1979 Alberta general election

1979 Alberta general election

March 14, 1979 (1979-03-14)
79 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 40 seats were needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   SC Leader Peter Lougheed Robert C. Clark Party Progressive Conservative Social Credit Leader since 1965 1975 Leader's seat Calgary-West Olds-Didsbury Last election 69 seats, 62.7% 4 seats, 18.2% Seats before 69 4 Seats won 74 4 Seat change 5 ±0 Popular vote 408,097 141,284 Percentage 57.4% 19.87% Swing 5.25% 1.7%   Third party Fourth party   LIB Leader Grant Notley Nicholas Taylor Party New Democratic Liberal Leader since 1968 1974 Leader's seat Spirit River-Fairview ran in Calgary-Glenmore (lost) Last election 1 seat, 12.9% 0 seats, 4.98% Seats before 1 0 Seats won 1 0 Seat change ±0 ±0 Popular vote 111,984 43,792 Percentage 15.75% 6.16% Swing 2.81% 1.18%
Premier before election Peter Lougheed Progressive Conservative Premier after election Peter Lougheed Progressive Conservative

The 1979 Alberta general election was held on March 14, 1979, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, which had been expanded to 79 seats.

The Progressive Conservative Party of Peter Lougheed won its third consecutive term in government. During the campaign, some Progressive Conservatives spoke of winning "79 in '79", i.e., all 79 seats in the legislature. This harkened back to Social Credit's unofficial slogan from the 1963 election, "63 in '63". The Tories came up short of this goal, and actually lost over five percentage points of the popular vote. Nonetheless, they still won an overwhelming majority, with 74 seats.

Social Credit held on to the four seats they had won in the 1975 election, and formed the official opposition in the legislature. Grant Notley, leader of the Alberta New Democratic Party, was the only other opposition member.

Results

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats			Popular Vote
				1975	Elected	% Change	#	%	% Change
	Progressive Conservative	Peter Lougheed	79	69	74	+7.2%	408,097	57.40%	-5.25%
	Social Credit	Robert Curtis Clark	79	4	4	-	141,284	19.87%	+1.70%
	New Democrats	Grant Notley	79	1	1	-	111,984	15.75%	+2.81%
	Liberal	Nicholas Taylor	78	-	-	-	43,792	6.16%	+1.18%
	Independent		8	-	-	-	3,430	0.48%	+0.37%
	Independent Conservative		3	-	-	-	1,613	0.23%	+0.05%1
	Independent Christian		1	*	-	*	403	0.06%	*
	Communist		7	-	-	-	357	0.05%	-0.08%
Total			334	75	79	+5.3%	710,963	100%
Source: Elections Alberta

Notes:
¹ Percent compared to Independent Progressive Conservative during the 1975 Election.

^* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

Popular vote PC   57.40% Social Credit   19.87% New Democratic   15.75% Liberal   6.16% Others   0.82%

