Polls close in province election

Jim Prentice called an election a little less than a month ago and Albertans headed to the polls on Tuesday to vote in what could be an historic change in government for the province.

For the first time in decades, polls are predicting a defeat for the PCs and an end to a 44 year dynasty.

Some polls showed that Notley is expected to have a strong showing in Edmonton, but could also be making some breakthroughs in the PC stronghold in Calgary.

How much of a mark is still unclear. The NDP have only ever won a total of two seats, and that was back in 1986.

Support for the Wildrose Party continues to be concentrated in the rural areas outside both Edmonton and Calgary. Leader Brian Jean was out on Monday pleading with voters not to split the vote between his party and the Tories.

He said the PCs are far behind in support and an NDP majority government would be a mistake.

Experts say that Calgary could be the deciding battleground this time around.

“How can the Tories possibly win unless they get a good 20 to 25 seats in Calgary?” said David Taras, a political scientist at Mount Royal University. “They have to own Calgary in order to be a government and I think the mood in Calgary is one of, it’s fluid – people don’t know how to vote at this point. They’re still deciding, they’re still weighing their options.”

Voters lining up at Briar Hill Elementary in Calgary say that they would be happy to see some change. "Change is good," one woman said. "It should have happened years ago."

Others think that Prentice has the experience to set the province right, but others say that it's a contentious campaign, dividing even families. "In our family, we have three families with children living in Calgary and I think we're all voting in different directions, for different candidate, for different reasons."

As for the advance vote, a record number of ballots were cast this election, breaking the previous record by about 31 percent.

Nearly 240,000 Albertans voted this year at one of 222 polling stations set up in the province from Thursday to Sunday.

The polls closed at 8 p.m.

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  Albertans across the province will be casting their votes on Tuesday, one which many say could see a change in government in the province.

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  PC leader Jim Prentice has cast his vote on Election Day in his riding of Calgary-Foothills.

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  Albertans throughout the province will be casting their ballots on Tuesday to decide the future of Alberta. Campaign polls in the weeks leading up to Election Day indicate that many are ready for a change.