View source for 1971 Alberta general election

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name      = 1971 Alberta general election
| country            = Alberta
| type               = legislative
| party_colour       = no
| party_name         = no
| previous_election  = 1967 Alberta general election
| previous_year      = 1967
| election_date      = {{Start date|1971|8|30}}
| next_election      = 1975 Alberta general election
| next_year          = 1975
| seats_for_election = 75 seats in the [[Legislative Assembly of Alberta]] <br /> 38 seats were needed for a majority
| turnout            =
<!-- Progressive Conservative -->
| image1             = Peter Lougheed - Premier of Alberta - 1983.jpg
| colour1            = {{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|nohash}}
| leader1            = [[Peter Lougheed]]
| party1             = {{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|name}}
| leader_since1      = 1965
| leaders_seat1      = [[Calgary-West]]
| last_election1     = 6 seats, 26.0%
| seats_before1      = 10
| seats1             = '''49'''
| seat_change1       = {{increase}}39
| popular_vote1      = '''296,934'''
| percentage1        = '''46.4%'''
| swing1             = {{increase}}20.4%
<!-- Social Credit -->
| map_image          =Alberta general election 1971 - Results by Riding.svg 
| map_size           =400px 
| map_caption        =
Popular vote by riding. As this is a first-past-the-post election, seat totals are not determined by total popular vote, but instead by results in each riding.
<!-- bottom -->
| title              = Premier
| before_election    = [[Harry Strom]]
| before_party       = {{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|name}}
| posttitle          = Premier after election
| after_election     = [[Peter Lougheed]]
| after_party        = {{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|name}}
| previous_mps       = 16th Alberta Legislative Assembly
| elected_mps        = [[17th Alberta Legislative Assembly|members]]
| image2             = Harry Strom portrait (cropped).jpg
| colour2            = {{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|nohash}}
| leader2            = [[Harry Strom]]
| party2             = {{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|name}}
| leader_since2      = [[1968 Social Credit Party of Alberta leadership election|December 12, 1968]]
| leaders_seat2      = [[Cypress (former Alberta provincial electoral district)|Cypress]]
| last_election2     = 55 seats, 44.6%
| seats_before2      = 55
| seats2             = 25
| seat_change2       = {{decrease}}30
| popular_vote2      = 262,953
| percentage2        = 41.1%
| swing2             = {{decrease}}3.5%
<!-- NDP -->
| image3             = Grant Notley circa 1969.jpg
| colour3            = {{Canadian party colour|AB|NDP|nohash}}
| leader3            = [[Grant Notley]]
| party3             = {{Canadian party colour|AB|NDP|name}}
| leader_since3      = 1968
| leaders_seat3      = ''ran in [[Spirit River-Fairview]] (won)''
| last_election3     = 0 seats, 16.0%
| seats_before3      = 0
| seats3             = 1
| seat_change3       = {{increase}}1
| popular_vote3      = 73,038
| percentage3        = 11.4%
| swing3             = {{decrease}}4.6%
<!-- map -->
}}

The '''1971 Alberta general election''' was the seventeenth general election held in the Province of [[Alberta]], Canada on August 30, 1971, to elect seventy-five members of the [[Legislative Assembly of Alberta|Alberta Legislature]] to form the [[17th Alberta Legislative Assembly]].

The [[Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta]] led by [[Peter Lougheed]] won 49 of 75 seats with 46.4 per cent of the popular vote in the new legislature to form a [[majority government]]. Lougheed's Progressive Conservatives defeated the incumbent [[Alberta Social Credit Party|Social Credit Party]] led by Premier [[Harry Strom]] who won 25 seats with 41.1 per cent of the popular vote.

The 1971 election ushered in the Progressive Conservative dynasty in Alberta, which continuously held a majority government for 44 years from 1971 to 2015. The election also marked the end of the Social Credit dynasty which had continuously held a majority government for 36 years from 1935 to 1971.

==Background==

=== 1967 Alberta general election ===
{{main article|1967 Alberta general election}}
In the May 1967 election, [[Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta|Progressive Conservative]] leader [[Peter Lougheed]] and his supporters worked to convince candidates to run in all 65 constituencies; however, the Progressive Conservatives were only able to nominate 47 candidates.{{sfn|Perry|Craig|2006|p=523}} This was two more than the [[Alberta Liberal Party|Liberal Party]] which had 45, but less than the full slates put forward by the Social Credit Party and the New Democratic Party.{{sfn|Wood|1985|p=47}}

Lougheed was subsequently elected to the legislature in [[Calgary-West]] garnering 62 per cent of the vote, and the Progressive Conservatives captured 26 per cent of the vote province-wide with five other successful candidates.{{sfn|Wood|1985|p=61}} With six elected MLAs, Lougheed became [[Leader of the Opposition (Alberta)|Leader of the Opposition]]. The group of elected Conservatives known as the "original six" included Calgary MLAs [[Len Werry]] and [[David John Russell|David Russell]], Edmonton area MLAs [[Lou Hyndman]] and [[Don Getty]], and the party's only rural candidate and former federal Member of Parliament [[Hugh Horner]].{{sfn|Perry|Craig|2006|p=524}} The ''[[Edmonton Journal]]'' remarked positively on Lougheed's success following the 1967 election, stating Albertans had a responsible and credible alternative as opposition.{{sfn|Perry|Craig|2006|p=524}}

=== Lead up to 1971 ===
[[Ernest C. Manning]] had resigned as Social Credit leader and [[premier of Alberta|premier]] in 1968 after 25 years in office, a year after leading the Socreds to their ninth consecutive [[majority government]]. His successor, [[Harry Strom|Harry E. Strom]], had been unable to revive a government increasingly seen as tired, complacent and old-fashioned. The Socreds had been in government for almost two generations, having won their first victory more than a decade before the discovery of [[Leduc No. 1]], which led to a massive oil boom in Alberta.

