one.

That will make Calgarians even angrier, since at some point they would have to admit they were the authors of their own misfortune.

Meanwhile, Stelmach's majority government (five less seats) will deliver on the promise of building much-needed infrastructure (roads, schools and hospitals) for an increasing population.

Since the population of Alberta is increasing in a large part to oil exploration and development, Stelmach offers the only balanced approach.

Of course, had Calgary's Big Oiligarchs offered to build roads, schools and hospitals, then the argument that the private sector should look after those needs would have been valid.

The WRA failed to articulate how those much-needed projects, neglected while Ralphie looked the other way as the benefit of the oil sands flowed to Calgary's head offices, would be built.

If they had provided a credible answer to that question, they would have my vote.

Meanwhile, if you figure Calgarians are angry now, just imagine how distracted they will be when the makeup of the new legislature will give them even less influence.

Although I normally vote for the party that promises to spend the least amount of my money, in this case the WRA seems to be attractive to the most selfish.

I know how I'll be voting, but that's a secret, which is my lead in to: totally OT but, yes, RW, it looks as though Stephen Harper has just announced a libel suit against Steffi and the Libs. Now there's no way out, show the evidence at discovery or shut up, back off and pay up!

A gem:

http://www.ctv.ca/generic/WebSpecials/pdf/document2008-03-02-183001.pdf

You people really should have learned from the PC leadership race not to underestimate Ed Stelmach.

He will increase his majority by 4.

I'm in Edmonton-Strathcona, where the result is a foregone conclusion. The dippers are running a member of their royal family (a lawyer, of course) and have promised the students $1000+ in beer money, none of which they will ever see, poor suckers. Unfortunately, the WRA is not running a candidate here. I suppose they figured it was a waste of resources. So I'll vote Tory, for what it's worth.

I'm in Edmonton-McClung. I think the PC candidate, David Xiao has a tough battle against the Liberal incumbent Mo Elsahly. The riding could be considered a good one to watch to guage which way the wind blows during tonight's results broadcasts.

I gravitate towards the fledgling WRA party and what I would like to see the most is the WRA receiving more overall votes than any other left of centre party combined.

Wl M Redux says,

** most of your province work for a living and are not to happy with wannabe Liberals who devise new ways to tax and spend their hard won productivity.

Hapless Eddie will have a near minority government and will be replaced by Ted Morton before the year is out.**
=================

Yet I wonder if Albertans put a lot of stock in keeping it simple and honest.

Ed is used to new challenges popping up suddenly. Most successful farmers are.

If Albertans want *steadfast and honest* then , not so flashy ED will do well in the poles. = TG

vote for a winner, or waste it
the herd mentality..............

I figure Stelmach will hold onto a majority government with a loss of only about 5 seats. Those seats will be picked up by the Liberals and the WRA. The WRA will hold onto the Hindman seat and, I think, pick up at least one more. The NDP are relevant only in a couple of Edmonton ridings and that won't change after today. Stelmach will hold onto central and northern Alberta rural ridings and the Edmonton ridings but will struggle in Calgary because of the royalty changes and his government's big fights with Bronconnier. They made up but it was too late to counter the damage done.

RW at March 3, 11:17 AM

Thank you for your PDF link to the papers served.

A gem:. . . . A gem indeed. Priceles!

http://www.ctv.ca/generic/WebSpecials/pdf/document2008-03-02-183001.pdf

Dion ,Goodale & gang are in deep guano. = TG

A Liberal victory in Alberta would be like watching the final minutes of Braveheart. They'd quickly move to make Alberta the Kyoto posterchild with pretty much the same result as what happened to William Wallace. Happy entrails to you...

It would, on the other hand, be a HUGE initial benefit to Saskatchewan.

I guess I'll decide when I get to the polling station. It will either be Liberal or WRA. Why Liberal? They were the only ones who had commented on the HRC tribunals. As far as ideology is concerned theres very little difference between the Liberals and the PC (Politically Correct) party. Note: If I do vote Liberal, I'll probably never be able to forgive myself.

