Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley enters a campaign rally in Calgary, Saturday, May 2, 2015.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Albertans appear set to flock to the polls as the province faces an election that could see the end of a Progressive Conservative dynasty and only the fourth change in government since 1905.
On Monday, Elections Alberta said that the number of voters at advance polling stations was up 31 per cent from the previous record in 2012. In addition, candidates are reporting record demand for signs and packed events, further indications that voter engagement is spiking.
As the opposition Wildrose Party rose in the polls in 2012 and seemed likely to unseat the PCs, total voter turnout jumped to a recent high of 54 per cent. Wildrose ultimately fell short and the Tories won a 12th consecutive majority government.
This time, however, the New Democrats have surged throughout the campaign, with polls showing the party's lead only growing in the last days of the campaign.
"We will make history," a confident NDP Leader Rachel Notley said Monday in front of the provincial legislature building.
Many voters will be casting their ballots in what has become a referendum on the embattled Tory party after almost 44 years of rule. In the last week of the campaign, some prominent Albertans announced that they would vote NDP, including the daughter of former premier Ralph Klein. And if the polls are to be believed, voters are having conversations at dinner tables, in locker rooms and on bar stools across the province about voting New Democrat.
Wildrose Leader Brian Jean said Monday he is worried that the NDP will be "accidentally" elected because the right-wing vote could be split, allowing the New Democrats to win closely contested ridings. "After 44 long years, the PC dynasty is coming to an end," he said.
Appearing at an Italian café in Edmonton early Monday morning, PC Leader Jim Prentice reiterated a call for public support. "I've been the Premier for six months and I'm trying to make positive change in the province and I'm asking for a mandate."
Albertans are voting for their next premier at the end of a 28-day campaign that saw a number of cringeworthy moments for the ruling Tories.
In the sole televised debate of the election, Mr. Prentice casually told Ms. Notley that "math is difficult." On May 1, five prominent Edmonton businessmen held a bizarre news conference warning Albertans to "think straight" and support the PCs. The men said they would stop donating to children's hospitals and seemed to threaten to leave Alberta if the NDP was elected. A number of contentious nomination battles also led to many resignations in local PC associations. Jamie Lall said Tories in the riding of Chestermere-Rocky View were "robbed of their rights" when he was dropped from the ballot. Mr. Lall was told he was disqualified because the party found he was the subject of a restraining order in 2007.
The latest challenge to the PC campaign broke on Monday when court documents revealed that former justice minister Jonathan Denis was the subject of an emergency protection order from his estranged wife for the last week and a half of the campaign.
Breanna Palmer told a Calgary court that she suffered from ongoing verbal abuse and at least one incident of physical abuse while Mr. Denis was Alberta's Attorney-General and Justice Minister. He was forced to resign on April 25, a day after the restraining order was granted.
The documents came to light on Monday when a judge ordered the end of a publication ban on court proceedings and quashed the restraining order against Mr. Denis. Justice Craig Jones said Ms. Palmer was not in danger.
She had testified that Mr. Denis told her she couldn't report his aggressive behaviour because, "you can't go to the police, I own everybody in this town."
Mr. Denis has denied the allegations. He is still seeking re-election in the riding of Calgary-Acadia.
This story corrects an earlier version that incorrectly stated this would be the third change in government since 1905
Justin Giovannetti