Though the legislature's mandate from the [[1967 Alberta general election|1967 election]] was not due to expire until May 1972, five years after it started, convention in Canadian politics is for legislatures to be dissolved every four years or less.{{sfn|Barr|2004|p=193}} Accordingly, Strom resolved to call an election in 1971, sometime between May and September.{{sfn|Barr|2004|p=193}} He briefly considered a spring campaign, in the hopes that the planting season would have farmers feeling optimistic and therefore inclined to support the incumbent government. However, after concluding that farmers would not react well to going to the polls in the middle of planting or harvest season, Strom finally settled on August 30.{{sfn|Barr|2004|p=193}}{{sfn|Barr|2004|p=195}}

The Progressive Conservatives, on the other hand, had significant momentum going into the 1971 election. Lougheed's Progressive Conservative caucus further grew from the "Original Six" with the election of [[Robert Wagner Dowling|Robert Dowling]] in the October 1969 [[Edson (provincial electoral district)|Edson]] by-election,{{sfn|Wood|1985|p=69}} [[Bill Dickie (politician)|Bill Dickie]], a long-time friend of Lougheed, crossing the floor from the Liberals to join his caucus in November 1969,{{sfn|Wood|1985|p=69}} and [[Banff-Cochrane]] independent representative [[Clarence Copithorne]] joining the party in April 1971. This growth saw the popular Lougheed-led Progressive Conservatives enter the August 1971 election with 10 incumbents.{{sfn|Wood|1985|p=70}}

== Campaign ==

=== Social Credit campaign ===
A campaign committee was assembled, and recommended a budget of $580,000.{{sfn|Barr|2004|p=194}} The party recruited star candidates, including Calgary alderman [[George Ho Lem]] and former [[Calgary Stampeders|Calgary Stampeder]] star [[Don Luzzi]] (Edmonton alderman and future mayor [[Cec Purves]] was defeated in his bid to win the Social Credit nomination in [[Edmonton-Strathcona (provincial electoral district)|Edmonton-Strathcona]] from [[Strathcona Centre]] incumbent [[Joseph Donovan Ross]]), but was handicapped in these efforts by Strom's unwillingness to offer cabinet posts or other incentives to potential new candidates.{{sfn|Barr|2004|p=193}}{{sfn|Barr|2004|p=194}}  Strom's lack of personal charisma was also a liability: tellingly, of the large budget recommended by the central committee, only $72,000 was recommended for use on television advertising, where Strom did not shine.{{sfn|Barr|2004|p=194}} The party tried to revitalize the Premier's image through publicity movies, though efforts were mixed.{{sfn|Barr|2004|p=193}}  In one, which was pulled after a single showing, Strom appeared scowling in his living room, urging Albertans to lower their expectations of government.{{sfn|Barr|2004|p=193}}  Another, produced by [[Tommy Banks (musician)|Tommy Banks]] and showing Strom in a variety of settings talking about the province's changing face, was more successful.{{sfn|Barr|2004|p=194}}

The campaign did not give Social Credit partisans much reason for optimism.  Strom did not draw the crowds that Progressive Conservative opposition leader [[Peter Lougheed]] did, although an August 25 rally in Edmonton's Jubilee Auditorium featuring speeches by Strom and Manning was full.{{sfn|Barr|2004|pp=196–197}}  After criticizing the Conservatives' [[Medicare (Canada)|medicare]] platform, which promised free medicare to Albertans older than 65, as spendthrift, Strom announced Social Credit's barely cheaper alternative: medicare to Albertans older than 65 for one dollar per month.{{sfn|Barr|2004|p=195}} The ''[[Edmonton Journal]]'', which had earlier published a poll showing that a plurality of Edmontonians intended to vote Progressive Conservative, endorsed Lougheed for Premier.{{sfn|Barr|2004|pp=196–197}}

=== Progressive Conservative campaign ===
The Progressive Conservative Party had been preparing for an election to be called since mid-1970.{{sfn|Wood|1985|p=73}} The party developed slogans and branding which was one of the first instances in Alberta where political printing and branding was centrally controlled, with individual constituencies unable to develop their own materials. This centralization was intended to reinforce the party's key messages and ensure repetition in the eyes of voters.{{sfn|Wood|1985|p=74}} An advertising budget of $120,000 was set to provide $80,000 for television advertisements and the rest of other materials for constituencies across the province.{{sfn|Wood|1985|pp=74–75}} Lougheed's focus on television contrasted Social Credit's use of radio for the less gregarious Strom.{{sfn|Wood|1985|p=76}} Lougheed's team was careful with messaging, stressing the idea of the Progressive Conservative providing an "alternative" rather than "opposition".{{sfn|Perry|Craig|2006|p=525}} Lougheed developed a 40-day schedule that brought him to each constituency to "meet and greet" with potential voters.{{sfn|Wood|1985|p=77}}{{sfn|Perry|Craig|2006|p=525}}

== Election ==
The [[16th Alberta Legislature|16th Legislature]] was prorogued on April 27, 1971, and [[Dissolution of parliament#Canada|dissolved]] three months later on July 22 with an election day set on August 30, 1971.

=== Electoral boundaries ===
A number of electoral districts were redistributed following 1970 amendments to ''The Elections Act,''<ref name="1970EleAct">{{Cite canlaw|short title= The Election Act |abbr =RSA |year =1970 |chapter =C-117 |link =http://canlii.ca/t/53rn7 |linkloc =|wikilink =|type =|amended1 =|amended2=|amended3 =|amended4 =|amended5 =|regtitle =|regnumber =}}</ref> which were informed by the 1968 ''Report of the Alberta Committee on Redistribution Procedure'' written by the Special Committee on Redistribution chaired by Social Credit member [[Frederick C. Colborne]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Special Committee on Redistribution |title=Report of the Alberta Committee on Redistribution Procedure |date=1968 |publisher=Legislative Assembly of Alberta |location=Edmonton, Alberta |url=https://archive.org/details/reportofcommitte00albe_1/mode/2up |access-date=22 May 2020}}</ref> The number of members elected to the legislature was increased from 65 to 75,

=== Voting and eligibility ===
Amendments to the ''Age of Majority Act'' lowered the [[voting age]] from 21 to 18 years.{{sfn|Perry|Craig|2006|p=525}}

== Aftermath ==

The collapse of the other opposition parties made the Progressive Conservatives the only credible challenger to the Social Credit. The Progressive Conservatives took 46 per cent of the popular vote and won 49 of the 75 seats in the legislature, enough for a strong majority government. This would be the first of twelve consecutive victories for the PCs; they would remain in government without interruption until their [[2015 Alberta general election|defeat in 2015]], making them the longest serving political dynasty in Canadian history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/alberta-pcs-win-historic-12th-straight-majority-1.799835|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905025241/http://www.ctvnews.ca/alberta-pcs-win-historic-12th-straight-majority-1.799835|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 5, 2014|title=Alberta PCs win historic 12th straight majority|date=April 23, 2012|publisher=CTV Calgary|access-date=May 11, 2012}}</ref>  The 1971 election is considered a classic example of a [[political realignment]].

Social Credit garnered a record number of votes in this election compared to previous elections, which had been plagued by low turn-outs.  However, the Progressive Conservatives converted this slim lead into a large lead in seats due to their success in the province's two largest cities: [[Edmonton]], where the Progressive Conservatives won every seat, and [[Calgary]], where they took all but five.