For the first time in my life I am struggling with who to vote FOR. To date, I continue to find reasons who to vote AGAINST. My friends,family and co-workers are in the same predicament.

Therefore:
Eddie loses all seats. The entire province, in effect, goes for "None of the above".

I can NOT in good conscience vote for a defacto liberal Premier. At least the Alberta Liberal party took a stand against the HRC. I'm still waiting for Stelmach to take a Conservative position on something. Anything...

He only needs to lose ONE [seat] .... His own!
Posted by: OMMAG at March 3, 2008 9:26 AM

It didn't affect John Tory in Ontario, OMMAG, (unfortunately).

Gawd... good to know others are in the same dilemma. I'm going to vote for the 'conservative independent', that is the guy that was chosen by my PC riding association but Stelmach decided to ignore and paracute an Ontario resident into as the PC candidate (Calgary-Montrose). I won't vote Liberal, the dipper candidate doesn't live in the riding and I have serious doubts about the WRA candidate. His materials were atrociously written (hint to those candidates whose first language is not English... GET A PROOF READER!!!), he only details his experience in the pizzeria biz, not his stand on anything political, and in his materials he labeled the picture of him and his wife as "Said Abdulbaki and wife". Hmmmmmm.... either she doesn't have a name or more likely he's got that 'tude towards woman that is prevalent in his culture. Sigh…. so I have no choice but the ‘conservative independent’ as not voting is NEVER an option. I am so disappointed in the crappy choices!

My prediction.

Once Southern Alberta casts its protest vote, it will be left with LIberal representatives.

The Liberals have gone on record as saying Stelmach's royalty review did not go far enough.

So, they'll have representatives which are even further away from the Calgary Oiligarchy that in the last Legislature session.

Just remember, Calgary. You're going to bring it onto yourself with your bitterness.

We cannot afford another do-nothing premier like Ralphie in his final days.

Cheer up Albertans. Vote for Ed now and look forward to a provincial leadership convention when you can switch to that slick cosmopolitan leader you really really want. = TG

Knight of Good Mr. Iron Man.

"I can NOT in good conscience vote for a defacto liberal Premier. "

The more appropriate question is can you tolerate a real liberal? If you don't vote for the least evil you may end up with the most evil - but you get to feel good about it as your economy goes down the crapper...

I ended up voting for Tory here in Ontario even though I'd rather smack him than talk to him. He's an ass, but he's less of an ass than McShifty. Lots of people felt otherwise. McShifty gets to abuse us for 4 more years.

Moral purity has always been the bane of conservatives. Plug your nose and vote for the party which will do the least damage.

For the first time in my life I voted Liberal. Heaven help me! Stelmach and his cronies are such asses I had to. Read subsistence hunting etc.

"If you don't vote for the least evil you may end up with the most evil"

My thoughts exactly, while I am not a fan of the PCs there is no real alternative in my riding (there is a Wildrose Alliance candidate, just not one I feel is credible or has run a good race).

While far from ideal, supporting the PCs is the best alternative.

loboy2k

"For the first time in my life I voted Liberal."

The same sort of protest voting elected Bob Rae in Ontario. The worste disaster in confederation since Trudeau.

Hopefully you won't have to wear the consequences of that vote like Ontario did (and is today.)

It's moral posturing. You vote against a good party because they're not a perfect party and risk electing a bad party - all to make yourself feel better. That thinking is what liberals pray for.

loboy2K:

My sympathies go out to you.

Remember your act when the Liberals stand up in the legislature and say ‘Stelmach is not taking enough royalties from the oil companies.'

That's just what you cast your vote for.

Annie, WRA's Said A. is a concern not only because of that... I read in the Sun's profile that his political hero is PET! Yikes!

