2021 Alberta Senate nominee election
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3 persons to become senators-in-waiting
  First party Second party Third party
 
P.D.
E.B.
M.M.
Candidate Pam Davidson Erika Barootes Mykhailo Martyniouk
Party Conservative Conservative Conservative
Popular vote 382,243 358,002 237,228
Percentage 18.2% 17.1% 11.3%

The 2021 Alberta Senate nominee election, formally the 5th Senate Nominee Election, was held in Alberta to help select (non-binding) nominees for appointment to represent Alberta in the Senate of Canada.[1] The Senate election was held on October 18 in conjunction with the 2021 Alberta municipal elections.[2]

Background

Main article: Alberta Senate nominee elections

Alberta is the only province to hold elections for nominees to the Senate. These elections, held under Alberta's Senate Election Act,[3] are not binding on the prime minister when he advises the governor general on appointments to the Senate. However, in the previous four senate elections, nine senate nominees have been selected; and, of these, five were appointed to the Senate of Canada.[2]

The act also establishes that the number of Senate nominees is to be set by the Lieutenant Governor-in-Council when issuing the order in council. The current order in council sets the number of senate candidates to be selected as three.[4]

Candidacy requirements

To be eligible to run as a senate candidate, a person had to be qualified under Section 23 of the Constitution Act (1867)[5] and under Section 7 of the Alberta Senate Election Act.[3] The prospective senate candidate also had to determine if they would be endorsed by a registered provincial party in Alberta or aligned with a federal party in Canada.[6] Eligible, prospective senate candidates had to register under the Elections Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act[7] prior to collecting their nomination signatures. Additionally, signatures could only be collected from between the date of the writ of election and nomination day, with candidates collecting at least 500 valid signatures, from eligible voters, in order to be placed on the ballot. Lastly, a $4,000 deposit had to be provided to Elections Alberta, before September 20,[8] to become a fully nominated candidate.[6]

Senate vacancies

The Alberta Senate Nominee Election will select three candidates, that may be chosen by the prime minister to fill the current single vacancy in the Senate:

Electoral system

The election used block voting, to elect three Senate nominees.

Prospective candidates

As of September 16, 2021, several prospective senate candidates had filed nomination papers with Elections Alberta. There were enough prospective candidates nominated that the ballot was not acclaimed.

Prospective Senate candidates[12]
Candidate name Provincial affiliation Federal alignment Registration date Nomination accepted On ballot
Rick Bonnett Independent Independent September 17, 2021 September 17, 2021 Yes
Erika Barootes Independent Conservative Party of Canada June 15, 2021 September 14, 2021 Yes
Pam Davidson Independent Conservative Party of Canada[13] June 30, 2021 September 15, 2021 Yes
Mykhailo Martyniouk Independent Conservative Party of Canada August 5, 2021 September 10, 2021 Yes
Karina Pillay Independent Independent September 14, 2021 September 15, 2021 Yes
Chad Jett Thunders Saunders Independent Independent August 31, 2021 September 3, 2021 Yes
Sunil Sookram Independent Independent July 20, 2021 August 19, 2021 Yes
Randy Hogle N/A N/A July 28, 2021 N/A (withdrew) No
Doug A. Horner Independent Independent September 10, 2021 September 20, 2021 Yes
Duncan Kinney Independent Independent April 14, 2021 September 16, 2021 Yes
Jeff Nielsen Independent Independent August 23, 2021 September 16, 2021 Yes
Nadine R. Wellwood Independent People's Party of Canada September 20, 2021 September 20, 2021 Yes
Ann McCormack Independent People's Party of Canada September 20, 2021 September 20, 2021 Yes
Kelly Lorencz Independent People's Party of Canada September 20, 2021 September 20, 2021 Yes

Results

By candidate

No candidate received votes from a majority of the 1.1M voters who voted.

The most popular candidate received votes from less than 38 percent of the voters.

As is often the case with block voting, one party took all the seats.[14]

Official poll results as per report posted by Elections Alberta:[15]

Candidate Party Votes # Votes % Valid Ballots % Elected Appointed
  Pam Davidson Conservative 382,243 18.22% 54.56% Green tickY
  Erika Barootes Conservative 358,002 17.06% 51.10% Green tickY
  Mykhailo Martyniouk Conservative 237,228 11.31% 33.86% Green tickY
  Doug Horner Independent 179,455 8.55% 25.61%
  Karina Pillay Independent 144,168 6.87% 20.58%
  Duncan Kinney Independent 128,945 6.15% 18.40%
  Ann Mccormack People's 109,812 5.23% 15.67%
  Kelly Lorencz People's 107,176 5.11% 15.30%
  Nadine Wellwood People's 98,401 4.69% 14.04%
  Jeff Nielsen Independent 95,768 4.56% 13.67%
  Rick Bonnett Independent 93,277 4.45% 13.31%
  Sunil Sookram Independent 87,932 4.19% 12.55%
  Chad Jett Thunders Saunders Independent 75,514 3.60% 10.78%
Total 2,097,921 700,625
Rejected, Spoiled and Declined 418,203
Total Ballots Cast 1,118,828

By party

Affiliation Seats Total Votes Votes %
  Conservative 3 977,473 46.59%
  Independent 0 805,059 38.37%
  People's 0 315,389 15.03%
Total 3 2,097,921 100.00%
Vote share
Conservative
 
 46.59%
PPC
 
 15.03%
Others
 
 38.37%
Senate Nominees
Conservative
 
 100.00%

See also

References

  1. ^ Wesley, Jared (February 4, 2021). "OPINION | How provincial politics could complicate this year's municipal elections in Alberta". CBC News. Archived from the original on February 4, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Information for Electors". Elections Alberta. July 29, 2021. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Alberta Senate Election Act" (PDF). Queen's Printer. July 29, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 26, 2019.
  4. ^ "Order in Council" (PDF). Queen's Printer. July 29, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 29, 2021.
  5. ^ "The Constitution Acts 1867 to 1982" (PDF). Government of Canada. January 1, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 8, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Information for Senate Nominees / Candidates". Elections Alberta. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  7. ^ "Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act (EFCDA)" (PDF). Queen's Printer. July 29, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 12, 2011.
  8. ^ "Key Dates". Elections Alberta. Archived from the original on July 30, 2021.
  9. ^ Mitchell, Grant [@SenMitchell] (May 1, 2020). "I recently retired from the Senate of Canada. It was an honour to represent Alberta. I am grateful to have worked with so many remarkable people on important issues and challenges. I leave with a full heart, wonderful memories and the prospect of a bright future with my family" (Tweet). Retrieved May 9, 2020 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Former Alberta cabinet minister turned Independent senator Elaine McCoy dies". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press. December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  11. ^ "Banff Mayor Karen Sorensen appointed to Senate". CBC. July 29, 2021. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021.
  12. ^ "Information for Senate Nominees / Candidates". Elections Alberta. Archived from the original on September 16, 2021. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  13. ^ "To support me in the nomination race, you will need to be a member of the Conservative Party before July 29, 2021." https://pamdavidson.ca/
  14. ^ A Report on Alberta Elections (1982)
  15. ^ "Senate Election Results by Municipality". Elections Alberta. October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
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