1982 Alberta general election

History

Less than four years had passed since the Progressive Conservatives won their landslide victory in 1979. Premier Peter Lougheed decided to call a snap election to catch fledgling new parties off guard, most notably the separatist Western Canada Concept which was capitalizing on anger over Lougheed's perceived weakness in dealings with the federal government, in particular his acceptance of the hugely unpopular National Energy Program. The WCC's Gordon Kesler had won a by-election earlier in the year, and Lougheed decided that it would be wise to stage a showdown with the WCC sooner rather than later.

Lougheed then proceeded to mount a campaign based largely on scare tactics, warning Albertans angry with Ottawa but yet uneasy with the WCC that they could end up with a separatist government by voting for a separatist party. Lougheed would also promise to sell the government owned airline Pacific Western Airlines, which the Lougheed government had purchased in 1974. The strategy worked for the Tories, who won their fourth consecutive term in government, and returned to the 62% popular vote level it had attained in the 1975 election. This netted the Tories 75 seats in the legislature—in terms of percentage of seats won, the second-largest majority government in the province's history. In the process, they reduced the opposition to only four MLAs in total.

The Alberta Liberal Party was punished in the wake of the NEP. Barely able to field candidates in a third of the ridings, it went down to one of its worst showings in party history.

The Social Credit Party bottomed out after spending a decade in the wilderness after losing power in 1971. In a harbinger of things to come, Socred leader Robert Curtis Clark returned to the backbench shortly after the 1979 election, and retired from politics in 1981. Clark's old seat of Olds-Didsbury was resoundingly lost to the WCC in the ensuing by-election, dropping the Socreds to only three seats, one short of official party status. In March 1982, Socred parliamentary leader Raymond Speaker announced the Socreds would sit out the election. A resolution was put forward to disband the party, but failed. After the writs were issued for the 1982 election, two of the remaining three Socred MLAs, Speaker and Walt Buck, resigned from the party to run for reelection as independents. The third, Fred Mandeville, opted not to run for reelection. With no incumbents for the first time since 1935 and no full-time leader, Social Credit was only able to run 23 candidates, easily its smallest slate at the time. The party's share of the popular vote fell from almost 20% to less than one percent. It was shut out of the legislature for the first time since 1935, never to return. Speaker and Buck, however, did win reelection, and later formed the Representative Party of Alberta after being denied opposition status.

The New Democratic Party, led by Grant Notley, became the official opposition when Ray Martin was elected to the legislature. Notley had been the sole NDP MLA for more than a decade.

The WCC, a party that advocated the separation of the four western provinces of Canada to form a new country, had surprised Canadians when Kesler won his by-election and took a seat in the Alberta legislature. Although Kesler lost his seat in this election after he changed electoral districts from Olds-Didsbury and ran in Highwood, the WCC won almost 12% of the popular vote.

The Alberta Reform Movement, a new party founded by ex-Progressive Conservative Tom Sindlinger was caught unaware when the election was called, and ended up losing its only seat in Calgary Buffalo.

Opinion polls

Results

Overall voter turnout was 66.00%.

Note:

• Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.{{Bar box|title=Popular vote|titlebar=#ddd|width=600px|barwidth=410px|bars=

Results by riding

|- |Athabasca||| |Frank Appleby 5,342 56.96% | |Ed Caraher 1,952 20.81% | |Con Sehn 1,538 16.40% | | | |Adam Hauch (SoCred) 529 5.64%|||

| |David Evans 1,288 11.09% | |Larry Peterson 1,919 16.52% | | | ||||

| |Harold E. Wharton 478 4.91% | |John Thomas Mitchell 633 6.50% | |Nicholas Taylor 3,331 34.22% | |Shirley Bassani (SoCred) 240 2.47% Ernie Charman (ARM) 39 0.40% ||

| |Tom Turner 2,547 31.26% | |Eric E. Enns 732 8.98% | | | ||||

| |Bradley Neubauer 266 3.52% | | | | | |Murray Erickson (Ind.) 2,719 35.96%|||

| |Catherine Martini 2,293 17.06% | |Roy P. Rasmusen 1,059 7.88% | |Floyd Allen 380 2.83% | |Douglas Stewart Williams (SoCred) 253 1.88%|||

| |Barry Pashak 1,211 9.89% | |Anita Bozak 739 6.04% | | | |Tom Sindlinger (ARM) 2649 21.64% ||

