2011 Alberta Liberal Party leadership election

2011 Alberta Liberal Party leadership election
Date	September 10, 2011
Resigning leader	David Swann
Won by	Raj Sherman
Ballots	1
Candidates	5
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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]

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

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

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

Laurie Blakeman, MLA
Bill Harvey
Hugh MacDonald, MLA
Bruce Payne, a Calgary businessman
Raj Sherman, MLA

Results

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

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

[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.

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v t e Alberta Liberal Party
Party leaders	Brett D. McDonald (NWT) ¤ Rutherford Sifton Stewart Boyle C. Mitchell Bowen Shaw J. McDonald Webster Howson Gray Barrowman Montgomery Stambaugh Prowse MacEwan Hunter Maccagno Berry Maccagno Lowery Russell Taylor Decore Hewes interim G. Mitchell MacBeth Nicol Massey interim Taft Swann Sherman Swann interim Khan Roggeveen interim Roggeveen
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