Alberta sees highest voter turnout since 1988 federal election, data shows

Seven in 10 voters in Alberta cast a ballot in the federal election, the highest turnout in the past dozen elections, Elections Canada data shows.  

The non-partisan agency, which conducts federal-level elections in this country, was still waiting on a few dozen polls to finish reporting as of Wednesday afternoon.

But its preliminary data suggests Alberta outpaced Canada's turnout for a third straight election, despite the country also reporting its highest turnout in decades.

"I was expecting it to be high," said Alberta-based political pollster Janet Brown.

"Sometimes, Alberta doesn't pull higher than other places because we've got a younger population, and younger people are less likely to vote," she said. "What this speaks to is just how serious Albertans are taking the issues that are on the agenda right now."

Alberta's voter turnout was just under 70 per cent, data shows, almost six points higher than the last federal election in 2021. It was the highest proportion since three-quarters of electors cast a ballot in the 1988 election.

The province had the fifth-highest turnout among provinces and territories, and outpaced Canada's turnout of 68.7 per cent, data shows.

The national turnout was the highest since the 1993 election.

Brown found it interesting that voter turnout was on par with the 1988 election, she said, because there were also tensions with the U.S. about free trade at that time.

"I haven't seen an election like this since 1988," she said.

She and Feodor Snagovsky, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Alberta, each noted that more people tend to go to the polls when they feel the country is facing significant issues.

Some of the main concerns this election, Snagovsky said, were perceived threats from the U.S. on Canada's sovereignty and the ongoing trade war, the rising cost of living and housing affordability.

"If [electors] think the issues really matter, they are much more motivated to turn out and vote. If they perceive there to be a big difference between the parties, people turn out and vote," he said.

Snagovsky also noted that Alberta's voter turnout in this election was similar to 2015. In both elections, he said, there was a desire for change.

At the time, Stephen Harper and the Conservatives had governed for nearly a decade. The Liberals, led by Justin Trudeau, won a majority government in 2015 and the party has remained in power ever since, though it has had minority governments after the last three elections. 

Almost 2.3 million votes cast in Alberta

About 2.3 million Albertans voted in the election. A CBC News analysis found that almost 1.3 million — about 60 per cent — of those ballots were submitted on election day.

Elections Canada reported record advance voting this election, including more than 815,000 ballots from Alberta. Advance votes made up more than one-third of the total ballots from Alberta, data shows.

The remaining votes came through special ballot. Data shows Elections Canada received 154,000 voting kits total from Alberta constituencies.  

The Liberals, led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, won a minority government in Monday's election, earning the party its fourth consecutive mandate. But almost all of Alberta's 37 seats went to the Conservatives — some quite handily, data shows.

Conservative Blaine Calkins, for example, received nearly 82 per cent of the votes cast in the Ponoka-Didsbury riding in central Alberta. He beat the second-place NDP by 71 percentage points, the largest margin of victory out of the province's ridings.

The province, historically, leans conservative.

Only three ridings were won by other parties. Edmonton Centre and Calgary Confederation ridings went to the Liberals, and NDP's Heather McPherson held onto her seat in Edmonton Strathcona.

More than half of ridings saw 70% turnout

Nearly four in five voters in the Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan riding, east of Edmonton, cast a ballot in the election — the greatest proportion in Alberta, data shows. Conservative incumbent Garnett Genuis won the riding with about 65.1 per cent of the vote. 

The riding saw the second-most ballots cast out of the country's 343 constituencies, data shows. The Carleton riding in Ottawa, which had 91 candidates, including Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, received the most ballots. That riding was won by Liberal Bruce Fanjoy.

But most of Alberta's ridings reported strong turnouts, including more than half with at least 70 per cent of electors actually voting.

About 56.2 per cent of voters in the Calgary McKnight riding, in the city's northeast, cast a ballot this election — the lowest percentage in the province.

Only one other riding, Edmonton Griesbach, reported voter turnout below 60 per cent, data shows.

CBC News cannot accurately compare voter turnout in each riding, because the boundaries were redrawn in 2023 to adjust for population growth.

Brown, the pollster, hopes Albertans stay politically engaged — but she hopes the next election is less nerve-racking, she said.