While many of the Social Credit losses came by small margins, those losses were enough to cost the party almost half of its caucus. Strom resigned as Social Credit leader a few months after the defeat. Election night saw Social Credit defeated, taking 25 seats to the Progressive Conservative's 49.{{sfn|Barr|2004|p=198}} Though Social Credit's share of the vote had only slipped slightly, losing five points, Lougheed benefited from a substantial reduction in the [[Alberta New Democratic Party|New Democrats]]' vote and a near-collapse of the [[Alberta Liberal Party|Liberals]]'.{{sfn|Barr|2004|p=198}} The party was also decimated in the province's two largest cities, losing all of its seats in Edmonton and all but five in Calgary. Strom conceded defeat in Edmonton and returned home to [[Medicine Hat]].{{sfn|Barr|2004|p=198}} The defeat sent Social Credit into headlong decline. Its membership in the Assembly shrank over the next ten years and disappeared altogether by [[1982 Alberta general election|1982]].

The [[Alberta Liberal Party|Liberal Party]] was shut out of the legislature.  One Liberal, [[Bill Dickie (politician)|Bill Dickie]], had crossed the floor to the PCs.  Another, [[William Switzer]], died in 1969.  The remaining Liberal, [[Michael Maccagno]], resigned to run, unsuccessfully as it turned out, for the federal Parliament.

[[Alberta New Democratic Party]] leader [[Grant Notley]] was the only one in his party to win election. He sat as the only New Democrat in the legislature until [[1982 Alberta general election|1982]]. His daughter [[Rachel Notley|Rachel]] would lead the NDP to victory over the Progressive Conservatives in 2015, ending its 44 years in office.

==Results==
[[File:CAN Alberta Legislature 1971.svg|centre|300px]]
{| class="wikitable"
!rowspan=2 colspan=2|Party
!rowspan=2|Party leader
!rowspan=2|# of<br />candidates
!colspan=4|Seats
!colspan=3|Popular vote
|-
|align="center"|[[1967 Alberta general election|1967]]
|align="center"|[[Dissolution of parliament|<span style="font-size: 80%;">Dissol.</span>]]
|align="center"|'''Elected'''
|align="center"|+/-
|align="center"|#
|align="center"|%
|align="center"|% Change
{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|row}}
| [[Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta|Progressive Conservative]]
|align="center"| [[Peter Lougheed]]
|align="right"|  75
|align="right"| 6
|align="right"| 10
|align="right"| '''49'''
|align="right"| +43
|align="right"| 296,934
|align="right"| 46.40%
|align="right"| +20.40%
{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|row}}
| [[Social Credit Party of Alberta|Social Credit]]
|align="center"| [[Harry Strom|Harry E. Strom]]
|align="right"|75
|align="right"| 55
|align="right"| 55
|align="right"|  '''25'''
|align="right"| −30
|align="right"|  262,953
|align="right"|  41.10% 
|align="right"| −3.50%
{{Canadian party colour|AB|NDP|row}}
| [[Alberta New Democratic Party|New Democrats]]
|align="center"| [[Grant Notley]]
|align="right"|  70
|align="right"| -
|align="right"| -
|align="right"|  '''1'''
|align="right"|   +1
|align="right"|  73,038
|align="right"|   11.42% 
|align="right"|   −4.56%
{{Canadian party colour|AB|Liberal|row-name}}
|align="center"| [[Bob Russell (Canadian politician)|Bob Russell]]
|align="right"| 20
|align="right"| 3
|align="right"|  -
|align="right"|  -
|align="right"|  −3
|align="right"|  6,475
|align="right"|   1.01% 
|align="right"| −9.80%
{{Canadian party colour|AB|Independent|row}}
| colspan=2|Independent
|align="right"|  3
|align="right"| 1
|align="right"| -
|align="right"| -
|align="right"| −1
|align="right"| 462
|align="right"| 0.07% 
|align="right"| −1.31%
|-
| colspan=3|'''Total'''
!align="right"| 243
!align="right"| 65
!align="right"| 65
!align="right"|  75
!align="right"| +10
!align="right"| 639,862
!align="right"| 100%  
! –
|-
| align="center" colspan=11|'''Source:''' [https://web.archive.org/web/20051211143622/http://www.electionsalberta.ab.ca/welcome.html Elections Alberta]
|-
|}
{{Bar box|title=Popular vote|titlebar=#ddd|width=600px|barwidth=410px|bars={{Bar percent|PC|{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC}}|46.40}}
{{Bar percent|Social Credit|{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit}}|41.10}}
{{Bar percent|New Democratic|{{Canadian party colour|AB|NDP}}|11.42}}
{{Bar percent|Liberal|{{Canadian party colour|AB|Liberal}}|1.01}}
{{Bar percent|Others|{{Canadian party colour|CA|Inde}}|0.07}}}}{{Bar box|title=Seats summary|titlebar=#ddd|width=600px|barwidth=410px|bars={{Bar percent|PC|{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC}}|65.33}}
{{Bar percent|Social Credit|{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit}}|33.33}}
{{Bar percent|New Democratic|{{Canadian party colour|AB|NDP}}|1.33}}}}

==Daylight saving time plebiscite==
{{Infobox referendum
| name        = Daylight saving time plebiscite
| image       = 
| image_size  = 
| caption     = 
| title       = Do you favour province-wide daylight saving time?
| location    = Alberta
| date        = {{Start date|1971|08|30}}
| yes         = 386,846
| no          = 242,431
| total       = 629,277
| invalid     = 
| electorate  = 
| map         = 
| mapdivision = 
| notes       = 
| legend_yes  = 
| legend_no   = 
}}

Alberta voters participated in a province-wide plebiscite on the question of whether or not to endorse a proposal to adopt [[daylight saving time]] (summer time). Voters endorsed the proposal by a wide margin, 61 per cent approving of the change.

=== Background ===
In 1948, the Government of Alberta formally set the province's time zone with the passage of ''The Daylight Saving Time Act'',<ref>''[https://canlii.ca/t/53x4c An Act Respecting the use of Daylight Saving Time within the Province]'', SA 1948, c 18, retrieved from [[CanLII]] on July 21, 2021</ref> which mandated the entire province observe [[Mountain Standard Time]], and prevented any municipality from observing daylight saving time or any other time zone. The legislation came after Calgary ([[1946 Calgary municipal election|1946]] and [[1947 Calgary municipal election|1947]]), and Edmonton ([[1946 Edmonton municipal election|1946]]) held municipal plebiscites that approved the move to daylight saving time.

