In spite of Jim Prentice’s Progressive Conservative Party running what had to be the worst political campaign in living memory, it was still a surprise when Alberta came back with an NDP government early last week. Over forty years of the same party in power will do that, people assumed that the province would put the same people in power because that’s what they always did, the fact that they didn’t might be the best thing that has happened to Canadian politics in years.
The Conservative campaign was so badly thought out that one wonders if it was inept on purpose. Right from the beginning, Prentice seemed to be operating under the assumption that, given the province has been a stronghold for his party for so long, he could do whatever he wants and still get away with it. Unveiling an unpopular budget and then launching directly into an early election call was the pinnacle of hubris. The campaign’s premise seemed to be whatever you think of the PC party, who else are you going to vote for? The population of the province took the opportunity to remind Prentice that whatever legacy his party might have, it is still a democracy and they can vote for whoever they want. It was a big shift for the province’s politics, but a necessary one given the situation.
Why is this the best thing to happen in Canadian politics? It’s a lesson to every single political party, if the PC party can lose Alberta you can lose too, anything can happen and you can’t get complacent. It’s often the case that after a party is in power for long enough they do start to get complacent, forgetting that they are there but for the grace of their constituents. Holding on to power is fine if they’re doing a good job, working in a manner that is in those constituents’ best interest and improving their province or country. If they aren’t, it’s now proven people will lose patience with them and kick them to the curb. After all, Alberta had a Conservative government for decades.
It’s a lesson to voters as well, because it’s a reminder that the power is still in their hands. People get disillusioned because they assume that they have no real effect on the process and candidates they don’t like are just going to win anyway. It’s especially bad when you have an area considered a safe seat, it’s easy to assume that you’re not going to have any impact because the region has always voted in a particular direction. It turns into a self-fulfilling prophecy, my preferred candidate won’t win so why bother? Now, we can point to Alberta, they always voted for PC, until they didn’t, so it’s not necessarily a hopeless situation.
Whether or not you like the NDP, they earned the win, taking the province by simply being quietly competent and making sense to a lot of people. They’ve got a difficult road ahead, dealing with an economic downturn and low oil prices in oil country in addition to PC mistakes, but that term is also why they’re in the office in the fist place, because an alternative was needed and they wound up being who Alberta chose. But it was the people of the province who deserve all the credit. As voters, Alberta has sent a message out to the rest of Canada, never let a party assume they can’t lose, and if they make that mistake, it’s our job as voters to prove that they can.
