Tomb

With less than one month until Albertans elect a new government on March 3, the word “change” is on the lips of nearly every provincial politician — even candidates of the Conservative party that has ruled the province for 37 straight years.

The Liberals’ two-word slogan, “It’s time,” is reminiscent of the slogan former premier Peter Lougheed used to lead the Conservatives to power in 1971: “Now!” The Conservatives’ landslide victory that year ended 36 years of Social Credit rule. Few had expected such a result. (A CBC report broadcast before that election described the campaign in Alberta’s cities as “anything but dazzling” — so lacking in citizen interest and party leader confrontation, noted the reporter, that it was “almost not a campaign.”)

Thirty-seven years later, the Liberals — Alberta’s Official Opposition — are highlighting the Tory dynasty’s old age in an effort to do what Lougheed’s Tories did in 1971.“The simple fact is this is an exhausted government,” says Liberal leader Kevin Taft of the Conservatives. “These are the decision-makers who have been there for years and, in some cases, decades.” Even Lougheed himself acknowledged in a January 31 CBC interview that he never imagined the Conservative government would outlive Social Credit’s tenure. “It is a problem for the current party in the province to be in office for that length of time,” said Lougheed.

However, the Conservatives are also running under a banner of change with the slogan: “Change that works for Albertans.” Shortly after the throne speech on February 4, Premier Ed Stelmach called the election and held a news conference where he stressed that the Progressive Conservative party has new ideas and leadership. When Fast Forward asked Stelmach how long is too long for one party to be in power, he said the party “has brought about change at very critical periods of Alberta’s history.” “In fact, it’s one of the reasons that this province is so successful,” said Stelmach. “We’ve managed to bring people along with fresh ideas at the right time.”

Many voters aren’t convinced. “The only thing that’s ever changed about the Conservative party is [Don] Getty, [Ralph] Klein and now Stelmach,“ says 30-year-old Yousef Traya, a born-and-raised Albertan who works at Tazza, his family’s Middle Eastern restaurant in Bridgeland. “I’d like to see the urban voters coming out in droves and voting for change — shaking it up a bit.” Some voters who remember the 1971 election are also skeptical of the Conservatives’ emphasis on change. “I don’t buy it,” says Calgary resident Sheila Greaves, 61. “I think having Ed Stelmach in there isn’t a change, because he’s been in there as an MLA for 13 years. It’s all smoke and mirrors what he’s doing.” (Stelmach was in Klein’s cabinet for almost 10 years, holding four portfolios: agriculture, infrastructure and transportation, as well as intergovernmental and international affairs.)

Polls show many Albertans are undecided on who they’ll vote for March 3 — if they’ll vote at all. Saadi Hussaini, a 20-year-old SAIT student, says he’ll vote “if it’s convenient,” but he doesn’t know yet who he’d vote for. NDP leader Brian Mason says voters’ indecision sends a clear message. “They’re saying, ‘Listen, this is a new era,’” says Mason. “‘It’s time to reassess, as voters, where we want to throw our support’…. It’s pretty obvious that people are looking for something better than they’re getting.” Mason says his party has “an excellent chance” of winning several seats in Calgary.

So far, the 2008 campaign has been a lot more lively than the 1971 one. Conscious of Stelmach’s vulnerability, the Conservative vote-getting machine swung vigorously into motion before the election campaign even began. During the two weeks before February 4, Stelmach’s government made countless funding announcements for cities, schools, non-profits, etc. — over $1.2 billion of spending that was scorned by opposition parties and government watchdogs alike. “We don’t think voters… should have to wait for elections to get the services and funding they need,” says Taft.

The campaign got even more exciting the day it officially began. In the throne speech, the Conservative government said it would phase out health-care premiums within four years. (Both the Liberals and NDP had made the promise to eliminate the premiums long before the throne speech.) After the speech, Stelmach dropped the writ and took heat from reporters for holding his first campaign press conference in the legislature’s media room, a government-staffed space that’s supposed to be used for government — and not partisan — purposes. Stelmach denied the news conference, which focused on the upcoming election, was a partisan event. “This isn’t the campaign launch,” said Stelmach after being asked how much taxpayers were spending on the “PC party’s campaign launch.” “This is a media conference following the reading of the speech of the throne and the drop of the writ.”

The following morning on the Calgary Tower’s observation deck, Taft announced a package of campaign promises for Calgary including more money for policing, better protection of the city’s water supply and a strong strategy on affordable housing and homelessness. Taft also said a Liberal government would temporarily lower natural gas royalties and increase the take from the oilsands to ease pressure on gas producers dealing with high costs and low prices. Flanked on both sides by Liberal candidates wearing red scarves, Taft spoke highly of the city’s energy industry. “Alberta’s petroleum sector is nothing less than an astonishing success story,” Taft said, adding his party still supports a 20 per cent total increase in royalties. “The Alberta Liberals will work closely with industry.” In Edmonton, Mason said his party would “stand up to big oil” and re-review royalties because Albertans still aren’t getting their fair share under the Conservatives.

Before the legislature was dissolved February 4, the Conservatives held 60 seats in the 83-seat legislature. The Liberals had 16 (including four in Calgary), the NDP had four (none in Calgary) and the Alberta Alliance (now the Wildrose Alliance) had one seat. In its 103-year history, Alberta has never had a minority government, and power has only changed to a different party three times.