The race to redefine Alberta’s provincial government is nearing the finish line.
On Monday, voters across the province will go to the polls to decide which party will lead the province into the near future.
And if advance polls and public opinion are any indication, this is the first time in recent memory that the outcome cannot be easily predicted.
The Progressive Conservatives have formed the provincial government every year without interruption since 1971. That is simply staggering, and it’s a feat that is unlikely to be repeated in modern politics. The world has changed so much in the last 40 years, and the ‘status quo’ is usually not tolerated for long by a society that moves and communicates at incredible speeds.
Even so, the PC rule of Alberta has gone essentially unchallenged for the last half century.
But it seems that has changed.
Pundits agree that the Wildrose Alliance, as led by Danielle Smith, seems poised to at least take a significant bite out of the proverbial pie that is the Legislative Assembly. They might even garner enough support to wrest control away from the PCs, a development that might have once been considered unthinkable.
One cannot forget the other two ‘big’ parties involved in the election; the Liberals and the NDP. Though there aren’t any pundits predicting a big win for either party, that won’t (and shouldn’t) stop their supporters from voting for them.
In a democratic society, voting is always of critical importance, but that is even more true in an election like this, when the line between victory and defeat could be incredibly thin.
If the Conservatives and the Wildrose can be considered the two ‘heavyweights’ in this fight, a few extra votes for either party could mean the difference between forming the government or the opposition. It could even mean the difference between a majority or minority government.
If the Legislature does indeed reform under a minority government, the parties finished third, fourth and beyond will hope to have garnered as many seats as possible. With the right mix of MLAs, those parties could actually hold the balance of power in coalition with a minority government.
But all of this depends on how many Albertans get out to vote next Monday. Those who cast their ballots may have a role in the first significant reshaping of the provincial government in over 40 years.
A week from today, we’ll know.