Seats summary PC   93.67% Social Credit   5.06% New Democratic   1.27%

Results by riding

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	PC		Social Credit		NDP		Liberal		Other
Athabasca		Frank Appleby 4,153 55.39%		Ernest W. Maser 989 13.19%		Peter E. Opryshko 1,792 23.90%		Robert Blain Logan 554 7.39%				Frank Appleby
Banff-Cochrane		Greg Stevens 5,578 66.79%		Thomas McArthur 1,462 17.51%		Bob Ritchie 759 9.09%		Morna F. Schechtel 543 6.50%
Barrhead		Hugh F. Horner 4,629 61.73%		David Bouyea 1,658 22.11%		Lionel Udenberg 1,008 13.44%		John V. Murphy 136 1.81%				Hugh F. Horner
Bonnyville		Ernie Isley 3,468 49.57%		George Nordstrom 1,275 18.22%		Tom Turner 1,828 26.13%		Edward Stepanik 194 2.77%		Donald Appleby (Ind.) 206 2.94%		Donald Hansen
Bow Valley		Paul Bartlett 2,484 35.92%		Fred T. Mandeville 4,123 59.62%		Ron Wickson 201 2.91%		Brian Nearing 86 1.24%				Fred T. Mandeville
Calgary-Bow		Neil Webber 7,042 64.39%		Jim Beale 1,816 16.61%		Floyd A. Johnson 1,361 12.45%		Clive Scott 633 5.79%		Adela Polancec (Comm.) 47 0.43%		Neil Webber
Calgary-Buffalo		Tom Sindlinger 6,481 63.78%		Jim Rocker 1,432 14.09%		Brian Rees 1,052 10.35%		Lloyd Hamilton 1,096 10.79%		David Willis (Comm.) 62 0.61%		Ronald H. Ghitter
Calgary-Currie		Dennis L. Anderson 6,885 59.57%		Charles S. Dunkley 2,822 24.42%		Glenn Miller 1,042 9.02%		Jerry Arshinoff 789 6.83%				Fred H. Peacock
Calgary-Egmont		Merv Leitch 8,083 73.30%		Albert Downton 1,245 11.29%		Muriel McCreary 844 7.65%		Marta Coldham 833 7.55%				Merv Leitch
Calgary-Elbow		David J. Russell 5,941 65.67%		Patricia (Pat) Sveen 1,321 14.60%		William J. Oxendale 531 5.87%		John S. Webb 1,227 13.56%				David J. Russell
Calgary-Fish Creek		William Edward Payne 9,187 75.94%		Al Green 1,190 9.84%		Margaret Young 481 3.98%		Jerry Sykes 1,225 10.13%
Calgary-Foothills		Stewart A. McCrae 7,518 61.89%		Lorraine Law 2,835 23.34%		Steve G. Arnett 982 8.08%		Catherine M. Fitzpatrick 789 6.50%				Stewart A. McCrae
Calgary-Forest Lawn		John Zaozirny 5,901 59.39%		Don Howes 2,263 22.78%		Doug Murdoch 813 8.18%		Marg Bogstie 284 2.86%		John Sutherland (Ind.) 577 5.81% Bruce Potter (Comm.) 47 0.47%
Calgary-Glenmore		Hugh L. Planche 8,212 55.74%		Ernie Kaszas 1,280 8.69%		Neil Ellison 442 3.00%		Nicholas Taylor 4,774 32.40%				Hugh L. Planche
Calgary-McCall		Andrew Little 7,918 70.39%		Jim Richards 1,757 15.62%		Dave Hammond 838 7.45%		Ron Chahal 691 6.14%		Michael J. Parker (Comm.) 20 0.18%		Andrew Little
Calgary-McKnight		Eric Charles Musgreave 7,248 61.61%		Jerry Melchin 2,684 22.82%		Jack Dale 1,097 9.33%		John J. Gleason 664 5.64%				Eric Charles Musgreave
Calgary-Millican		David John Carter 4,034 61.80%		Arthur J. Dixon 1,539 23.58%		Stan Johns 595 9.11%		Bob Cox 331 5.07%				Thomas Charles Donnelly
Calgary-Mountain View		Stan Kushner 5,141 54.54%		Scott Saville 1,986 21.07%		Martin Serediak 1,455 15.44%		John Donnachie 804 8.53%				John Kushner
Calgary-North Hill		Ed Oman 6,760 64.41%		Dennis Shupe 1,799 17.14%		Agnes Middleton 1,052 10.02%		Dorothy Groves 747 7.12%		John J. Jasienczyk (Ind.) 71 0.68%		Roy Alexander Farran
