2011 Alberta Liberal Party leadership election

An election for the leadership of the Alberta Liberal Party was held on September 10, 2011,[1] which was caused by David Swann's announcement on February 1, 2011, of his intention to resign as leader. The election is the party's second since the 2008 election. MLA Raj Sherman was elected on the first ballot. An open nomination system was used in which any Albertan could vote in the election, even if they were not party members.[2]

2011 Alberta Liberal Party leadership election

← 2008 September 10, 2011 2017 →
 
Candidate Raj Sherman Hugh MacDonald Laurie Blakeman
Party Liberal Liberal Liberal
Popular vote 4,684 2,239 854
Percentage 54% 26% 9%

 
Candidate Bill Harvey Bruce Payne
Party Liberal Liberal
Popular vote 626 197
Percentage 7% 2%

Leader before election

David Swann

Elected Leader

Raj Sherman

2011 Alberta Liberal Party leadership election
DateSeptember 10, 2011
Resigning leaderDavid Swann
Won byRaj Sherman
Ballots1
Candidates5
Alberta Liberal Party leadership elections
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Because of a Progressive Conservative leadership election, the PCs elected a new leader on October 1, 2011. The media were speculating that the new PC leader, who would become Premier, may call a snap election rather than wait until 2013.[3] This did not come to fruition, however, and Alison Redford stated that a general election would be held in the spring.

Timeline edit

  • February 1: David Swann announces his resignation
  • May 28–29: Liberal Party General Convention
  • August 1: Close of nominations
  • September 10: Polling and leadership announcement

Candidates edit

At the close of nominations, there were five candidates for leader:[4]

Results edit

Candidate Votes[5] Percentage
Raj Sherman 4,684 54%
Hugh MacDonald 2,239 26%
Laurie Blakeman 854 9%
Bill Harvey 626 7%
Bruce Payne 197 2%
Total 8,640

References edit

  1. ^ Matthew Grant (June 27, 2011). "An Exciting Leadership Race". Alberta Liberal Party Blog. Archived from the original on August 26, 2011.
  2. ^ "Alberta Liberal leadership vote open to all". Nanton News. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  3. ^ "Elections loom across the country". Globe and Mail. August 14, 2011.
  4. ^ "5 Great Candidates, 19 Strong". Alberta Liberal Party. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
  5. ^ Wingrove, Josh (September 10, 2011). "Alberta Liberals choose mercurial ex-Tory Sherman as leader". Globe and Mail. Retrieved September 10, 2011.