| |Glenn Miller 1,417 11.03% | |Darwin M. Sorenson 1,018 7.92% | |Rork Hilford 686 5.34% | ||||

| |Leroy Thompson 1,128 8.54% | |Richard A. Langen 1,174 8.88% | |Bernie C. Tanner 396 3.00% | |Victor Lenko (ARM) 158 1.20% ||

| |Thora Miessner 1,054 9.76% | |Gregory J. Langen 829 7.68% | |John S. Webb 674 6.24% | |Don Carter (Ind.) 520 4.81% Ray Neilson (SoCred) 172 1.59% ||

| |Tom Polmear 1,501 6.88% | |Byron L. Chenger 2,252 10.32% | |Alan D.J. Sopczak 659 3.02% | ||||

| |Joanne Hedenstrom 2,249 15.50% | |Robert Moyor 1,438 9.91% | |Larry Adorjan 540 3.72% | |Carol Stein (Ind.) 570 3.93%|||

| |Ken Richmond 1,478 11.26% | |Henry Hein Braeutigam 1,244 9.48% | |J.V.W. Gairy 314 2.39% | |Ella Ayers (SoCred) 294 2.24% Bruce Potter (Comm) 56 0.43% ||

| |George Yanchula 1,532 8.60% | |Brian McClung 1,864 10.46% | | | |Barry J. Rust (ARM) 526 2.95% ||

| |Dennis Bennett 2,673 11.67% | |Terry Wolsey 1,728 7.55% | | | |Don Bryant (Ind.) 852 3.72% Grand Tim Majanja (ARM) 120 0.52% ||

| |Eileen Nesbitt 2,451 14.46% | |John J. Jasienczyk 1,332 7.86% | |John J. Gleason 621 3.66% | |Jerry J. Glowacki (SoCred) 383 2.26%|||

| |David Davis Swan 1,626 17.58% | |Garnet E. Birch 779 8.42% | | | |Zoritza Kasparian (Ind.) 417 4.51% Doris Schupp (Comm) 50 0.54% ||

| |Phil Elder 3,372 26.95% | |Stephen B. Keeling 772 6.17% | |J. Curtis Joynt 420 3.36% | |Diane Ablonczy (Ind.) 706 5.64%|||

| |Agnes Middleton 1,753 13.86% | |Gordon Kennard 968 7.66% | |Dorothy Groves 701 5.54% | ||||

| |Floyd A. Johnson 1,745 11.15% | |Walter Kostiuk 1,768 11.30% | | | |A. Leith McClure (SoCred) 404 2.58%|||

| |Ed Smith 1,175 7.90% | |Bruce Roper 1,106 7.43% | |Barbara Ann Scott 598 4.02% | |Leonard Petterson (SoCred) 251 1.69%|||

| |Garry Oberg 3,070 18.49% | |Keith Schmidt 2,900 17.47% | | | ||||

| |Leslie N. Howard 250 3.96% | |Steve Pinchak 2,309 36.53% | | | ||||

| |Gladys Creasy 465 7.07% | |Jack Ramsey 1,266 19.25% | | | ||||

| |Sten Berg 5,434 35.67% | |David Morris 1,683 11.05% | |Sig Jorstad 1,783 11.71% | |||| |Walt A. Buck (Ind.) 6,312 41.44%|||

| |Rudolf Schempp 637 9.82% | |Gifford Woodcock 590 9.09% | | | |Orville Reber (Ind.) 1,080 16.65%|||

| |Lynne Martin 1,155 15.71% | |George Perdicaris 1,265 17.21% | | | ||||

| |Gerry Hamilton 1,124 9.40% | |Vern Hoff 2,630 21.99% | | | ||||

| |Kathleen Wright 4,045 32.40% | |Jake Johnson 1,275 10.21% | | | |Leif Oddson (SoCred) 466 3.73% Rona Drennan (Comm) 40 0.32% ||

| |John Younie 3,893 32.25% | |Dennis Peter 986 8.17% | | | |Elmer Knutson (Ind.) 512 4.24% Joan Jenkins (Comm) 37 0.31% ||

| |Winston Gereluk 5,638 41.31% | |Dexter B. Dombro 819 6.00% | | | |Steve Kostiuk (SoCred) 268 1.96%|||