Alberta's urban municipalities were largely in favour of daylight saving time and pressured the provincial government to hold a provincial plebiscite or permit municipalities to observe daylight saving time.<ref>{{cite news |title=Daylight Saving Vote Sought |work=[[Edmonton Journal]] |date=July 9, 1963 |page=31 |id={{ProQuest|2396983702}}}}</ref> The effort in the legislature was spearheaded by Liberal MLA and Calgary Alderman [[Bill Dickie (politician)|Bill Dickie]], who in March 1964 brought forward a motion to permit municipalities to hold plebiscites on the issue; the motion was defeated by the Social Credit government. At the time, Social Credit MLA [[William Patterson (Alberta politician)|William Patterson]] described daylight saving time as "that fandangled thing", and Minister [[Allen Russell Patrick]] stated municipal daylight saving time would be difficult for tourists to understand.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cove |first1=Lynne |title=Under the Dome |work=[[Calgary Herald]] |date=March 11, 1964 |location=Edmonton |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|2253643631}}}}</ref>

In February 1966, the Social Credit government finally gave in to the calls for a provincial plebiscite on daylight saving time, approving a motion submitted by Bill Dickie.<ref>{{cite news |title=Daylight Time: Legislature Votes to Hold Plebiscite |work=[[Edmonton Journal]] |date=February 25, 1966 |page=15 |id={{ProQuest|2397521988}}}}</ref> The government responded on March 29, 1966, with Minister [[Alfred Hooke]] introducing ''An Act to amend The Daylight Saving Time Act'' (Bill 75) which amended the ''Daylight Saving Time Act''<ref>''[https://canlii.ca/t/53vp0 An Act to amend The Daylight Saving Time Act]'', SA 1966, c 27, retrieved from [[CanLII]] on July 21, 2021</ref> to permit the government to hold a plebiscite on the issue.<!--{{sfn|Alberta. Legislative Assembly|1966|p=86}}--> Alberta voters were asked the question "Do you favour Province-wide Daylight Saving Time?", during the [[1967 Alberta general election]]. A narrow majority of 51.25 per cent of voters rejected daylight saving time. Most of the opposition was located in rural areas, while strong support for daylight saving time was seen in the cities of Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, and Medicine Hat.

By 1967, each province besides Alberta and Saskatchewan had adopted daylight saving time. Many Alberta businesses provided for modified summer hours to coordinate with other provinces with daylight saving time, including the [[Alberta Stock Exchange]] which started at 7 a.m. to align with exchanges in Toronto and Montreal. [[Air Canada]] released a statement expressing the difficulty of distributing flight schedules with flights in Alberta.<ref>{{cite news |title=Daylight Saving...Everyone Out Of Step |work=[[Calgary Herald]] |date=April 29, 1967 |page=31 |id={{ProQuest|2253792698}}}}</ref>

After 25 years as Premier, Social Credit leader [[Ernest Manning]] stepped down on December 12, 1968, and his successor [[Harry Strom]] was sworn in as Premier. Only a few months later in April 1969, Strom announced Albertans would once again be asked to vote on daylight saving time in conjunction with the next scheduled provincial general election. During the announcement, Strom stated he was neutral on the topic and did not have a preference one way or another.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bell |first1=Bob |title=Alberta to get DST plebiscite |work=[[Edmonton Journal]] |date=April 17, 1969 |page=29 |id={{ProQuest|2397475495}}}}</ref>

=== Campaign ===

Once again Calgary residents and businessmen Bill Creighton and David Matthews led a campaign for daylight saving times, just as they did in 1967, arguing the benefits of an additional hour of late sunlight for sports.<ref name=DDIC>{{cite book |last1=Boyer |first1=J. Patrick |title=Direct democracy in Canada: the history and future of referendums |date=1992 |publisher=Dundurn Press |location=Toronto |isbn=978-1-55002-183-7 |page=128 |url=https://archive.org/details/directdemocracyi0000boye}}</ref> Creighton learned from the successful and well-funded "no" campaign in 1967 led by the Alberta Council for Standard Time and Calgary lawyer and drive-in movie operator R. H. Barron. Creighton and Matthews formed the "Yes for Daylight Saving Society" to advocate during the leadup to the 1971 plebiscite, mirroring the organized approach of the "no" campaign in 1967.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Thomson |first1=Stuart |title=Daylight saving time pioneers oppose move to scrap twice-yearly clock shift in Alberta |url=https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/daylight-saving-time-pioneers-oppose-move-to-scrap-twice-yearly-clock-shift-in-alberta |access-date=23 July 2021 |work=[[Edmonton Journal]] |date=March 9, 2017}}</ref><ref name="EdmJrl19710819">{{cite news |title='Beat that night life - vote for DST' |work=[[Edmonton Journal]] |date=August 19, 1971 |page=53 |id={{ProQuest|2397691439}}}}</ref> The Edmonton chapter had a $1,000 budget for advertising and even crowned a "Miss Daylight Saving Time", who made appearances throughout Edmonton.<ref name="EdmJrl19710819"/> The arguments made for daylight saving time were similar to 1967, more amateur sport time, saving 150 hours of electricity each summer and aligning Alberta with the eight other provinces that observed daylight saving time.<ref name="EdmJrl19710819"/>

The primary opposition to daylight saving time was described by members of the "Yes for Daylight Saving Society" as farmers, housewives and drive-in movie operators. In the 1967 campaign, the Alberta Council for Standard Time raised $30,000 for advertisements, but opposition was much less vocal during the 1971 campaign. Unifarm, an agricultural organization, publicly opposed daylight saving time, but it was not willing to spend significantly on a counter-campaign.<ref>{{cite news |title=DST: controversy that fizzled |last1=Volkart |first1=Carol |work=[[Edmonton Journal]] |date=August 13, 1971 |pages=1, 6 |id={{ProQuest|2397601564}}}}</ref>

=== Aftermath ===

The 1971 plebiscite on daylight saving time resulted in an overwhelming majority of the Alberta population approving the transition. A statement from Unifarm, a farmer representative organization that opposed daylight saving time, stated that the organization anticipated the proposal would pass and downplayed the consequences for farmers.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hull |first1=Ken |title=Alberta lets more sun in |work=[[Calgary Herald]] |date=August 31, 1971 |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|2258311130}}}}</ref> 

The new Progressive Conservative government highlighted the change to observe daylight saving in the [[Speech from the Throne]] in early March 1972,<ref>{{cite news |title=Tories put stress on human rights |work=[[Calgary Herald]] |date=March 2, 1972 |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|2258361856}}}}</ref> and Attorney-General [[Merv Leitch]] announced on March 14, 1972 that Alberta would officially switch to daylight saving time on April 30, 1972,  DST to last until October 29, 1972.<ref>{{cite news |title=DST Starts April 30 |work=[[Edmonton Journal]] |date=March 15, 1972 |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|2397658522}}}}</ref>

=== Results ===

{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse"
|colspan=4|Do you favour province-wide daylight saving time?
|- bgcolor="CCCCCC"
|align="center"|'''For'''
|align="center"|'''Against'''
|-
|align="center"|'''386,846&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;61.47%'''
|align="center"|'''242,431&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;38.53%'''
|}
{{Bar box|title=Do you favour province-wide daylight saving time?|titlebar=#ddd|width=600px|barwidth=410px|bars={{Bar percent|For|#32cd32|61.47}}
{{Bar percent|Against|#ff0000|38.53}}}}'''For break down of results see individual districts'''

