The CBC calls Tuesday's provincial elections in Alberta a "massive shock that turns Canadian politics on its head." When the ruling Progressive Conservative government called the election, the party had 70 of the Alberta legislature's 87 seats, and in December the Progressive Conservatives celebrated 43 years in control of Alberta, a record for any party in any Canadian province.
On Tuesday, the leftist New Democratic Party crushed them, winning 53 seats and pushing the Conservatives to an embarrassing third-place finish, 11 seats, behind the further-right Wild Rose Party, with 21 seats. This is not only surprising because conservative, oil-rich Alberta "has long been cast as the Texas of Canada," as The New York Times notes, but also because it is the home and political base of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
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