| |Christie Mjolsness 5,527 36.21% | |Walter Stack 1,274 8.35% | | | ||||

| |Iain Taylor 3,578 32.86% | |Larry McIlroy 812 7.46% | |Brian McKercher 849 7.80% | |Lawlor J. McKenna (SoCred) 197 1.81%|||

| |Garth Stevenson 3,181 30.96% | |Gordon Reid 1,037 10.09% | | | ||||

| |H.D. (Tony) Smith 2,555 20.47% | |Fred Marshall 1,649 13.21% | |Jerry Paschen 534 4.28% | ||||

| |Allen Eng 3,563 27.94% | |Joe Wanner 996 7.81% | |Laurie Switzer 567 4.45% | |Chuck Bolton (Ind.) 387 3.04%|||

| |Marilyn Burnett 3,493 36.82% | |Dave Maetche 721 7.60% | | | |Naomi J. Rankin (Comm) 66 0.70% ||

| |Don Aitken 3,498 29.93% | |John B. Ludwig 987 8.45% | | | |Peter A. Keohan (SoCred) 241 2.06% G. Crofton (ARM) 179 1.53% ||

| |Alex McEachern 3,879 37.59% | |Curtis Long 669 6.48% | |Bill Broad 318 3.08% | |Mark Byington (Ind.) 950 9.21% George Klimuk (SoCred) 192 1.86%|||

| |Robert Henderson 4,590 24.80% | |Al Wilson 1,511 8.16% | |Naseer A. Chaudhary 776 4.19% | |William (Bill) Dickson (Ind.) 423 2.29% Andy H. Groenink (SoCred) 345 1.86%|||

| |Gerry Gibeault 5,159 28.49% | |Dave Fletcher 1,894 10.46% | |Winston Mohabir 590 3.26% | |Terry Juba (SoCred) 329 1.82%|||

| |Tony Falcone 4,782 45.25%||| |Ray Martin 4,857 45.96% | |John Hudson 569 5.38% | | | |George J.P. Wowk (SoCred) 263 2.49% David Wallis (Comm) 37 0.35% ||

| |Jim Russell 5,771 38.78% | |Merv Gray 823 5.53% | | | |Chris Frazer (Comm) 39 0.26% ||

| |Ted Paszek 3,462 22.54% | |Al Oeming 3,029 19.72% | | | |Al Howell (ARM) 450 2.93% ||

| |Gordon S.B. Wright 6,643 44.63% | |Randy Coombes 743 4.99% | | | |Murray W. Scambler (ARM) 279 1.87% Joe Hill (Comm) 64 0.43% ||

| |Leslie Bella 4,884 26.93% | |Erika Guidera 1,209 6.67% | |Philip Lister 791 4.36% | |Joe Trenchy (Ind.) 291 1.60% Keith Schultz (SoCred) 241 1.33%|||

| |Eilir Thomas 3,232 30.62% | |Lynn Lewis 1,284 12.17% | | | ||||

| |Bernie Desrosiers 3,280 19.95% | |Jack Smith 2,249 13.68% | |Colin Nash 331 2.01% | |Jake Paetkau (Ind.) 504 3.06% Roy Housworth (SoCred) 494 3.00%|||

| |William C. McCutcheon 465 4.16% | |Gordon Kesler 2,006 17.95% | | | |Ronald G. Arkes (ARM) 183 1.64% ||

| |Lyle B. Bleich 738 7.80% | |George Conway-Brown 2,001 21.15% | | | ||||

| |Dermond Travis 3,481 28.86% | |Jim Williams 1,021 8.46% | |Roland J. Woodward 584 4.84% | ||||

| |Glen R. Nelson 1,108 13.17% | |Terry Long 1,339 15.92% | | | |Howard P. Thompson (Ind.) 811 9.64%|||

| |Gary D. Kennedy 914 16.68% | |Garth Lodge 607 11.08% | |Joseph D. Blyan 466 8.50% | |George Keay (Ind.) 316 5.77%|||

| |Ed McRae 1,369 10.93% | |Mike Bennison 1,054 8.41% | |John I. Boras 962 7.68% | |Paul R. Belanger (ARM) 400 3.19% ||

| |Ian Whishaw 1,844 15.41% | |G.M. Genstad 938 7.84% | | | |Jerry Waldern (SoCred) 480 4.01% Brenda L. Perkins (ARM) 377 3.15% ||

