Why did the chicken cross the road?
Who cares.
It’s kind of like asking whether people voted for the UCP in the April 16 provincial election, or against the NDP.
There can be arguments made on both sides, but the end result is undeniable.
The UCP captured 55 per cent of the popular vote last Tuesday and will send 63 MLAs to Legislature, while the NDP saw their 54-MLA majority shrink to 24 while garnering 32.7 per cent of the cast ballots.
And although the UCP deserve credit for rallying the troops and staying on message throughout the 28-day campaign, their victory was a fait accompli.
Looking back on the 2015 election results it’s easy to be spellbound by the end result, which saw the NDP rise to power.
But when you look a little closer, you’ll see that the “right” had the majority of the vote, albeit split between the Progressive Conservatives and Wildrose.
Rachel Notley’s orange wave managed to attract 40.57 per cent of the vote and secure 54 seats, while the PCs, with Jim Prentice at the helm, netted 27.8 per cent and nine seats and the Wildrose, with Brian Jean at the controls, wound up with 24.23 per cent of the vote and 21 seats.
Now add those two percentages together and what do you get? Well, it’s not 55 per cent, but it’s pretty damn close.
So, if you’re looking for a post-mortem on the NDPs fall from power, or a smoking gun that derailed their bid for a second mandate, there is none.
Alberta has always been a conservative province. And whether the first word in the party’s name is “Progressive” or “United” most Albertans classify themselves as right wing.
Of course that doesn’t explain Orange Edmonton, which is the remaining NDP stronghold in the province and also doesn’t explain the 32.7 per cent of Albertans that voted NDP.
So while we wish premier-elect Jason Kenney and the UCP all the best for the next four years — remember we’re all in this together — obviously some bridges are going to need to be built to unite all Albertans, blue, orange and all the colours of the rainbow.
