Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party won a narrow victory following a bitter Alberta election campaign, and now must tackle a long list of problems, from health care to the economy to the environment, in a highly polarized province.
Potential solutions are expensive and could prove contentious, as the election revealed a stark urban-rural political divide. Ms. Smith held on as premier, but her party lost 11 seats, and its power is now concentrated outside the major cities of Edmonton and Calgary, where Rachel Notley’s New Democrats gained important ground. Ms. Notley emerged with Alberta’s largest-ever official opposition.
Danielle Smith’s UCP has won the Alberta election. What now? Analyzing the results of a razor-thin race
That contrast will surely play out in health care. No sector in Alberta has defined the past three years of crisis and controversy as much.
The system was struggling before 2020 with rising costs and long