Election Monday

With the provincial election campaign entering its final days, local candidates say they are geared up and ready for an election day that is expected to make history.

Polls will open at 9 a.m. Monday and close at 8 p.m., after which results will begin to pour out. If unsure of where to vote, call the Elections Alberta hotline at 780-422-8683 for polling locations. Advance polls are open today as well, with the same hours as election day.

Local returning officer Katherine Zalasky said so far the polls have been busy.

“We are seeing a good turnout.”

Zalasky said the polls are prepared for steady traffic all day long. She advised voters to closely check maps online to make sure they go to the right polling stations.

She said regardless of the turnout the polling stations are going to be ready to handle it.

“We are prepared for maximum turnout all the time.”

In the 2008 election, roughly 48 per cent of St. Albertans turned out at the polls, slightly higher than the provincial average of around 44 per cent.

That election saw outgoing Conservative MLA Ken Allred elected with 54 per cent of the vote.

The Spruce Grove-St. Albert riding saw about 47 per cent of voters turn out in the last campaign and PC MLA Doug Horner received about 60 per cent of those ballots.

This election however features two new parties and a much closer electoral map.

Alberta Party candidate Tim Osborne is one of those new players. He said he expects a changed landscape come next Tuesday morning.

He said his party’s approach of listening to all sides and lowering partisanship will be very important, especially if a minority legislature takes shape.

“It is going to be more important than ever to have some elected MLAs who are capable of building bridges.”

NDP candidate Nicole Bownes said she feels there was more interest in the election and that parties gave Albertans some clear choices.

“I think at least in the election, maybe for the first time in a long time, all the parties actually presented what their platforms were.”

She said she has been overwhelmed by the interest in the campaign locally and hope it converts to a good turnout at the polls.

“I am really heartened by the interest in St. Albert, I think it is fantastic. I hope that translates to more people getting out to vote.”

Liberal candidate Kim Bugeaud said she hopes people will reject late calls for strategic voting and vote with their true beliefs.

“I think it will be really exciting to be able to vote for what we want, not just what we don’t want.”

She said she hopes after the election people will remain engaged in the issues and create a better discourse on the issues.

“I am hoping politics can evolve out of the blood sport arena and back to the good old conversation.”

PC candidate Steve Khan, in his first ever campaign, said residents are very interested in this race.

“As a newcomer to politics the one thing that strikes me is that how engaged people are.”

Khan said on election day his campaign will be putting all their efforts behind getting people to the polls.

“We are going to do everything we can to get out as many voters as we can.”

Wildrose challenger James Burrows said his campaign will be working all weekend to make sure their supporters get to the polls.

He said the PCs have simply been in power too long and it is time for a change.

“They have been the government basically since I was seven, it is the only government we have ever known.”