I voted for higher royalties, carbon taxes, higher taxes, PST down the road, chicken in every pot, multi-culti ghettos, what have you. we'll do this for you or that for you parties. What a bunch of dweebs on this slate from any party! Might just as well as stay home, drink beer and eat popcorn. I'll send along my paycheck later. @$!?&%!!!!!

To those wanting change, how stupid can you be, here we are in the richest province in Canada, no debt, try 200 billion in Ontario or 140 billion in Quebec, we have 0 unemployment no end of jobs if your not liberal and want to work, little interference from stinking unions, praries and mountains to please immigrants from Sask and B.C. and beautiful winters comparable to anywhere east of here, and you want change, boo hoo. 60 years ago ALberta and Sask both had around a million population, now Albert's 3.4 million and Sask is around 980,000, yes socialism in Sask and B.C. and Manitoba has been extremely successful! FOR ALBERTA. Think long and hard before you vote for shark face Taft or the only person to make Taft look handsome, Dave Taylor. Socialism does not work especially here in Alberta. If you want change, have a cold bath.

bartinsky,

Well said. I wish Ontario had Alberta's voters. I've had many extended family members try to entice me to move out west (my family is from Calgary, Medicine Hat and the interior of BC.) If not for my immediate family (wife's side included,) that would be a possibility.

A nice place in Canmore... Mountains are good.

The only way to shut these liberal leftovers up is to sue them every time they open their mouth with trumped up accusations. Next in line would be the MSM.

Just voted. Sorry to ted morton, but eddy and his crew p#ssed me off...I would have voted for ted under diffrent circumstance.

Thanks for the splash of cold water, bartinsky. I guess I'll go and vote for the least worst.

not as many as deserves too.

Smart move, calling an election before the WRP has all of their ducks in a row.

Albertans ready for change? From what - successful to ???

Do you change your tires for the sake of change, or because you're tired of them (no pun intended) even if they're working fine? If you do, then you're an idiot, and probably already vote Liberal, or, God forbid, NDP.

Unfortunately Fred Stelmach has never connected with the voters. Most of us barely know who Ted Strelmach is, or what Ned Stelwich stands for.

He still has that deer in the headlights look to him, and I can't help but think "Peter Principle" whenever I see him. Good thing he's got Conservative Alberta to run in, and no real opposition. I hope he get's it together after the election, which I predict the conservatives will win by a considerable majority - perhaps even greater than last time.

Four.

I voted Wildrose.

I read in the G & M, someone called every seat but one last time (which had a three vote margin) and is predicting an -increase- in seats this time.

Just to clarify. Nothing could persuade me to vote liberal,ndp, or green.

That's Ed Strom, Jimbo. ( Or maybe it's Harry Stelmach, I keep getting confused;)

Whatever his name, he is a weak leader who caves in to every pressure, every time. G-d help us though, he's the best of lot that's running this go-round.

Prediction, PCs lose 6-10 seats, mostly to the Gliberals, one or two to the Dippy's and maybe one more to Wildrose.

An Albertan who voted for either the liberanos or the ndp isnt really an Albertan, he either moved in from BC or ontario in he last 1/2 a year.

I have gone from feeling apathetic about Ed Stelmach to having a very high opinion of him and am kind of surprised when I hear people complaining that he essentially "isn't slick". The province needs a period of time with a premier who notices rural Alberta and who will work toward building it back up for the next go-round when rural municipalities are forgotten again.

I guess I'm not that surprised when I hear people complaining.

According to Taft's TV ads, Stelmach doesn't listen to Albertans, Albertans WANT an economic slowdown...

...interesting, went to vote and I was marked down as already voted.

CTV and Global predict Stelmach majority -- with 1% of polls reporting.