== Results by riding ==

=== Calgary ===
{{Canadian politics/candlist header|province=AB|Social Credit|PC|Liberal|NDP|Other}}
|-
|[[Calgary-Bow]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Roy Wilson (Canadian politician)|Roy Wilson]]<br/>5,539<br/>47.84%
|
|Bill Wearmouth<br/>4,563<br/>39.41%
|
|
|
|Fred Spooner<br/>1,407<br/>12.15%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Calgary-Buffalo]]
|
|[[Don Luzzi]]<br/>5,238<br/>42.31%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Ron Ghitter|Ronald H. Ghitter]]<br/>5,705<br/>46.09%
|
|
|
|Jane Ann Summers<br/>1,364<br/>11.02%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Calgary-Currie]]
|
|[[Frederick C. Colborne]]<br/>4,679<br/>43.43%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Fred Peacock|Fred H. Peacock]]<br/>5,255<br/>48.78%
|
|
|
|Margaret I. Jackson<br/>791<br/>7.34%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Calgary-Egmont]]
|
|Pat O'Byrne<br/>5,503<br/>40.94%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Merv Leitch]]<br/>6,791<br/>50.52%
|
|
|
|Ron Stuart<br/>1,060<br/>7.89%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Calgary-Elbow]]
|
|L.A. Thorssen<br/>4,480<br/>41.63%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[David John Russell|David J. Russell]]<br/>5,547<br/>51.54%
|
|
|
|Dolores LeDrew<br/>688<br/>6.39%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Calgary-Foothills]]
|
|Jay Salmon<br/>5,885<br/>39.30%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Len Werry|Len F. Werry]]<br/>7,693<br/>51.38%
|
|
|
|James Staples<br/>1,370<br/>9.15%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Calgary-Glenmore]]
|
|[[Ray Kingsmith|Raymond A. Kingsmith]]<br/>5,122<br/>37.21%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Bill Dickie (politician)|William Daniel Dickie]]<br/>7,658<br/>55.64%
|
|
|
|George C. McGuire<br/>806<br/>5.86%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Bill Dickie (politician)|William Daniel Dickie]]
|-
|[[Calgary-McCall]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[George Ho Lem]]<br/>5,116<br/>43.70%
|
|[[John Kushner]]<br/>4,187<br/>35.76%
|
|Natalie Chapman<br/>151<br/>1.29%
|
|Ted Takacs<br/>1,984<br/>16.95%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Calgary-McKnight]]
|
|Jim Richards<br/>5,368<br/>41.60%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Calvin Lee|Calvin E. Lee]]<br/>6,134<br/>47.54%
|
|Philip T. Keuber<br/>246<br/>1.91%
|
|Walter H. Siewert<br/>1,097<br/>8.50%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Calgary-Millican]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Arthur J. Dixon]]<br/>4,539<br/>48.74%
|
|[[Norman Kwong]]<br/>2,973<br/>31.93%
|
|Carole Walter<br/>153<br/>1.64%
|
|Clarence Lacombe<br/>1,543<br/>16.57%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Calgary-Mountain View]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Albert Ludwig|Albert W. Ludwig]]<br/>4,990<br/>51.11%
|
|George Swales<br/>3,533<br/>36.19%
|
|
|
|E.C. Baldwin<br/>1,149<br/>11.77%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Calgary-North Hill]]
|
|[[Robert A. Simpson]]<br/>4,900<br/>42.88%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Roy Farran|Roy Alexander Farran]]<br/>4,961<br/>43.41%
|
|
|
|[[Barry Pashak]]<br/>1,341<br/>11.74%
|
|Carl L. Riech (Ind.)<br/>121<br/>1.06%||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Calgary-West]]
|
|Charles Grey<br/>4,319<br/>33.68%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Peter Lougheed]]<br/>7,049<br/>54.96%
|
|Brian Stevenson<br/>333<br/>2.60%
|
|Joe Yanchula<br/>1,066<br/>8.31%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Peter Lougheed]]
|}

=== Edmonton ===
{{Canadian politics/candlist header|province=AB|Social Credit|PC|Liberal|NDP|Other}}
|-
|[[Edmonton-Avonmore]]
|
|[[Gerrit Radstaak|Joe G. Radstaak]]<br/>3,681<br/>39.87%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Horst Schmid|Horst A. Schmid]]<br/>3,913<br/>42.39%
|
|John Kloster<br/>257<br/>2.78%
|
|Bill McLean<br/>1,303<br/>14.11%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Edmonton-Belmont]]
|
|[[Werner Schmidt|Werner G. Schmidt]]<br/>4,052<br/>33.42%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Bert Hohol|Albert Edward Hohol]]<br/>6,018<br/>49.63%
|
|
|
|[[Gordon Wright (politician)|Gordon S.B. Wright]]<br/>1,960<br/>16.16%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Edmonton-Beverly]]
|
|[[Lou Heard|Lou W. Heard]]<br/>3,050<br/>28.95%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Bill Diachuk|Bill W. Diachuk]]<br/>4,471<br/>42.44%
|
|John Lambert<br/>185<br/>1.76%
|
|[[Barrie Chivers]]<br/>2,769<br/>26.28%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Edmonton-Calder]]
|
|[[Edgar Gerhart|Edgar H. Gerhart]]<br/>3,653<br/>32.03%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Tom Chambers (politician)|Tom Chambers]]<br/>5,931<br/>52.01%
|
|
|
|Bill Glass<br/>1,772<br/>15.54%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Edmonton-Centre]]
|
|Gerry Mulhall<br/>2,622<br/>28.91%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Gordon Miniely]]<br/>5,281<br/>58.23%
|
|Leonard Stahl<br/>197<br/>2.17%
|
|Linda Gaboury<br/>931<br/>10.27%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Ambrose Holowach]]
|-
|[[Edmonton-Glenora]]
|
|Lou Letourneau<br/>4,001<br/>31.09%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Lou Hyndman]]<br/>7,661<br/>59.53%
|
|Sol Estrin<br/>322<br/>2.50%
|
|Mary Lou Pocklington<br/>848<br/>6.59%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Edmonton-Gold Bar]]
|
|William F. Young<br/>3,778<br/>35.31%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[William Yurko]]<br/>5,789<br/>54.10%
|
|
|
|Tom Hennessey<br/>1,082<br/>10.11%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Edmonton-Highlands]]
|
|[[Ambrose Holowach]]<br/>2,748<br/>38.05%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[David Thomas King|David T. King]]<br/>2,848<br/>39.43%
|
|Gerald Lorente<br/>154<br/>2.13%
|
|Leroy Pearch<br/>1,368<br/>18.94%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Edmonton-Jasper Place]]
|
|John B. Ludwig<br/>3,789<br/>33.72%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Leslie Young (politician)|Leslie Gordon Young]]<br/>5,758<br/>51.25%
|
|Edwin Robert Daniels<br/>241<br/>2.15%
|
|Kenneth Joseph Kerr<br/>1,402<br/>12.48%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[John Horan (politician)|John William Horan]]
|-
|[[Edmonton-Kingsway]]
|
|[[Ethel Sylvia Wilson]]<br/>3,535<br/>30.92%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Kenneth Paproski|Kenneth R.H. Paproski]]<br/>6,316<br/>55.25%
|
|Roderick Woodcock<br/>199<br/>1.74%
|
|Paulette Atterbury<br/>1,290<br/>11.28%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Edmonton-Meadowlark]]
|
|Alexander Romaniuk<br/>3,839<br/>34.05%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Gerard Amerongen|Gerard Joseph Amerongen]]<br/>6,371<br/>56.52%
|
|
|
|Alan J. Idiens<br/>1,035<br/>9.18%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Edmonton-Norwood]]
|
|Irene Domecki<br/>3,618<br/>35.80%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Catherine Chichak]]<br/>4,334<br/>42.89%
|
|
|
|Sam Lee<br/>1,954<br/>19.34%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[William Tomyn]]
|-
|[[Edmonton-Ottewell]]
|
|Ronald Penner<br/>4,188<br/>32.73%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[John G. Ashton]]<br/>7,009<br/>54.77%
|
|
|
|Donald Haythorne<br/>1,314<br/>10.27%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Edmonton-Parkallen]]
|
|Gordon V. Rasmussen<br/>3,875<br/>35.84%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Neil Stanley Crawford|Neil S. Crawford]]<br/>5,300<br/>49.02%
|
|Vic Yanda<br/>221<br/>2.04%
|
|Hart Horn<br/>1,311<br/>12.13%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Edmonton-Strathcona (provincial electoral district)|Edmonton-Strathcona]]
|
|[[Joseph Donovan Ross]]<br/>2,973<br/>32.55%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Julian Koziak]]<br/>4,541<br/>49.72%
|
|
|
|Timothy Christian<br/>1,574<br/>17.23%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Edmonton-Whitemud]]
|
|Donald Murray Hamilton<br/>4,690<br/>33.06%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Don Getty|Donald Ross Getty]]<br/>8,201<br/>57.81%
|
|James N. Tanner<br/>235<br/>1.66%
|
|Joseph Mercredi<br/>936<br/>6.60%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|}

