1971 Alberta general election

1971 Alberta general election

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75 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 38 seats were needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Peter Lougheed Harry Strom Grant Notley Party Progressive Conservative Social Credit New Democratic Leader since 1965 December 12, 1968 1968 Leader's seat Calgary-West Cypress ran in Spirit River-Fairview (won) Last election 6 seats, 26.0% 55 seats, 44.6% 0 seats, 16.0% Seats before 10 55 0 Seats won 49 25 1 Seat change 39 30 1 Popular vote 296,934 262,953 73,038 Percentage 46.4% 41.1% 11.4% Swing 20.4% 3.5% 4.6%
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.
Premier before election Harry Strom Social Credit Premier after election Peter Lougheed Progressive Conservative

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 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 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.