Voter Apathy and Alberta

Alberta is notorious for low voter turnout at the best of times. Thirty seven years of rule by one party has created an environment where many feel that their vote doesn't matter at all. Even leaders like Don Getty managed to get re-elected with sizable majorities. On the street, it seems like it's a rare thing to meet someone who is an active supporter of one of the other parties.

While I expect that the electoral boundaries for this election ensure that the PC's will win on the rural vote, I'm not at all sure that it will be a convincing win for Stelmach.

Albertans are tired - after 37 years of single party rule, many are simply sick of seeing the same thing year after year. Although apathy tends to favour the status quo, I think this election may in fact belong to whoever manages to get their vote out on Monday. The PCs are so used to winning, even when the apathy levels in their own party are high that they in fact face the greatest challenges to getting their voters out to the polls. Voters backing parties and candidates other than the PCs have already decided they want to see change, and will be out at the polls. The question is whether the PCs are able to get the 'habitual' voters out or not.