Calgary-North West		Sheila Embury 5,976 61.59%		Harold Gunderson 2,043 21.06%		Ken Richmond 721 7.43%		George R.D. Goulet 950 9.79%
Calgary-West		Peter Lougheed 7,825 72.44%		Frank F. Cottingham 930 8.61%		Ed Smith 699 6.47%		Barbara Ann Scott 874 8.09%		Jacob H. Binnema (Ind. Christian) 406 3.78%		Peter Lougheed
Camrose		Gordon Stromberg 7,998 60.06%		Ralph A. Sorenson 3,121 23.44%		Arthur C. Bunney 1,888 14.18%		John R. Shores 278 2.09%				Gordon Stromberg
Cardston		John Thompson 2,832 53.89%		Broyce G. Jacobs 2,196 41.79%		Rosemarie M. Buchannan 102 1.94%		Paul Shaw 115 2.19%				John Thompson
Chinook		Henry Kroeger 4,024 66.11%		Arlie Reil 1,310 21.52%		John W. Oberg 406 6.67%		Sheila Noonan 314 5.16%
Clover Bar		C.G. Thomlinson 3,947 34.90%		Walt A. Buck 6,033 53.35%		Graham Griffiths 1,102 9.75%		Alan M.F. Dunn 211 1.87%				Walt A. Buck
Cypress		Alan Hyland 3,353 56.90%		Vern Beck 1,907 32.36%		Clarence W. Smith 499 8.47%		Carl Pattison 123 2.09%				Alan Hyland
Drayton Valley		Shirley Cripps 3,530 56.75%		Phil Turner 1,284 20.64%		Gerry Hutchinson 1,290 20.74%		Harold Knopke 94 1.51%				Rudolph Zander
Drumheller		Lewis (Mickey) Clark 5,585 54.56%		Ken Taylor 1,913 18.69%		Ray Garrett 526 5.14%		Charles J. Dirk 209 2.04%		Vern Hoff (Ind.) 1,927 18.83%		Gordon Edward Taylor
Edmonton-Avonmore		Horst A. Schmid 5,382 53.91%		Walter Zucht 1,691 16.94%		Olga Blondheim 2,363 23.67%		Betty Ann Dumbeck 511 5.12%				Horst A. Schmid
Edmonton-Belmont		William L. Mack 4,923 54.90%		Ron Mix 1,813 20.22%		Haddie Jahner 1,769 19.73%		Charalee Graydon 369 4.12%				Albert Edward Hohol
Edmonton-Beverly		Bill W. Diachuk 3,756 50.29%		Pat G.A. O'Hara 854 11.44%		Gene Mitchell 2,592 34.71%		Teresa McKerral 231 3.09%				Bill W. Diachuk
Edmonton-Calder		Tom Chambers 5,205 58.18%		Dan R. Service 982 10.98%		Bill Kobluk 2,180 24.37%		Richard Guthrie 535 5.98%				Tom Chambers
Edmonton-Centre		Mary LeMessurier 4,550 54.19%		Robert J. Dunseith 838 9.98%		Harry C. Midgley 2,273 27.07%		Leonard Stahl 704 8.38%				Gordon Miniely
Edmonton-Glengarry		Rollie Cook 4,309 54.95%		Victor Nakonechny 1,277 16.29%		David Stewart 1,489 18.99%		Ronald John Hayter 719 9.17%
Edmonton-Glenora		Lou Hyndman 6,597 61.23%		Patrice Taylor 1,330 12.34%		Doug Trace 1,838 17.06%		David Panar 967 8.97%				Lou Hyndman
Edmonton-Gold Bar		Alois Paul Hiebert 6,044 55.93%		Ace Cetinski 1,397 12.93%		Kathleen Wright 2,343 21.68%		Laurie Switzer 1,002 9.27%				William Yurko
Edmonton-Highlands		David T. King 4,644 56.28%		Sam Motrich 770 9.33%		Clifford Gladue 2,065 25.03%		Ted Power 594 7.20%		William A. Tuomi (Comm.) 84 1.02% Roger Lavoie (Ind.) 65 0.79%		David T. King
Edmonton-Jasper Place		Leslie Gordon Young 5,049 60.16%		Ralph Frank Watzke 1,037 12.36%		Charlie Wood 1,735 20.67%		Gerald F. Paschen 554 6.60%				Leslie Gordon Young
Edmonton-Kingsway		Kenneth R.H. Paproski 4,387 50.44%		Martin Hattersly 975 11.21%		Alex McEachern 2,563 29.47%		Dorothy A. Richardson 684 7.86%		Eddie Keehn (Ind.) 51 0.59%		Kenneth R.H. Paproski