| |Cliff Wright 2,144 33.75% | |Beth Jantzie 168 2.64% | |Wayne Lawlor 851 13.40% | |||| |Raymond Albert Speaker (Ind.) 3,174 49.97% ||

| |Robin Allan 905 11.65% | |Jerry Butz 1,249 16.08% | | | ||||

| |Paul Abilgaard 546 6.35% | |Ellis Oviatt 1,293 15.03% | |Inez Watmough 144 1.67% | ||||

| |Clarence W. Smith 2,072 11.48% | |David F. Lees 996 5.52% | | | |Frank F. Cottingham (Ind.) 286 1.58%|||

| |Roy Agnew 233 2.14% | |Daryl M. Jaddock 2,714 24.98% | | | ||||

| |Richard Collins 1,541 18.46% | |J.A. Jim Kalman 1,657 19.84% | |Laura M. Deedza 211 2.53% | |Joseph (Little Joe) Kessler (Ind.) 225 2.69%|||

| |Mike Cooper 1,636 24.06% | |Dennis Olson 650 9.56% | |Jerry Potts 109 1.60% | ||||

| |C.W. (Bill) Loov 876 11.01% | |Tom Butterfield 2,646 33.25% | | | |Paul M. Bateman (ARM) 235 2.95% Eric Ostergaard (Ind.) 154 1.94% ||

| |Kendall Dunford 1,915 9.83% | |Wynne Richard Hanson 1,468 7.53% | | | |Bob Mills (Ind.) 5,396 27.69%|||

| |Steve Leskiw 2,507 28.80% | |Roger P. Pullishy 1,121 12.88% | |Lawrence D. McCallum 157 1.80% | |Michael Senych (Ind.) 467 5.36%|||

| |Dolly Martin 1,191 12.20% | |Art Carritt 2,116 21.67% | | | ||||

| |Anne Hemmingway 1,537 22.49% | |Andrew Blum 1,316 19.25% | | | ||||

| |Doug Snider 3,260 41.61%||| |Grant W. Notley 3,443 43.95% | |Dan Fletcher 1,093 13.95% | | | ||||

| |Kurt Hoeberg 4,438 18.67% | |Murray Sillito 2,465 10.37% | | | |William Ernest Jamison (Ind.) 3,406 14.33% L.D. Callfas (SoCred) 434 1.83%|||

| |Laurent (Jeff) Dubois 2,872 37.66% | |Iris Bourne 447 5.86% | | | ||||

| |Fred J. Rappel 617 8.96% | |Doug Carmichael 1,334 19.38% | | | ||||

| |Jim Bell 2,905 16.99% | |John G. Parkes 2,337 13.67% | | | |Ralph Eikeland (SoCred) 299 1.75% Murray Fuhr (ARM) 202 1.18% ||

| |Catherine R. McCreary 486 5.07% | |Ronald Johnson 1,811 18.90% | | | |Emil D. Gundlock (ARM) 461 4.81% ||

| |James B. Schleppe 549 4.89% | |Vern Meek 1,949 17.37% | | | ||||

| |Bob Sarafinchan 2,418 28.59% | |Loren Yasinski 807 9.54% | | | |Barry M. Bernard (Ind.) 202 2.39%Robert E. Robert (SoCred) 487 5.76%|||

| |Grant Bergman 1,205 16.10% | |Richard Van Ee 1,742 23.27% | | | |Patrick A. Moore (SoCred) 159 2.12%|||

| |John Wesley Connelly 476 6.40% | |Bill Veitch 2,145 28.83% | |Joseph A. Vermette 218 2.93% | ||||

| |Earl R. Rasmuson 3,190 15.74% | |Bill Hosford 3,511 17.32% | | | |Barry Cook (Ind.) 576 2.84%|||

| |Richard Davies 1,220 13.55% | |Andy Lee 2,276 25.27% | |John M. Powers 147 1.63% | |George L. Richardson (SoCred) 685 7.61%|||

References

References

1. (December 19, 1983). "Alberta gives up an airline". Maclean's.
2. (September 29, 1982). "Accuracy of Alberta Report poll questioned". The Star Phoenix.
3. (March 4, 1982). "Lougheed Support Down In Alberta Poll". The Leader-Post.
4. Election Alberta. (July 28, 2008). "2008 General Report".