Tax freeze is welcome, 'flip-flops' are not: Seven Calgary residents on the election results
CBC
The one thing guaranteed with a close election result like Monday's is that roughly half the population will be happy, the other half disappointed.
Preliminary election results have the United Conservative Party with 49 seats, the NDP with 38.
During the campaign, voters heard a slew of promises and accusations from party leaders. So with the results now in hand, what are Calgary residents worried about or eager to see next?
Throughout the campaign, CBC News made a special effort to hear from them about their priorities.
Over the past months, CBC News connected with hundreds of regular Albertans through our My Priority opinion series and What Matters? (interviews with people on the street). We reached out to several of them again after the results came in.
Here's what they had to say.
Matthew Morin is a self-described "proud Albertan" who is gay, based in Calgary and a graduate student in the University of Toronto's faculty of social work.
He said that when UCP Leader Danielle Smith first brought up the Sovereignty Act, it resonated because he wants to see more decisions being made at a local level. He said he wants Alberta to stand up when western perspectives aren't being taken seriously in Ottawa.
It surprised him when that wasn't a central theme in the campaign.
"I just find it interesting that it was a little lacking throughout the whole, entire campaign, and then all of a sudden it just pops back in," he said. "Obviously, it was a political decision to be less aggressive, so we'll see how they do moving forward."
The campaign also saw controversy around LGBTQ and trans rights. When asked about the comments from Ponoka-Lacombe candidate Jennifer Johnson, Morin said the controversy didn't change his decision to support the UCP.
"It was a horrible thing to say, but at that point, so much mud had already been thrown that it felt like, 'Oh, here's another thing,'" said Morin, who also pointed to the premier's response.
After Johnson's comments came to light, Smith said the candidate would be excluded from the UCP caucus if elected.
Morin said he's optimistic that a UCP government led by Smith will set a path forward for this province to remain affordable and allow those in Alberta to live freely.