Edmonton-Meadowlark		Gerard Joseph Amerongen 7,075 59.97%		Russ Forsythe 1,237 10.48%		Jim Bell 2,098 17.78%		Ron Charko 904 7.66%		C.A. Douglas Ringrose (Ind.) 448 3.80%		Gerard Joseph Amerongen
Edmonton-Mill Woods		Milt Pahl 4,299 56.16%		Rudy Rodriques 573 7.49%		L. (Les) Owre 1,552 20.27%		Rose MacPherson 989 12.92%
Edmonton-Norwood		Catherine Chichak 3,950 46.61%		Mike Ekelund 703 8.29%		Ray Martin 3,194 37.69%		Walter G. Coombs 486 5.73%		Kimball Cariou (Comm.) 45 0.53%		Catherine Chichak
Edmonton-Parkallen		Neil S. Crawford 6,457 50.47%		Morley MacCalder 1,483 11.59%		Jim Russell 4,102 32.06%		Philip Lister 724 5.66%				Neil S. Crawford
Edmonton-Sherwood Park		Henry Woo 6,285 60.57%		Oran Johnson 1,594 15.36%		Jim Denholm 1,682 16.21%		Stephen Lindop 795 7.66%
Edmonton-Strathcona		Julian Koziak 5,464 44.94%		E.J.C. Charman 927 7.62%		Gordon S.B. Wright 4,808 39.54%		George Walton 739 6.08%		Gerry Ball (Ind. P.C.) 155 1.28% Joseph Hill (Comm.) 52 0.43%		Julian Koziak
Edmonton-Whitemud		Peter Knaak 6,833 57.54%		Larry Heth 939 7.91%		Ted Paszek 2,122 17.87%		Don Milliken 1,964 16.54%				Donald Ross Getty
Edson		Ian Reid 4,517 53.62%		W.L. Land 676 8.02%		Ron Hodgins 2,958 35.11%		Herbert Maris 260 3.09%				Robert W. Dowling
Grande Prairie		Elmer Borstad 6,313 50.12%		Donald Wood 3,380 26.84%		Campbell Ross 2,266 17.99%		Helen Rice 601 4.77%				Winston Backus
Highwood		George Wolstenholme 5,103 66.35%		Don Dixon 2,092 27.20%		William C. McCutcheon 281 3.65%		Joan Cowling 191 2.48%				George Wolstenholme
Innisfail		Nigel I. Pengelly 4,263 55.38%		Stuart Little 2,921 37.94%		Tim Guilbault 371 4.82%		Janet Gratton 101 1.31%				Clifford L. Doan
Lac La Biche-McMurray		Norman A. Weiss 3,431 49.68%		Conrad Sehn 1,347 19.50%		Claire E. Williscroft 1,777 25.73%		Denise Diesel 320 4.63%				Ron Tesolin
Lacombe		John William Cookson 4,458 64.11%		Elmer Suominen 1,409 20.26%		Arthur Wigmore 717 10.31%		Roger C. Holteen 260 3.74%		Gordon Crofton (Ind.) 85 1.22%		John William Cookson
Lesser Slave Lake		Larry R. Shaben 2,313 45.82%		Peter Moore 1,743 34.53%		Mike Poulter 799 15.83%		Dan Backs 171 3.39%				Larry R. Shaben
Lethbridge-East		Archibald Dick Johnston 5,870 59.35%		Roxie McCallum 1,223 12.37%		Roger Rickwood 692 7.00%		Frank Merkl 666 6.73%		Ken Kotkas (Ind. Con.) 1,375 13.99%		Archibald Dick Johnston
Lethbridge-West		John Gogo 5,682 64.60%		Jerry Waldern 1,625 18.47%		Ron Clark 971 11.04%		Bob Wilson 511 5.81%				John Gogo
Little Bow		Richard Papworth 1,684 29.37%		Raymond Albert Speaker 3,748 65.38%		Beth Jantzie 236 4.12%		John W. Fujimargari 43 0.75%				Raymond Albert Speaker
Lloydminster		James Edgar Miller 4,674 78.49%		Patrick A. Moore 445 7.47%		Elinar A. Jonson 680 11.42%		Gregory R. Berry 131 2.20%				James Edgar Miller
Macleod		LeRoy Fjordbotten 4,189 58.79%		Roelof A. Heinen 2,369 33.25%		Kathleen M. Cairns 384 5.39%		Alfred Saddleback 171 2.40%				Thomas James John Walker
Medicine Hat		James Horsman 10,107 72.59%		Lee Anderson 1,904 13.67%		Frances Ost 1,134 8.14%		Louise Mercier 729 5.24%