Time will tell. Real conservatives only have the choice between the Wildrose Alliance and staying home. Since Liberals threw the Conservative nomination by buying $5 memberships and bought a Liberal premier, right-wingers can choose between the leftist Liberals, far-leftist NDP, brainless Greens, and the suddenly leftist and brainless PC's. That leaves only the WRA, and unfortunately Ignorant Ed called an election before the Right could effectively organize and throw out that arrogant rat who governed as though he had a mandate. We'll see tonight what party the 25+ percent of alienated former PC's pick.

Hostess Kate -> "...how long until the Alberta Liberals move forward on that name change thing?"

Probably when they reach their 100th anniversary in the wilderness in 2021.

I am watching the progress on Global and my goodness it looks like an absolute blowout by the PC's. Currently (and it's still very early) it shows the PC's at 71 seats (up from 61), Libs 8 (down from 17) and NDP 4. This is a huge gain for Stelmach. I have to say I tip my hat to the guy, the people have embraced him (at least at 9:04 PM).

Wipe Out... Conservatives 68 seats!

Apologies to other party hardcores (and Kate) ....

BWAHAHAHAHAH W00T.

I had the privilege of voting for Ed himself. Wow, just saw a PC popular vote of 54%.

I am, however, pleased to see Taft tagged to keep his seat; an opposition party is important.

Looks like David Xiao is going to bump the Liberal incumbent in my Edmonton-McClung riding. So far he's got a 261 vote lead with 26 polls out of 70 reporting. It's close still but his story might be reflective of the PC's impressive win this election. (Score at 9:20 PM is 71, 9, and 3)

Poor WRA leader Paul Hinman is about to lose his seat. Too bad, I liked him best out of all the principal candidates.

I agree with\you Vinnie about Taft. He is well suited to represent his riding. It was mighty close for a while there. The PC candidate was briefly in the lead in Edmonton-Riverview.

Paul Hinman is leading again

Read the comments from the top and ask yourself why you did not see this coming.

Albertans are quite content with their lot in life. It just seems there's a vocal minority of whiners who don't understand how good they have it here.

The people have spoken, and with about the same quiet dignity that Ed Stelmach has displayed since taking office.

What will Jeffrey Simpson say ?

"set you free" what you say about Ed Stelmach is true. He has quiet dignity. I supported Morton and I voted WRP in this election because I saw the party drifting too far to the left.

However, at no time did I hate or bad mouth Ed Stelmach. I like the guy (even if he did beat my man Ted for the leadership). Maybe it's because he has this quiet level headed farmer quality about him.

As for the party, I still think we are drifting too far to the left.

What will Jeffrey Simpson say:

"Dum alberta rednek mf's"

(Only paraphrasing here. Also channeling every Lib candidate who won and lost.)

What amazes me is that Cherniak allowed my post..."island conservative"...i have tried many times in the past but he blocked me out.

The King Is Dead. The King Is dead. Long Live King Ed. Seriously, I wanted to vote WRA but no candidate in my riding. I was even going to write one in but those stupid ballots are all black inside. No way, ever, can I vote LIB NDP Green. I would melt. Maybe we better start showing Steaddy Eddy a little respect. Nobody expected this.

David Xiao Edmonton-McClung is declared elected defeating Liberal incumbent Mo Elsalhy. I am impresssed with that. Impressed period. Numbers are thus far 71, 10, 2 (PC, Lib, NDP). What especially pleases me is the over the top "No Plan" advertisements by the super large corporate like unions had absolutely no effect at all in gaining some popular support for the Left.

never forget that:

*without oil, Alberta is just an ordinary province like all others*

Nah, we got the Rockies.

And we are mostly Jackass free...er rat free.

BC, Sask and others have lots of oil also -- different Ideology.

Oh my Gawd. I love this. Just imagining the likes of Jason Cherniak spitting up his beer.......

The Liberal brand/idea....... are we watching its slow death nationwide? One can only hope.

Hate to say Itoleyaso. Who am I kidding, I love to say I told ya so. The Libs never gained any traction. The negative ads backfired. Nobody voted for them last time either - they voted against Ralph.