=== Rest of Alberta ===
{{Canadian politics/candlist header|province=AB|Social Credit|PC|Liberal|NDP|Other}}
|-
|[[Athabasca (Alberta provincial electoral district)|Athabasca]]
|
|Allan Gerlach<br/>2,585<br/>36.76%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Frank Pierpoint Appleby|Frank Appleby]]<br/>3,261<br/>46.37%
|
|
|
|Peter E. Opryshko<br/>1,136<br/>16.15%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Antonio Aloisio]]
|-
|[[Banff-Cochrane]]
|
|Slim Martin<br/>2,647<br/>37.52%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Clarence Copithorne]]<br/>3,801<br/>53.88%
|
|
|
|Beverly Coulter<br/>420<br/>5.95%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Clarence Copithorne]]
|-
|[[Barrhead (electoral district)|Barrhead]]
|
|Simon Tuininga<br/>1,651<br/>29.10%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Hugh Horner|Hugh F. Horner]]<br/>3,360<br/>59.23%
|
|
|
|Herman Burke<br/>643<br/>11.33%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Bonnyville (provincial electoral district)|Bonnyville]]
|
|Lorne Mowers<br/>2,355<br/>43.31%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Donald Hansen]]<br/>2,523<br/>46.40%
|
|
|
|Claire Gaines<br/>539<br/>9.91%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Romeo Lamothe|Romeo B. Lamothe]]
|-
|[[Bow Valley (provincial electoral district)|Bow Valley]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Fred Mandeville|Fred T. Mandeville]]<br/>3,584<br/>67.66%
|
|Don Murray<br/>1,674<br/>31.60%
|
|
|
|
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Camrose (provincial electoral district)|Camrose]]
|
|Laurence Rhierson<br/>3,965<br/>41.52%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Gordon Stromberg]]<br/>4,552<br/>47.67%
|
|
|
|Keith Boulter<br/>988<br/>10.35%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Chester Sayers|Chester I. Sayers]]
|-
|[[Cardston (provincial electoral district)|Cardston]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Ted Hinman|Edgar W. Hinman]]<br/>2,831<br/>53.56%
|
|Larry L. Lang<br/>2,392<br/>45.25%
|
|
|
|
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Alvin Bullock|Alvin F. Bullock]]
|-
|[[Clover Bar (provincial electoral district)|Clover Bar]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Walt Buck|Walt A. Buck]]<br/>4,041<br/>48.86%
|
|J. Devereux<br/>3,468<br/>41.93%
|
|
|
|A. Karvonen<br/>736<br/>8.90%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Walt Buck|Walt A. Buck]]
|-
|[[Cypress (former Alberta provincial electoral district)|Cypress]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Harry Strom|Harry E. Strom]]<br/>2,777<br/>60.15%
|
|Dave Berntson<br/>1,635<br/>35.41%
|
|
|
|Tony de Souza<br/>196<br/>4.25%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Harry Strom|Harry E. Strom]]
|-
|[[Drayton Valley (provincial electoral district)|Drayton Valley]]
|
|Thomas Johnson<br/>1,304<br/>26.62%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Rudolph Zander]]<br/>2,603<br/>53.14%
|
|
|
|Alvin Harmacy<br/>963<br/>19.66%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Drumheller (provincial electoral district)|Drumheller]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Gordon Taylor (politician)|Gordon Edward Taylor]]<br/>5,044<br/>63.56%
|
|Wayne Ohlhauser<br/>2,285<br/>28.79%
|
|
|
|Dick Hehr<br/>547<br/>6.89%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Edson (provincial electoral district)|Edson]]
|
|Rollie Mohr<br/>1,947<br/>28.58%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Robert Wagner Dowling|Robert W. Dowling]]<br/>3,900<br/>57.24%
|
|
|
|Walter Seewitz<br/>749<br/>10.99%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Robert Wagner Dowling|Robert W. Dowling]]
|-
|[[Grande Prairie (provincial electoral district)|Grande Prairie]]
|
|William Bowes<br/>4,104<br/>38.42%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Winston Backus]]<br/>4,553<br/>42.63%
|
|
|
|Arthur Macklin<br/>1,992<br/>18.65%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Ira McLaughlin]]
|-
|[[Hanna-Oyen]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Clinton French|Clinton Keith French]]<br/>2,231<br/>45.58%
|
|[[John Edward Butler]]<br/>2,216<br/>45.27%
|
|
|
|Gordon Snell<br/>414<br/>8.46%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Highwood (electoral district)|Highwood]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Edward Benoit|Edward P. Benoit]]<br/>2,941<br/>47.82%
|
|Eldon C. Couey<br/>2,789<br/>45.35%
|
|
|
|D. Larry McKillop<br/>389<br/>6.33%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Innisfail (provincial electoral district)|Innisfail]]
|
|[[William Ure|William Kenneth Ure]]<br/>2,915<br/>46.95%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Clifford Doan|Clifford L. Doan]]<br/>3,235<br/>52.10%
|
|
|
|
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Lac La Biche-McMurray]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Damase Bouvier|Dan Bouvier]]<br/>2,679<br/>52.97%
|
|Elmer Roy<br/>1,927<br/>38.10%
|
|
|
|Kenneth B. Orchard<br/>414<br/>8.19%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Lacombe (provincial electoral district)|Lacombe]]
|
|Ivan Stonehocker<br/>2,582<br/>42.02%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Jack Cookson|John William Cookson]]<br/>3,094<br/>50.36%
|
|
|
|Ragnar Johanson<br/>452<br/>7.36%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Allen Russell Patrick|Allan Russell Patrick]]
|-
|[[Lesser Slave Lake (electoral district)|Lesser Slave Lake]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Dennis Barton]]<br/>1,830<br/>40.98%
|
|Garth Roberts<br/>1,434<br/>32.11%
|
|Stan Daniels<br/>246<br/>5.51%
|
|Marie Carlson<br/>670<br/>15.00%
|
|Allan Crawford (Ind.)<br/>231<br/>5.17%||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Lethbridge-East]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[John Victor Anderson|John V. Anderson]]<br/>5,341<br/>50.27%
|
|Richard Barton<br/>4,374<br/>41.17%
|
|
|
|Douglas Poile<br/>805<br/>7.58%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Lethbridge-West]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Richard Gruenwald|Richard David Gruenwald]]<br/>4,169<br/>54.39%
|
|R.J. Gray<br/>2,751<br/>35.89%
|
|
|
|Klaas Buijert<br/>670<br/>8.74%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Little Bow]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Raymond Speaker|Raymond Albert Speaker]]<br/>3,400<br/>58.42%
|
|John C. Green<br/>2,114<br/>36.32%
|
|
|
|Edward H. Rodney<br/>295<br/>5.07%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Raymond Speaker|Raymond Albert Speaker]]
|-
|[[Lloydminster (Alberta electoral district)|Lloydminster]]
|
|Campbell A. Hancock<br/>2,585<br/>42.95%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Bud Miller|James Edgar Miller]]<br/>2,774<br/>46.09%
|
|
|
|Lloyd Robertson<br/>635<br/>10.55%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Macleod (provincial electoral district)|Macleod]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Leighton Buckwell|Leighton E. Buckwell]]<br/>3,399<br/>50.67%
|
|Danny Le Grandeur<br/>2,808<br/>41.86%
|
|
|
|Sid J. Cornish<br/>470<br/>7.01%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Leighton Buckwell|Leighton E. Buckwell]]
|-
