The 3rd Alberta Senate nominee election was held on November 22, 2004, in conjunction with the Alberta general election, 2004. Alberta is the only Canadian province to elect nominees for the Senate of Canada.
The Senate of Canada is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons and the Monarch. The Senate is modelled after the British House of Lords and consists of 105 members appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. Seats are assigned on a regional basis: four regions—defined as Ontario, Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and the Western provinces—each receive 24 seats, with the remaining portions of the country—Newfoundland and Labrador receiving 6 seats and the three northern territories each assigned the remaining one seat. Senators may serve until they reach the age of 75.
Both of Alberta's opposition parties, the Liberal Party and the NDP, boycotted the election in demonstration of their opposition to the process. As a result, the only candidates to contest the election were representatives of the right-of-centre Alberta Progressive Conservatives, Alberta Alliance Party and Social Credit parties, and a number of independents. After much pressure from the Liberal and NDP camps (who did not want their supporters to feel compelled to vote for a right-of-centre candidate), polling officers were instructed to advise voters on election day that they did not have to vote in the Senate election.
The Alberta Liberal Party is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1905, it was the dominant political party until the 1921 election, with the first three provincial Premiers being Liberals. Since 1921, it has formed the official opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta several times, most recently from 1993 until 2012. Fourteen Liberals have served as Leader of the Opposition of Alberta.
The Alberta New Democratic Party, commonly shortened to Alberta NDP, is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada, which succeeded the Alberta section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and the even earlier Alberta wing of the Canadian Labour Party and the United Farmers of Alberta. From the mid-1980s to 2004, the party abbreviated its name as the "New Democrats" (ND).
The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta was a provincial centre-right party in the Canadian province of Alberta. The party formed the provincial government, without interruption, from 1971 until the party's defeat in the 2015 provincial election under Premiers Peter Lougheed, Don Getty, Ralph Klein, Ed Stelmach, Alison Redford, Dave Hancock and Jim Prentice. At 44 years, this was the longest unbroken run in government at the provincial or federal level in Canadian history.
The candidate nominated by Social Credit did not obtain the 1500 signatures required to get on the ballot, and the party therefore was not represented in the election.
As of the date of the election, there were three vacant Alberta seats in the Senate of Canada, with another set to become vacant within six years. Voters could vote for up to four candidates, though many candidates encouraged their supporters to vote for only one, a legal option, to prevent the vote totals of their competitors from rising.
A total of 2,176,341 votes were cast (714,709 ballots).
Many Liberal and NDP supporters were observed discarding their Senate nominee ballots, while the proportion of spoiled ballots was higher in ridings and polls where the Liberals and NDP did well in the concurrent Legislature election.
Liberal Party of Canada Prime Minister Paul Martin refused to advise Governor General Adrienne Clarkson to appoint the elected Senate nominees to the Upper Chamber, instead putting forward three appointees of his choosing: Grant Mitchell, Elaine McCoy and Claudette Tardif on March 24, 2005.
The Liberal Party of Canada is the oldest and longest-serving governing political party in Canada. The Liberals form the current government, elected in 2015. The party has dominated federal politics for much of Canada's history, holding power for almost 69 years in the 20th century—more than any other party in a developed country—and as a result, it is sometimes referred to as Canada's "natural governing party".
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada from December 12, 2003, to February 6, 2006.
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The person of the sovereign is shared equally both with the 15 other Commonwealth realms and the 10 provinces of Canada, but resides predominantly in her oldest and most populous realm, the United Kingdom. The Queen, on the advice of her Canadian prime minister, appoints a governor general to carry out most of her constitutional and ceremonial duties. The commission is for an unfixed period of time—known as serving at Her Majesty's pleasure—though five years is the normal convention. Beginning in 1959, it has also been traditional to rotate between anglophone and francophone incumbents—although many recent governors general have been bilingual. Once in office, the governor general maintains direct contact with the Queen, wherever she may be at the time.
Senate reform proponents actively decried the appointments, urging the new senators to vacate their seats for the elected senators-in-waiting. The new appointments left little hope of another vacancy for Alberta's Senate seats in the near future.
In the 2006 Canadian federal election Stephen Harper promised he would advise the Governor General to appoint the senators-in-waiting if his party won. On April 19, 2007, Harper appointed Bert Brown to the Senate after Daniel Hays retired early.
Stephen Joseph Harper is a Canadian economist, entrepreneur, and retired politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada for nearly a decade, from February 6, 2006 to November 4, 2015. Harper has served as the leader of the International Democrat Union since February 2018.
Bert Brown was a Canadian senator and retired farmer and development consultant who resided in Balzac, Alberta.
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach decided to defer new Senate elections set to take place when the terms of senators-in-waiting ended, which was controversial. Senator-in-waiting Link Byfield decided to resign as he felt he lacked a mandate. Remaining candidates Breitkreuz and Unger both accepted the term extension. Unger was appointed to the Senate on January 6, 2012, after the mandatory retirement of Tommy Banks.
Edward Michael Stelmach is a Canadian politician and served as the 13th Premier of Alberta, Canada, from 2006 to 2011. The grandson of Ukrainian immigrants, Stelmach was born and raised on a farm near Lamont and speaks fluent Ukrainian. He spent his entire pre-political adult life as a farmer, except for some time spent studying at the University of Alberta. His first foray into politics was a 1986 municipal election, when he was elected to Lamont County council. A year into his term, he was appointed reeve. He continued in this position until his entry into provincial politics.