Ralph (I still love ya Ralph) was a lightning rod, and a lot of people voted against him, rather than voting for anybody. This time, there was nobody to hate.

atheist quebecois separatiste at 11:58

And never forget, AQS, that without Quebec, Canada will once again be Canada.

Jimbo: "The Libs never gained any traction. The negative ads backfired."

Arrogance kills Grits every time.

Do ya think Kevin was "scary"?

I watched Kevin Taft's consession speech on Global and was boggled to see, as the camera panned, a nearly empty room; mostly media. Can't these people at least fill a room for their leader? He looked shocked.

Bazoo at 11:54 PM: "The King Is Dead. The King Is [D]ead. Long Live King Ed."

"Slava Hetmants'i Edvard Mykhailo Stelmakh!"

("Hetman"--> Cossack Supreme Commander)

That's a good assessment, Jimbo -- "There was no one to hate." Ed Stelmach's genuine nice guy-aninity was hugely underestimated, or rather, in retrospect, mis-defined. In terms of appearance he rates a ten on the fecklessness scale, but he's also a genuinely decent guy -- no one who's ever met him has a single bad word to say about him. He's almost ill-suited to politics -- "almost" being the operative word, apparently.

Set you free said "ask yourself why you did not see this coming." For me (I guessed four lost seats) a big reason was that the Edmonton media, particularly the Journal, focuses almost entirely on whiners, to the point where I was starting to wonder a bit about the people of this province. I only buy the Journal on Fridays and Saturdays (for the NYT crosswords) but if you take its coverage -- the letters to the editor in particular, but also columnists like Susan Reilly -- at face value at all, Edmontonians across the board were aggressively pining, almost aching, for GTA-style socialism to finally show up here. Guess it was just a hand-picked mini-throng.

BTW, did anyone else catch CFRN's coverage? It was pretty good -- one memorable moment was when Gil McGown of the Alberta Federation of Labour, the group mostly responsible for those hideous attack ads -- the ones with the heavy-breathing background -- said something like "What we've seen tonight is the death of democracy in Alberta." I thought, yeah, we just gotta find a way to take those pesky voters out of the equation and bring back democracy.

What a day, what a province, what a colossal slap Albertans gave to the whiners.

CTV declares Paul Hinman defeated.

I am surprised that the WildRose Alliance didn't get more seats, or possibly even any seats. The best result is that the era of King Ralph is clearly over and Albertans will no longer look in the rear view mirror. Shoot, it looks like Hinman has lost his seat.

Good comment on the results, EBD. It was indeed a total smack down of the whiners and the leftist sentiment.

Danm it, EBD, I've been sitting here for hours trying to write up something to summarize my elation at these notably pragmatic results we are now witnessing, and then in a flash you captured the heart of my thoughts with your brilliant phrasing: What a colossal slap Albertans gave to the whiners. Thank you sir, you are a wise man.

Today was a good day.

All those people calling for change...why?

Political pundits...wrong again
Their dreams shattered

Once again, Alberta voters were quite sensible. They rewarded the government that has given them their prosperity. Why bite the hand that feeds you?

The "Progressives" are clearly in charge for the time being so there is really no need of a Liberal Party in Alberta now - it was/still is pretty much the same thing anyway.

A whole lot of sorting out now as regards to who gets the cabinet jobs from Calgary. With rural votes counting about 1.5 (and in places nearly 2 times) the urban vote, virtually little will change for now.

By law, a boundaries commission must re-arrange the riding boundaries during this mandate to more equally represent the voting public. Once this is done - the next election may see different results - but nobody will be holding their breath after seeing the results this time around.

It is clear that the Wild Rose Alliance is not destined to go anywhere - now or in the future - and it was important to have it on the table for this election.

Dunvegan-Central Peace returned Hector Goudreau (over the WAP) (Minister i/c the AB Human Rights Commission) so kiss goodbye to any changes to the AB HRC.

