Here's a closer look at how the Alberta results of this week's federal election compare to the two most recent federal elections over the past four years.
2008 Federal Election - Alberta
| Party Conservative | Seats 27 seats | Votes 820,855 | Percentage 64.6%% |
| NDP | 1 seat | 161,409 | 12.7% |
| Liberal | 0 seats | 144,364 | 11.4% |
| Green | 0 seats | 111,505 | 8.8% |
| Independent | 0 seats | 19,995 | 1.6% |
2006 Federal Election - Alberta
| Party Conservative | Seats 28 seats | Votes 930,817 | Percentage 65% |
| Liberal | 0 seats | 219,431 | 15.3% |
| NDP | 0 seats | 167,566 | 11.7% |
| Green | 0 seats | 93,919 | 6.6% |
| Independent | 0 seats | 14,261 | 1% |
2004 Federal Election - Alberta
| Party Conservative | Seats 26 seats | Votes 783,379 | Percentage 61.6% |
| Liberal | 2 seats | 279,219 | 22.0% |
| NDP | 0 seats | 121,249 | 9.5% |
| Green | 0 seats | 78,095 | 5.7% |
| Independent | 0 seats | 599 | 0.1% |
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8 comments:
The Greens are the only party trending upwards. The NDP elected an MP but overall their vote dropped with the Conservatives and Liberals. The Liberals are in the worst shape of the lot and they were barely competitive in one riding.
The NDP placed second in 15.
The Libs placed second in 8.
The Cons placed second in 1.
The Greens placed second in 4:
Gail: Don't forget James Ford's second place in Edmonton-Sherwood Park.
Among other things, this suggests that the NDP's (very very distant) second-place finish across the province is probably due as much to its GOTV machine as it is to an actual uptick in support. We'd have to know more information about the demographics of these voters to be sure, though.
Everyone got fewer votes (with the exception of the Greens, apparently) because fewer people voted. It's not rocket surgery.
A bit of trivia for you all: The number of MPs with the surname Duncan is up from 0 to 3 in the new Parliament: one NDP, one Liberal, one Conservative; two women, one man; one British Columbian, one Albertan, one Ontarian.
That's nearly 1% of MPs named Duncan. They should form a caucus.
And there is not now, nor has there ever been an MP named MacBeth. (Obscure Shakespearean reference.)
I think another thing worth mentioning is the proportion of non-Conservative voters to Conservative voters that have shown up (in my calculation) from the numbers Dave has provided:
2004 non/Con = 61%
2006 non/Con = 53%
2008 non/Con = 53%
Ever since the Conservative party has secured its representation in Alberta by riding the vote split on the left, it seems as though fewer non-Conservative voters have been showing up to the polls. My explanation is despair as a product of disempowerment.
The only explanation I have for the proportion staying the same in 2006 and 2008, and the other variable of decreased voter turnout other than increased apathy, is Conservative arrogance and non-Conservative despair.
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