Thomas Benjamin Banks, LL.D. was a Canadian pianist, conductor, arranger, composer, television personality and senator.
Candidate | Party | Votes # | Votes % | Ballots % | Elected | Appointed | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bert Brown | Progressive Conservative | 312,041 | 14.3% | 43.7% | X | July 10, 2007 | |
Betty Unger | Progressive Conservative | 311,964 | 14.3% | 43.6% | X | January 6, 2012 | |
Cliff Breitkreuz | Progressive Conservative | 241,306 | 11.1% | 33.8% | X | Term ended March 26, 2012 | |
Link Byfield | Independent | 238,751 | 11.0% | 33.4% | X | Resigned November 2010 [1] | |
Jim Silye | Progressive Conservative | 217,857 | 10.0% | 30.5% | |||
David Usherwood | Progressive Conservative | 193,056 | 8.9% | 27.0% | |||
Michael Roth | Alberta Alliance | 176,339 | 8.1% | 24.7% | |||
Vance Gough | Alberta Alliance | 167,770 | 7.7% | 23.5% | |||
Tom Sindlinger | Independent | 161,082 | 7.4% | 22.5% | |||
Gary Horan | Alberta Alliance | 156,175 | 7.2% | 21.9% |
Source: Elections Alberta
Note:
Alexa Ann McDonough, is a Canadian politician who became the first woman to lead a major, recognized political party in Canada, when she was elected the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party's (NSNDP) leader in 1980. She served as a member of the Nova Scotia Legislature from 1981 to 1994, representing the Halifax Chebucto and Halifax Fairview electoral districts. She stepped down as the NSNDP's leader and as a member of the legislature in 1994. She subsequently ran for, and was elected, leader of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1995. McDonough was elected the Member of Parliament (MP) for the federal electoral district of Halifax in 1997. She stepped down as party leader in 2003, but continued to serve as an MP for two more terms, until 2008, when she retired from politics altogether. In 2009, she became the interim president of Mount Saint Vincent University and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in December of that year.
The Alberta Alliance was a right wing provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Many of its members were supporters of the defunct Canadian Alliance federal political party and its predecessor, the Reform Party of Canada. Members also joined from such other provincial fringe parties as the Alberta First Party, the Alberta Party and Social Credit. Alliance supporters tended to view themselves as "true conservatives", and believed the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Ed Stelmach to be out of touch with the needs of Albertans.
Michael M. Fortier, is a former Canadian Minister of International Trade and a former Conservative senator from Quebec. He lost as the Conservative candidate for the riding of Vaudreuil-Soulanges in the 2008 Canadian election.
Lieutenant General Stanley Charles "Stan" Waters CD was Canada's first Senator to be appointed to his Senate seat following a non-binding provincial Senate election.
The Alberta general election of 2004 was the twenty-sixth general election for the province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on November 22, 2004 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
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The United States Senate elections of 1954 was a midterm election in the first term of Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency. Eisenhower's Republican party lost a net of two seats to the Democratic opposition. This small change was just enough to give Democrats control of the chamber with the support of an Independent who caucused with them.
The Triple-E Senate is a proposed variation of reform to the current Canadian Senate, calling for senators to be elected to exercise effective powers in numbers equally representative of each province. This is in contrast to the present arrangement wherein individuals are appointed to the Senate by the Governor General, on the advice of the Prime Minister after which they generally do not interfere with the workings of the Lower House. The number of senators allotted to each province, as set out in the constitution, is neither equal nor proportional.
This is a list of members of the Australian Senate from 1987 to 1990. It consisted of twelve senators for each of the six states of Australia and two senators representing each of the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. All members were elected at the 1987 election following a double dissolution of both houses of parliament, rather than the normal case of only half of the state senators facing election.
The 2nd Alberta Senate nominee election was held in Alberta, Canada, on October 19, 1998, in conjunction with the Alberta Municipal Elections. It was held to elect Alberta's candidates for appointment to the Senate of Canada.
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The 2006 Alberta Progressive Conservative leadership election was held in November and December 2006 to choose a new leader for the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta to replace the retiring Ralph Klein. Ed Stelmach emerged as the winner of an eight candidate field, despite placing third on the first ballot.
Alberta was, between 1989 and 2012, the only Canadian province to elect nominees for appointment to the Senate of Canada in a process known as an Alberta Senate nominee election. These elections were non-binding, as the appointment of Senators remained the responsibility of the Governor General of Canada on the advice of the Prime Minister. The process ultimately resulted in ten elected nominees, five of whom were appointed to the Senate. The legislation enabling Senate nominee elections expired in 2016, but two elected Senators still hold their seats.
The 2012 Alberta Senate nominee election, formally the 4th Senate nominee election of Alberta, was held to elect three nominees for appointment to the Senate of Canada to represent the province of Alberta. It was to be held in the fall of 2010, but was delayed by then-Premier Ed Stelmach. His successor, Alison Redford, announced that it would be held in conjunction with the 2012 provincial election, before June 1, 2012. On March 26, it was announced that it would be held April 23, 2012. The results followed the provincial election closely, with the Progressive Conservatives winning all three positions, and the Wildrose Party a close second.
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The 2019 general election in Alberta, Canada will elect members to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. It will take place on or before May 31, 2019.