Ron Stevens (PC) was re-elected in Calgary Glenmore with his campaign manager being a Calgary Alderman as well as an AB human rights adjudicator. So say hello to a continued revolving door justice system and increased bonds of political correctness.

Economically we are fine - who wouldn't be with billions in surpluses.

What hubris. "What a colossal slap Albertans gave to the whiners." Albertans outside of the corrals of the blogosphere could hardly give a cr*p about the whiners. They're out in real life Getting Things Done and not sitting chattering amongst themselves about how they smacked down theany bogeymen under their beds. Really people.... get out a little....

WL Mackenzie Redux > ******

"Say giidby to at least a dozen seats Ediie...while you were so busy sucking the tailpipes of Ottawa Liberals in Beemers, you forgot that most of your province work for a living and are not to happy with wannabe Liberals who devise new ways to tax and spend their hard won productivity".

Oooouch!

Hapless Eddie will have a near minority government and will be replaced by Ted Morton before the year is out.

EDB:

Are you saying the Edmonton Journal's credibility has gone down in your estimation?

Remember, the Journal declared itself the official opposition the year Peter Lougheed won 74 of 79 seats.

Ever since, it's editorial stance has been out of step with the Alberta electorate.

CBC rates it this way:

Despite an apparent appetite for change, voters in Alberta stuck with the tried-and-true, giving the Progressive Conservative party an unprecedented 11th consecutive majority government.

The Tories, who started their political dynasty in 1971, were leading or elected in 71 of 83 ridings in Monday night's provincial election...

71 of 83 seats? Where exactly do the CBC spinmiesters see an "apparent appetite for change"?

It's 11:13 and I hear Floyd Rubbertsbum announce the Alberta Tories are, get this.. "STILL ALIVE"!!

An understatement worthy of any un (?)biased so called news outlet. Makes me laugh.

WL Mackenzie Redux >

"Say giidby to at least a dozen seats Ediie...while you were so busy sucking the tailpipes of Ottawa Liberals in Beemers, you forgot that most of your province work for a living and are not to happy with wannabe Liberals who devise new ways to tax and spend their hard won productivity.
Hapless Eddie will have a near minority government and will be replaced by Ted Morton before the year is out".

Oooouch!

FaithHopeLove>

"You people really should have learned from the PC leadership race not to underestimate Ed Stelmach.
He will increase his majority by 4".

Or 12! good call though.....

Ok, ok, I've got it. Based on EBD's comments about the so-called Journal &c, and a telephonic discussion I've just had with a colleague, here's what's what, in my opinion of course.

From the far left to the far right, and notably among the commentariat, we are being sold a false bill of goods. The libertarians claim authoritarianism, the socialists claim exploitation, up, down, front, back, left, right, and vice versa we are told: Be very afraid, the sky is falling: we must change.

So, naturally, we Albertans went and opened the window, stuck our heads out, looked up, and noted that, in fact, the sky is not falling. Ergo, while change is not a prior bad, changing from pragmatism to sky-is-falling snake-oil salesmen is, and so we Albertans didn't support the snake-oil salesmen.

Where Alberta's seeming sixth sense for avoiding shysters
comes from is beyond my ken, yet I'm sure glad we have it.

atheist quebecois separatiste>

"never forget that:

*without oil, Alberta is just an ordinary province like all others*"

We won't and thank you in an extra ordinary way....

Thanks, Knight 99. Having just returned from the PC campaign celebration, all I can say is "OH SNAP!!"

This ought to shut old light loafer never saw a mike I couldn't get my face in front of Keith Brownsey up for awhile. Oh yes he is the self annointed wizard of political bull in Calgary, quite possibly the stupidest professor in the country next to Dion. Way to go Ed.

John Murney>

"Once again, Alberta voters were quite sensible. They rewarded the government that has given them their prosperity. Why bite the hand that feeds you?"

Exactly John - But who is feeding who?? He he.

