Alberta will hold its election on May 29, Alberta’s chief electoral officer said on Monday, a vote that will have a huge bearing on Canada’s climate goals of cutting emissions 40% to 45% from 2005 levels by 2030.
The election is expected to be a tight race between Premier Danielle Smith’s ruling United Conservative Party (UCP) and Rachel Notley’s left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP).
After lagging in polls in 2022, the UCP has narrowed the gap with the NDP this year.
Smith launched the UCP’s election campaign at a news conference in Calgary, the province’s corporate oil capital that is expected to be a key election battleground, with a promise to cut taxes for all Albertans.
“The choice in this election couldn’t be clearer,” Smith told a news conference. “It’s a choice between a UCP government that will cut your taxes and make life more affordable or an NDP government that will make you pay more across the board.”
A win for the UCP may force the federal government in Ottawa to make concessions on key decarbonization policies including an oil and gas emission cap and clean electricity regulations that have sparked resistance from the Alberta government.