Olds-Didsbury		Bill Edgar 2,514 27.50%		Robert Curtis Clark 6,399 70.00%		Gregory Hoffarth 152 1.66%		Stephen Shaw 55 0.60%				Robert Curtis Clark
Peace River		Al (Boomer) Adair 3,901 59.77%		Garry Gaudet 784 12.01%		Richard Collins 1,604 24.57%		Donald W. Freeland 234 3.59%				Al (Boomer) Adair
Pincher Creek-Crowsnest		Frederick Deryl Bradley 3,567 60.43%		Robert (Bob) Westrop 1,503 25.46%		Ian Downie 628 10.64%		Ann Gill 181 3.07%				Frederick Deryl Bradley
Ponoka		Donald J. McCrimmon 3,317 50.17%		Roy Kinley 1,856 28.07%		Bruce A. Beck 1,279 19.34%		Gus Itzek 113 1.71%				Donald J. McCrimmon
Red Deer		Norman F. Magee 5,727 43.14%		Bob Mills 5,406 40.72%		Ken McMillan 1,861 14.02%		Hubert Bouten 258 1.94%				James L. Foster
Redwater-Andrew		George Topolnisky 3,945 52.31%		Erwin Hannig 547 7.25%		Steve Leskiw 2,870 38.05%		Rudolph Pisesky 148 1.96%				George Topolnisky
Rocky Mountain House		John Murray Campbell 4,080 52.99%		Lavern J. Ahlstrom 2,628 34.13%		John Younie 871 11.31%		Roger Hamilton 104 1.35%				Helen Hunley
Smoky River		Marvin Moore 3,032 51.85%		Bernard Lamoureux 854 14.60%		Anne Hemmingway 1,743 29.81%		Stephen V. Marchand 214 3.66%				Marvin Moore
Spirit River-Fairview		Jim Reynolds 2,668 39.43%		Aubrey Milner 356 5.26%		Grant W. Notley 3,657 54.05%		Terry Fletcher 68 1.01%				Grant W. Notley
St. Albert		Myrna Fyfe 9,361 58.68%		Reginald C. Petch 1,686 10.57%		Robert (Bob) Borreson 3,178 19.92%		Gerry Thibault 1,681 10.54%				William Ernest Jamison
St. Paul		Charles E. Anderson 3,173 46.26%		John Hull 582 8.49%		Laurent (Jeff) Dubois 2,854 41.61%		Orest Boyko 219 3.19%				Mick Fluker
Stettler		Graham L. Harle 4,262 69.94%		David Thomas 1,191 19.54%		Fred J. Rappel 503 8.25%		Douglas Cramer 110 1.81%				Graham L. Harle
Stony Plain		William Frederick Purdy 6,927 58.94%		Oscar Venoasen 2,274 19.35%		Sara Johnson 1,218 10.36%		Andy R. McKinnon 1,250 10.64%		Eleanor T. Louden (Ind. Con.) 83 0.71%		William Frederick Purdy
Taber-Warner		Robert Bogle 5,010 64.98%		Paul Primeau 2,108 27.34%		Larry Schowalter 214 2.78%		Jessie Snow 335 4.35%				Robert Bogle
Three Hills		Connie Osterman 4,401 59.32%		Henry Goerzen 2,660 35.85%		Hugh Sommerville 222 2.99%		Ward Sykes 124 1.67%				Allan Warrack
Vegreville		John S. Batiuk 3,835 48.99%		Robert E. Robert 1,210 15.46%		Harry Babchuk 2,490 31.81%		Alan Arthur Vinet 269 3.44%				John S. Batiuk
Vermilion-Viking		Tom Lysons 3,292 51.46%		Doug Livingstone 2,087 32.62%		Grant Bergman 877 13.71%		Ralph A. Wilson 118 1.84%				Tom Lysons
Wainwright		Charles Stewart 3,489 56.36%		Keith Cornish 2,103 33.97%		Alan Richards 509 8.22%		Sultan Tejani 77 1.24%				Charles Stewart
Wetaskiwin-Leduc		Dallas Schmidt 8,216 58.69%		Reinhold Ortlieb 2,702 19.30%		Earl R. Rasmuson 2,372 16.94%		Brian King 677 4.84%				Dallas Schmidt
Whitecourt		Peter Trynchy 3,834 57.64%		George L. Richardson 1,214 18.25%		Ken Forscutt 1,442 21.68%						Peter Trynchy

See also

• List of Alberta political parties

Further reading

• Byers, R.B. (1981). Canadian annual review of politics and public affairs. 1979. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4426-7193-5.