After reading some of the comments above tonight I made a point of watching CBC and Mansbridge to see what kind of spin they would put on the election. Lynda Calvert and Mansbridge looked like they had both just stepped out of a funeral. Maybe the CBC is starting to get it. They are beginning to see the writing on the wall. The "Sixth Estate" is the internet and it is tolling the bell for the CBC and the rest of the MSM.

Alberta's silent majority found somebody they could relate to.

There no long-winded explanation necessary.

Apparently "widespread" and "appetite for change" must mean something different than I have always thought they did. Maybe I've also been wrong about the definitions of "bias" and "sore losers" as well?

from the Globe and Mail reporting on the Conservatives capturing (at this time) 71 of 83 ridings.

"Liberals were never able to exploit widespread sentiment in the province that it was time for a new government."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080303.alberta03/BNStory/National/home

From the CBC at the same time (cons leading in 71 of 83)

"Despite an apparent appetite for change, voters in Alberta stuck with the tried-and-true, giving the Progressive Conservative party an unprecedented 11th consecutive majority government."

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/albertavotes2008/story/2008/03/03/election-call.html

m

"This ought to shut old light loafer never saw a mike I couldn't get my face in front of Keith Brownsey up for awhile."

Bartinsky: I was watching the CTV coverage. Keith was on CTV stationed at what was to be the Calgary victory speech for Daft Taft. When CTV called the majority with 1% vote count, Brownsey went into nuclear meltdown - yelling at CTV for being cavalier and generally ruining his night.

I wonder how much of an impact the BC Liberal implementation of a carbon tax (funny I don't recall this as a part of thier election platform) had on the Alberta vote.

Ward>

None! Alberta simply won't put up with Liberal whiners “wearing slick suits” telling them how wrong their otherwise decent lives are under the existing government. The majority of Albertans are still grass roots minded people and the liberal fondness of petty underhandedness is not appreciated. Simple answer - but true.

HamletOnHigh>

“They're out in real life Getting Things Done and not sitting chattering amongst themselves about how they smacked down theany bogeymen under their beds. Really people.... get out a little....”

High on what, Hamlet??? At least we know you’re a true Liberal with statements like that so proudly stroked away on your keyboard.

Where are you writing this from the top of Mount Everest? Possibly from your favorite beach bar in St. Lucia?

Smoke some more lefty mon and stay HighOn something………

You can thank the media for getting the Tory vote out.

I was actually getting concerned about all the hype for change and the possible Liberal breakthrough that I just knew I had to vote. And it wasn't just me. Others I talked to making an effort to place that vote and make it count.

A vote for change? Sure, but what are you changing? Albertans aren't stupid.

It didn't take much to make a decision on the party platforms in this election. And those sniggering 'Albertan's for Change' didn't help their boys any.

The Liberals wanted rent controls and the Tories stood in favour of free enterprise. Albertan's aren't stupid.

The Liberals wanted to grasp even more royalty money from the oil patch as if the Tory review and the commotion it caused wasn't enough to make one think about it. Albertan's aren't stupid. There is plenty of money from royalties and that's not even counting the all the salaries that are paid.

The Liberals wanted to cap emissions. I didn't need to see the Tory position. That's just dumb and Albertan's aren't stupid.

Albertan's vote Conservative because that is how we think and feel. It isn't just there in the party. It is in the people and across the land.

It is why this is a great province (well, plus the mountains.)

You don't remodel the house when it suits you just fine.

ward, the BC carbon tax, as well as their planned ban on 'trans fats' from restaurants in that province certainly was one of the major factors in shaping my opinion of the Alberta Liberal party. It has been mentioned already that if the Liberals ever hope to make gains in this province they will have to change their name (perhaps to 'The Edmonton Journal/Calgary Herald Party').

Congratulations Alberta. You backed a straight shooter who is not afraid of tough issues and who will lead.

It will take steel resolve to make difficult moves to reduce oil in wells and contaminated water tables.