|[[Medicine Hat-Redcliff]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[William Wyse (politician)|William Wyse]]<br/>6,447<br/>48.68%
|
|[[Jim Horsman|James Horsman]]<br/>4,140<br/>31.26%
|
|Theodore Anhorn<br/>462<br/>3.49%
|
|Frank Armstrong<br/>2,128<br/>16.07%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Olds-Didsbury]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Robert Curtis Clark]]<br/>4,346<br/>59.36%
|
|Rudolf Pedersen<br/>2,578<br/>35.21%
|
|
|
|William C. McCutcheon<br/>366<br/>5.00%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Robert Curtis Clark]]
|-
|[[Peace River (provincial electoral district)|Peace River]]
|
|[[Robert Wiebe|Robert H. Wiebe]]<br/>2,437<br/>38.04%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Al Adair|Al (Boomer) Adair]]<br/>3,188<br/>49.77%
|
|
|
|Hans Jorgensen<br/>722<br/>11.27%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Robert Wiebe|Robert H. Wiebe]]
|-
|[[Pincher Creek-Crowsnest]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Charles Drain (politician)|Charles Duncan Drain]]<br/>2,379<br/>42.82%
|
|Morgan Johnson<br/>1,791<br/>32.24%
|
|
|
|Clarence W. Smith<br/>1,355<br/>24.39%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Charles Drain (politician)|Charles Duncan Drain]]
|-
|[[Ponoka (provincial electoral district)|Ponoka]]
|
|[[Neville Roper|Neville S. Roper]]<br/>2,695<br/>43.69%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Don McCrimmon|Donald J. McCrimmon]]<br/>2,712<br/>43.96%
|
|Bernice Luce<br/>142<br/>2.30%
|
|Ed Nelson<br/>598<br/>9.69%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Neville Roper|Neville S. Roper]]
|-
|[[Red Deer (provincial electoral district)|Red Deer]]
|
|Fulton Rollings<br/>3,627<br/>34.79%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[James L. Foster]]<br/>4,994<br/>47.90%
|
|Len Patterson<br/>761<br/>7.30%
|
|Ethel Taylor<br/>1,022<br/>9.80%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[William Ure|William Kenneth Ure]]
|-
|[[Redwater-Andrew]]
|
|[[Michael Senych]]<br/>2,271<br/>34.67%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[George Topolnisky]]<br/>3,277<br/>50.02%
|
|
|
|Norman T. Flach<br/>968<br/>14.78%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Rocky Mountain House (electoral district)|Rocky Mountain House]]
|
|Harvey Staudinger<br/>2,472<br/>40.01%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Helen Hunley]]<br/>3,014<br/>48.78%
|
|
|
|David Elliot<br/>657<br/>10.63%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Alfred Hooke|Alfred J. Hooke]]
|-
|[[Sedgewick-Coronation]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Ralph Sorenson|Ralph A. Sorenson]]<br/>2,272<br/>47.51%
|
|Herb Losness<br/>2,005<br/>41.93%
|
|
|
|Ron Chalmers<br/>489<br/>10.23%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Jack Charles Hillman|Jack C. Hillman]]
|-
|[[Smoky River (electoral district)|Smoky River]]
|
|Bernard Lamoureux<br/>1,604<br/>26.88%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Marvin Moore]]<br/>2,254<br/>37.77%
|
|
|
|Victor Tardif<br/>2,074<br/>34.76%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Spirit River-Fairview]]
|
|[[Adolph Fimrite|Adolph O. Fimrite]]<br/>2,246<br/>35.99%
|
|Don Moore<br/>1,439<br/>23.06%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|NDP|background}}|
|[[Grant Notley|Grant W. Notley]]<br/>2,400<br/>38.46%
|
|Michael Zuk (Ind.)<br/>110<br/>1.76%||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[St. Albert (provincial electoral district)|St. Albert]]
|
|[[Keith Everitt]]<br/>3,592<br/>33.36%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Ernie Jamison|William Ernest Jamison]]<br/>4,623<br/>42.94%
|
|[[Bob Russell (Canadian politician)|Robert A. Russell]]<br/>1,660<br/>15.42%
|
|Elsie McMillan<br/>878<br/>8.15%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Keith Everitt]]
|-
|[[St. Paul (provincial electoral district)|St. Paul]]
|
|[[Raymond Reierson]]<br/>2,041<br/>35.07%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Mick Fluker]]<br/>2,661<br/>45.72%
|
|Lawrence P. Coutu<br/>209<br/>3.59%
|
|Laurent (Jeff) Dubois<br/>898<br/>15.43%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Raymond Reierson]]
|-
|[[Stettler (provincial electoral district)|Stettler]]
|
|[[Galen Norris|Galen C. Norris]]<br/>2,631<br/>47.10%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Jack Robertson (politician)|Jack G. Robertson]]<br/>2,925<br/>52.36%
|
|
|
|
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Galen Norris|Galen C. Norris]]
|-
|[[Stony Plain (electoral district)|Stony Plain]]
|
|[[Ralph Jespersen|Ralph A. Jespersen]]<br/>2,788<br/>40.12%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[William Purdy|William Frederick Purdy]]<br/>3,348<br/>48.17%
|
|
|
|Michael Crowson<br/>770<br/>11.08%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Ralph Jespersen|Ralph A. Jespersen]]
|-
|[[Taber-Warner]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Douglas Miller (Alberta politician)|Douglas Miller]]<br/>4,077<br/>54.48%
|
|[[Robert Bogle]]<br/>3,367<br/>45.00%
|
|
|
|
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Douglas Miller (Alberta politician)|Douglas Miller]]
|-
|[[Three Hills (provincial electoral district)|Three Hills]]
|
|[[Raymond Ratzlaff]]<br/>2,970<br/>47.93%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Allan Warrack]]<br/>2,978<br/>48.06%
|
|
|
|K. Robert Friesen<br/>220<br/>3.55%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Raymond Ratzlaff]]
|-
|[[Vegreville (provincial electoral district)|Vegreville]]
|
|[[Alex Gordey|Alex W. Gordey]]<br/>2,191<br/>32.05%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[John Batiuk|John S. Batiuk]]<br/>3,042<br/>44.49%
|
|
|
|W.B. Welsh<br/>1,537<br/>22.48%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Vermilion-Viking]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Ashley Cooper (politician)|Ashley H. Cooper]]<br/>2,420<br/>46.68%
|
|Tom Newcomb<br/>2,232<br/>43.06%
|
|
|
|Harry E. Yaremchuk<br/>507<br/>9.78%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Wainwright (provincial electoral district)|Wainwright]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Henry Ruste|Henry A. Ruste]]<br/>3,311<br/>63.04%
|
|[[Clifford Smallwood|Clifford Silas Smallwood]]<br/>1,366<br/>26.01%
|
|
|
|Gary Luciow<br/>547<br/>10.42%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[Henry Ruste|Henry A. Ruste]]
|-
|[[Wetaskiwin-Leduc]]||{{Canadian party colour|AB|Social Credit|background}}|
|[[James Douglas Henderson|James D. Henderson]]<br/>5,334<br/>47.25%
|
|Emanuel Pyrcz<br/>4,590<br/>40.66%
|
|
|
|Lionel Udenberg<br/>1,336<br/>11.83%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|[[Whitecourt (provincial electoral district)|Whitecourt]]
|
|Clyde Feero<br/>2,125<br/>33.76%||{{Canadian party colour|AB|PC|background}}|
|[[Peter Trynchy]]<br/>3,096<br/>49.19%
|
|Arthur Yates<br/>101<br/>1.60%
|
|Robert Price<br/>929<br/>14.76%
|
|||{{Canadian party colour|AB||background}}|
|
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[1948 Alberta general election|1948 Electrification Plebiscite]]
* [[1957 Alberta Liquor Plebiscite|1957 Liquor Plebiscite]]
* [[1967 Alberta general election|1967 Daylight Saving Plebiscite]]
* [[List of political parties in Canada#Alberta|List of Alberta political parties]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

