2001 Alberta general election

2001 Alberta general election

← 1997 March 12, 2001 (2001-03-12) 2004 →
← outgoing members members →
83 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 42 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	53.38%
Majority party Minority party Third party   LIB Leader Ralph Klein Nancy MacBeth Raj Pannu Party Progressive Conservative Liberal New Democratic Leader since December 14, 1992 April 18, 1998 2000 Leader's seat Calgary-Elbow Edmonton-McClung (lost re-election) Edmonton-Strathcona Last election 63 seats, 51.2% 18 seats, 32.8% 2 seats, 8.8% Seats before 64 15 2 Seats won 74 7 2 Seat change 10 8 ±0 Popular vote 627,252 276,854 81,339 Percentage 61.9% 27.3% 8.0% Swing 10.7% 5.5% 0.8%
Premier before election Ralph Klein Progressive Conservative Premier after election Ralph Klein Progressive Conservative

The 2001 Alberta general election was held on March 12, 2001 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

The incumbent Alberta Progressive Conservative Party, led by Ralph Klein, won a strong majority for its tenth consecutive term in government. In addition to increasing its share of the popular vote to almost 62%, the PC Party won a majority of seats in Edmonton for the first time since 1982. In the process, they reduced the opposition to only nine MLAs in total. It was the Tories' biggest majority since the height of the Peter Lougheed era.

The Liberal Party lost 11 seats and ran up a large debt. Its leader, Nancy MacBeth, was defeated in her riding.

The New Democratic Party, led by Raj Pannu, hoped to make gains at the expense of the Liberals in Edmonton and replace them as the official opposition. This did not materialize, but the party did manage to maintain its share of the popular vote and held onto their two seats in the legislature. The NDP attempted to attract young voters with the slogan, "Raj against the Machine".

The right-wing Alberta First Party, contesting its first election, failed to win any seats or come close to winning any. The Social Credit Party, led by James Albers, was unable to build on its moderate success in the 1997 election, and sank back into obscurity. Socred leader Lavern Ahlstrom, however, performed well in Rocky Mountain House and finished second behind the incumbent Ty Lund.

Overall voter turnout was 53.38%.^[2]

Notes:

* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

x - less than 0.005% of the popular vote.

• Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2001). The report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 2000 provincial confirmation process and Monday, March 12, 2001, Provincial General Election of the twenty-fifth Legislative Assembly. Edmonton: Alberta Legislative Assembly, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer.
• Mutimer, David, ed. (2007). Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs, 2001. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442684126.