1989 Alberta general election
The 1989 Alberta general election was the twenty-second general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on March 20, 1989, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
Many political observers were surprised by the early election call as less than three years had passed since the previous election. Premier Don Getty, in his second election as Progressive Conservative Party leader, led it to its sixth consecutive term in government. Despite losing a significant share of the popular vote, the PC's benefited from a split vote between the two main opponents Liberals and NDP and sustained a net loss of only two seats in the legislature. Most notably, the premier lost his own seat of Edmonton-Whitemud to Liberal candidate Percy Wickman. The PC's were reduced to just two seats in Edmonton, however despite their losses in urban areas they remained largely dominant in Calgary while their losses were somewhat offset by gains in rural areas, notably at the expense of the moribund Representative Party. Getty himself would quickly return to the Legislature by winning a by-election in a safe rural seat.
The New Democratic Party led by Ray Martin largely held its share of the popular vote, with its gains being balanced by its losses and the party left with the same number of seats as in the previous in the legislature.
The Liberal Party, under new leader Laurence Decore, was the principal beneficiary of the voters' continuing distrust of Don Getty. The Liberals' share of the popular vote increased to over 28%, more than the NDP, but whereas the NDP continued to dominate in Edmonton the Liberal vote was more evenly distributed and the party's legislative caucus increased from four to only eight members.
The Representative Party, which had elected 2 candidates in the previous election, did not run any candidates in 1989. Leader Ray Speaker defected to the Progressive Conservatives, while Walt Buck retired. The party disbanded soon after the election.
Results
Overall voter turnout was 53.60%.Note:
Members elected
For complete electoral history, see individual districtsDistrict | Member | Party | Athabasca-Lac La Biche | Mike Cardinal | Progressive Conservative | Banff-Cochrane | Brian Evans | Progressive Conservative | Barrhead | Ken Kowalski | Progressive Conservative | Bonnyville | Ernie Isley | Progressive Conservative | Bow Valley | Tom Musgrove | Progressive Conservative | Calgary-Bow | Bonnie Laing | Progressive Conservative | Calgary-Buffalo | Sheldon Chumir | Liberal | Calgary Currie | Dennis Anderson | Progressive Conservative | Calgary-Egmont | David J. Carter | Progressive Conservative | Calgary-Elbow | Ralph Klein | Progressive Conservative | Calgary-Fish Creek | William Edward Payne | Progressive Conservative | Calgary-Foothills | Pat Black2 | Progressive Conservative | Calgary-Forest Lawn | Barry Pashak | NDP | Calgary-Glenmore | Dianne Mirosh | Progressive Conservative | Calgary-McCall | Stan Nelson | Progressive Conservative | Calgary-McKnight | Yolande Gagnon | Liberal | Calgary-Millican | Gordon Shrake | Progressive Conservative | Calgary-Montrose | Rick Orman | Progressive Conservative | Calgary-Mountain View | Bob Hawkesworth | NDP | Calgary-North Hill | Fred Stewart | Progressive Conservative | Calgary-North West | Frank Bruseker | Liberal | Calgary-Shaw | Jim Dinning | Progressive Conservative | Calgary-West | Elaine McCoy | Progressive Conservative | Camrose | Ken Rostad | Progressive Conservative | Cardston | Jack Ady | Progressive Conservative | Chinook | Shirley McClellan | Progressive Conservative | Clover Bar | Kurt Gesell | Progressive Conservative | Cypress-Redcliff | Alan Hyland | Progressive Conservative | Drayton Valley | Tom Thurber | Progressive Conservative | Drumheller | Stanley Schumacher | Progressive Conservative | Dunvegan | Glen Clegg | Progressive Conservative | Edmonton-Avonmore | Marie Laing | NDP | Edmonton-Belmont | Tom Sigurdson | NDP | Edmonton-Beverly | Ed Ewasiuk | NDP | Edmonton-Calder | Christie Mjolsness | NDP | Edmonton Centre | William Roberts | NDP | Edmonton-Glengarry | Laurence Decore | Liberal | Edmonton-Glenora | Nancy Betkowski 1 | Progressive Conservative | Edmonton-Gold Bar | Bettie Hewes | Liberal | Edmonton-Highlands | Pam Barrett | NDP | Edmonton Jasper Place | John McInnis | NDP | Edmonton Kingsway | Alex McEachern | NDP | Edmonton Meadowlark | Grant Mitchell | Liberal | Edmonton-Mill Woods | Gerry Gibeault | NDP | Edmonton Norwood | Ray Martin | NDP | Edmonton-Parkallen | Doug Main | Progressive Conservative | Edmonton-Strathcona | Gordon Wright | NDP | Edmonton-Whitemud | Percy Wickman | Liberal | Fort McMurray | Norm Weiss | Progressive Conservative | Grande Prairie | Bob Elliott | Progressive Conservative | Highwood | Don Tannas | Progressive Conservative | Innisfail | Gary Severtson | Progressive Conservative | Lacombe | Ronald Moore | Progressive Conservative | Lesser Slave Lake | Pearl Calahasen | Progressive Conservative | Lethbridge East | Archibald D. Johnston | Progressive Conservative | Lethbridge-West | John Gogo | Progressive Conservative | Little Bow | Raymond Speaker | Progressive Conservative | Lloydminster | Doug Cherry | Progressive Conservative | Macleod | LeRoy Fjordbotten | Progressive Conservative | Medicine Hat | Jim Horsman | Progressive Conservative | Olds-Didsbury | Roy Brassard | Progressive Conservative | Peace River | Al Adair | Progressive Conservative | Pincher Creek-Crowsnest | Frederick Deryl Bradley | Progressive Conservative | Ponoka-Rimbey | Halvar Jonson | Progressive Conservative | Red Deer North | Stockwell Day | Progressive Conservative | Red Deer South | John Oldring | Progressive Conservative | Redwater-Andrew | Steve Zarusky | Progressive Conservative | Rocky Mountain House | Ty Lund | Progressive Conservative | Sherwood Park | Peter Elzinga | Progressive Conservative | Smoky River | Walter Paszkowski | Progressive Conservative | St. Albert | Dick Fowler | Progressive Conservative | St. Paul | John Drobot | Progressive Conservative | Stettler | Brian C. Downey | Progressive Conservative | Stony Plain | Stan Woloshyn | NDP | Taber-Warner | Robert Bogle | Progressive Conservative | Three Hills | Connie Osterman | Progressive Conservative | Vegreville | Derek Fox | NDP | Vermilion-Viking | Steve West | Progressive Conservative | Wainwright | Robert Fischer | Progressive Conservative | Westlock-Sturgeon | Nicholas Taylor | Liberal | West Yellowhead | Jerry Doyle | NDP | Wetaskiwin-Leduc | Donald H. Sparrow | Progressive Conservative | Whitecourt | Peter Trynchy | Progressive Conservative |
Note:
- 1 Nancy Betkowski later changed her last name to MacBeth
- 2 Pat Black later changed her last name to Nelson