;Works cited
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |author1=Office of the Chief Electoral Officer |author2=Legislative Assembly Office |author2-link=Legislative Assembly of Alberta |authorlink1=Elections Alberta |title=A Century of Democracy: Elections of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1905-2005 |date=2006 |publisher=Legislative Assembly of Alberta |series=The Centennial Series |location=Edmonton, AB |isbn=0-9689217-8-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/centennialseries04perr/mode/2up |access-date=May 25, 2020}}
*{{cite book |last=Barr |first=John J. |editor=Bradford J. Rennie |title=Alberta Premiers of the Twentieth Century |year=2004 |publisher=Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina |location=[[Regina, Saskatchewan]] |isbn=0-88977-151-0 |chapter=Harry Strom |url=https://archive.org/details/albertapremierso0000unse |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hustak |first1=Alan |title=Peter Lougheed: A Biography |date=1979 |publisher=McClelland & Stewart |isbn=9780771042997}}
* {{cite book |last1=Perry |first1=Sandra E. |last2=Craig |first2=Jessica J. |title=The Mantle of Leadership: Premiers of the Northwest Territories and Alberta |year=2006 |publisher=Legislative Assembly of Alberta |location=[[Edmonton]], [[Alberta]] |isbn=0-9689217-2-8 |url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/centennialseries02perr }}
*{{cite book |last=Tupper |first=Allan |editor=Bradford J. Rennie |title=Alberta Premiers of the Twentieth Century |year=2004 |publisher=Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina |location=[[Regina, Saskatchewan]] |isbn=0-88977-151-0 |chapter=Peter Lougheed |url=https://archive.org/details/albertapremierso0000unse |url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book |last1=Wood |first1=David G. |title=The Lougheed legacy |date=1985 |publisher=Key Porter Books |location=Toronto |isbn=0-919493-48-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/lougheedlegacy0000wood |url-access=registration |oclc=910363674}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |last1=Long |first1=John Anthony |title=Maldistribution in Western Provincial Legislatures: The Case of Alberta |journal=Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue Canadienne de Science Politique |date=1969 |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=345–355 |doi=10.1017/S0008423900025105 |issn=1744-9324 |jstor=3231781|s2cid=154953422 }}

{{AlbertaElections}}

[[Category:1971 elections in Canada|Alberta]]
[[Category:Elections in Alberta|1971]]
[[Category:1971 in Alberta|General election]]
[[Category:August 1971 in Canada|Alberta general election]]