Alberta general election, 1917

Alberta general election, 1917

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58 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 30 seats were needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Arthur Sifton Edward Michener William Irvine Party Liberal Conservative Labor Representation Leader since 1910 1910 1917 Leader's seat Vermilion Red Deer ran in South Calgary Last election 39 seats, 49.2% 17 seats, 45.1% pre-creation Seats before 39 17 0 Seats won 34 19 1 Seat change 5 2 1 Popular vote 54,212 47,055 3,576 Percentage 48.1% 41.8% 3.2% Swing 1.1% 3.3% 3.2
Premier before election Arthur Sifton Liberal Premier-designate Arthur Sifton Liberal

Arthur Sifton
Liberal

Arthur Sifton
Liberal

The Alberta general election of 1917 was the fourth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada, held on 7 June 1917 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

Because of World War I, politics was largely on the back burner in the minds of Albertans this election. Eleven Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) were acclaimed under Section 38 of the Election Act, which stipulated that any member of the 3rd Alberta Legislative Assembly, would be guaranteed re-election, with no contest held, if members joined for war time service. Eleven MLAs were automatically re-elected through this clause. In addition, soldiers from Alberta fighting overseas elected two members-at-large.

In 1917, the main issue facing the nation was conscription. In Alberta, where support for conscription was high, the incumbent Liberal government of Arthur Sifton decided to break with federal Liberal leader Wilfrid Laurier and support Conservative Prime Minister Robert Borden's efforts to form a coalition government. The two major parties both supported conscription, but growing labour and farmer activism, and the entry of women into politics, both as voters and candidates, made the election exciting enough that 30,000 more votes were cast than in the previous election (although they were nothing like the high numbers that would be cast in the 1921 election).

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