Ed will gradually do what has to be done for the best overall good of Albertans.

He will be tested and I expect ED will do the, not so popular, correct thing from time to time. = TG

Not an exact number. Correct anyway though.

11.49am
If Albertans want *steadfast and honest* then , not so flashy ED will do well in the poles. = TG

Bye Kyoto...Bye Liberals...

A great night for Alberta, the Real West and Liberty. Albertans are the wealthiest, least taxed, Canadians. They understand the connection.

How long until the rest of Canada gets it?

Sure, the first 50 seats were snoozers; but to run the total up over 70 and hold 53% of the vote. Steady Eddy knows his people.

A great night.

--------

With luck the Tories might just hang on -- "Still Alive" thanks Lloyd; but, hey, aren't you dead yet? You look dead, you sound dead but yet you keep talking. Amazing what people can do on TV.

It's gotta hurt to be a lieberal in Alberta to day
Way to go ED.Hahahaha etc,etc.

A happy east coaster

Bigfoot: "The Liberals wanted to cap emissions. I didn't need to see the Tory position. That's just dumb and Albertan's aren't stupid."

That's the big IT! I work in the patch and it doesn't take an Einstein to see that a Liberal win would have meant an instant recession for Alberta. Investment would have pulled out faster than an Obama democrat.

I, like most of those in my office, wanted to vote Alliance. Problem was we couldn't see it helping anyone but the Liberals.

Im shocked and dismayed.

I voted Alliance but my riding stayed Grit.

Anyway its also a sign for PMSH that federal Grits are not about to make a breakthrough here, no izzy votes.

I still remember Peter Pansbridge election night analysis, "Well the Liberals may be shut out in Alberta but the Tories were shut out in PEI" maybe true but ANY one riding in Alberta is larger than all four in PEI put together.

The Alberta Liberal party will now be renamed the Alberta Conservative Progressives party, in hopes of getting a few votes through confusion in the voting booth.

Albertans voted for "stability: and that included voting for the devil you know as opposed to devils you don't know...I also belive that there was a great motivating factor that brought long time conservatives out to the polls (who were thinking of not voting because of Stelmach) because the fear of a liberal win was more frightening than Stelmach's red tory spending sprees.

In the end analysis a wimpy pinko like Stelmach is better than a Ottawa librano toady like Taft...but just marginally better.

It;s still up to Stelmach to regain the confidence of blue Tories and AB populists...he can't let this win go to his head.

Ontarioooo??? Remember prosperity? The Big Blue Machine? 42 years of prosperity? See Alberta? 40 years of prosperity? Remember?

Jim Flaherty does:

""Mr. McGuinty, you may want to portray this as a personal attack or somehow 'undermining' the economy," Mr. Flaherty wrote in his letter. "My comments are nothing less than a wake-up call."

Ontario taxes manufacturers at 12 per cent, while other corporations pay 14 per cent. Among the 10 provinces, only P.E.I. and Nova Scotia have higher general corporate income tax rates.

Businesses in Ontario must also pay a capital tax, employer health tax on payroll and business education tax. Toronto Dominion Bank chief economist Don Drummond recently said Ontario's tax rates stuck out "like a sore thumb" and predicted the province's overall tax rate on new business would be 30.17 per cent by 2012, versus 18.8 per cent for Quebec."

Throughout the campaign Stelmach appeared to be the only guy who even liked the place. Congrats Premier Stelmach!

I watched the coverage on Global...they had Ralph Klein on along with a prof from Calgary.
Klein was lucid at times. I bet he won't be invited back; Linda Steele was clearly irritated by him and frequently cut his rambles off.
If the old Regis hadn't been torn down years ago, I'd swear Ralph had spent the afternoon there.

Too bad for the WAP. They ran third in my riding. I was hoping they might at least surpass the NDP.

...seems the only ones who voted for WAP were bloggers.

All three of us.