Alberta Liberal Party
Alexander C. Rutherford (1905–1910), Arthur L. Sifton (1910–1917) and Charles Stewart (1917–1921) led Liberal governments, until the party was swept from office in the 1921 election by the United Farmers of Alberta.John C. Bowen acted in the interim until a party convention chose Joseph Tweed Shaw, a former independent left-wing M.P.After the defeat of old line parties by Social Credit in the 1935 Alberta general election, the coalition idea picked up steam.After Gray resigned the leadership on April 19, 1941, to accept a patronage position the party did not officially replace him as leader until James Prowse in 1947.Hunter, then mayor of Athabasca, who campaigned aggressively on the creation of a publicly owned electrical power company, with strong environmentalist overtones.This likely limited any growth by the Alberta New Democrats in the 1963 election, and it established the party with a distinct image and identity separate from the Progressive Conservatives.In a convention which exposed the deep ideological fault lines within the party, Adrian Douglas Berry, a Calgary alderman, emerged as leader from a highly acrimonious contest.Peter Lougheed and the Progressive Conservatives presented the attraction of a modern, urban-based party which was decidedly more liberal than the Social Credit government.The party placed very poorly in a byelection to replace a Liberal MLA who had died, and the party had lost its other two seats when Maccagno resigned to run in the 1968 federal election and then in November 1969, the last remaining Liberal MLA, Bill Dickie, crossed the floor to join Lougheed's Progressive Conservatives, who had rapidly established themselves as a credible government-in-waiting.Lowery thought he saw some hope in an electoral arrangement with Social Credit, which he believed was showing signs of modernization and rejuvenation under Manning's successor, Harry Strom.The party's political credibility had been steadily eroding, and with the negotiations with Social Credit, it was not immediately clear that it had any ideological purpose.It was shut out of the legislature altogether in an election that saw Social Credit defeated after 36 years in power at the hands of Lougheed's Progressive Conservatives.The Liberals' fortunes improved in the late 1980s and they returned to the Alberta legislature in the 1986 election, when leader Nicholas Taylor led them to win 4 seats and 12% of the popular vote.Although Decore now led the second-largest opposition caucus in the province's history, the result was still seen as a disappointment to some prominent Liberals who felt the party had missed its best chance in over 70 years to form government.Edmonton Mill Woods MLA Don Massey briefly stood as interim leader until a leadership race was held.Additionally, in June 2007, Craig Cheffins won in a by-election, making him the fourth Alberta Liberal MLA in Calgary.Going up against rookie Premier Ed Stelmach, the Alberta Liberals had high hopes of increasing their seat count dramatically, particularly with the supposed discontent with the Tories in Calgary.In the leadership election of 2017, lawyer and former Calgary-Buffalo candidate David Khan received 54.8% of the votes, defeating one rival to become the permanent Liberal leader, under controversial circumstances.
LeaderJohn RoggeveenCalgaryAlbertaIdeologyLiberalismPolitical positionCentreLiberal Party of CanadaLegislaturePolitics of AlbertaPolitical partiesElectionsFrenchprovincialpolitical party1921 electionofficial oppositionLegislative Assembly of AlbertaLeader of the OppositionAlexander C. RutherfordArthur L. SiftonCharles StewartUnited Farmers of AlbertaJohn R. BoyleAttorney-GeneralCharles R. MitchellJohn C. BowenJoseph Tweed Shawleft-wing1930 electionGeorge H. WebsterWilliam R. HowsonEdward Leslie GrayWilliam Howson1935 Alberta general electionIndependent Citizens' AssociationJohn Percy PageCamrose1948 Alberta general electionJohn Walter Grant MacEwanopposition partyelectoral systemCanadian provincessocial democracyMichael MaccagnoLac La BicheDavid B. Hunterpublicly ownedelectrical powerAlberta New Democrats1963 electionAdrian Douglas Berry1967 provincial electionPeter LougheedBill Dickiecrossed the floorJohn T. LoweryHarry StromBud OlsonPat Mahoney1971 electionRobert RussellPierre Trudeauofficial bilingualismNational Energy Programwestern alienation1986 electionNicholas Taylorleadership reviewSheldon ChumirGrant MitchellEdmontonLaurence Decore1989 Senate Election1993 electionNew DemocratsProgressive ConservativeRalph KleinEdmonton McClungFort McMurrayAdam GermainEdmonton-RoperSine ChadiCalgary-BuffaloGary Dickson1997 electionleadership racecabinet ministerNancy MacBethLethbridge EastKen NicolEdmonton MeadowlarkKaren LeiboviciEdmonton RiverviewLinda SloanDave TaylorDavid SwannKevin TaftDarshan KangHarry B. Chase2001 electionEdmonton Mill WoodsDon Masseyinterim leader2004 provincial electionprovincial election of March 3, 2008Ed Stelmach2011 leadership electionRaj Sherman2012 general electionCalgary-Mountain ViewEdmonton-CentreLaurie Blakeman2015 provincial electionAlberta New Democratic Partyleadership election of 2017David Khan2023 general electionBC UnitedSaskatchewan Progress Partyclassicalsocial liberalismlearn through playExperimental Lakes Areacarbon tax