1967 Alberta general election

1967 Alberta general election

← 1963 May 23, 1967 (1967-05-23) 1971 →
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65 seats in Legislative Assembly of Alberta 33 seats were needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   LIB Leader Ernest Manning Peter Lougheed Michael Maccagno Party Social Credit Progressive Conservative Liberal Leader since May 31, 1943 1965 January 28, 1967 Leader's seat Strathcona East Calgary-West Lac La Biche Last election 60 seats, 54.8% 0 seats, 12.7% 2 seats, 19.8% Seats before 57 0 3 Seats won 55 6 3 Seat change 2 6 ±0 Popular vote 222,270 129,544 53,847 Percentage 44.6% 26.0% 10.8% Swing 10.2% 13.3% 9.0%
Premier before election Ernest Manning Social Credit Premier after election Ernest Manning Social Credit

The 1967 Alberta general election was held on May 23, 1967, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta to the 16th Alberta Legislature. The election was called after the 15th Alberta Legislature was prorogued on April 11, 1967, and dissolved on April 14, 1967.^[1]

Ernest C. Manning led the Social Credit Party to its ninth consecutive majority government, winning 55 of the 65 seats in the legislature, despite getting less than 45 per cent of the popular vote. Although it was not apparent at the time, this proved to be an ominous sign for the party. The 1967 election was the first time the Social Credit government had won less than half the popular vote since 1955.

The once-moribund Progressive Conservatives, led by young lawyer Peter Lougheed, emerged as the main opposition to Social Credit. They won over a quarter of the popular vote and six seats, mostly in Calgary and Edmonton. Social Credit was slow to adapt to the changes in Alberta as its two largest cities gained increasing influence.

Despite losing close to half of the share of the popular vote they had won in the 1963 election, the Liberals managed to increase their number of seats from two to three as a result of the decline in the Social Credit vote.

New Democrat Party candidates received 16 percent of the vote but no seats.

Voters also decided upon the adoption of daylight saving time, in a province-wide plebiscite. It was defeated by a very slim margin with 51.25 per cent voting against.

Amendments to the Election Act in 1965 provided voting rights for Treaty Indians in provincial elections, making the 1967 election the first opportunity for Indigenous Albertans to vote in a provincial election.^[2][3]