The United Conservative Party under Danielle Smith, the incumbent Premier of Alberta, was re-elected to a second term with a reduced majority.

The 2019 Alberta general election resulted in a majority government for the United Conservative Party led by Jason Kenney.

[5] The Alberta Party, led by former Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel, received 9.08 per cent of the popular vote but failed to win any seats in the legislature.

[11] Growing dissatisfaction within the United Conservative Party led to calls for a leadership review, with discontent primarily centred around the Kenney government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2),[23] which amended both the electoral acts to fix the election date to be the last Monday in May unless the lieutenant governor dissolves the Legislature sooner.

[79] Dave Hanson, member for Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul, lost his nomination contest against former Bonnyville-Cold Lake representative Scott Cyr;[80] and Tany Yao, member for Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo, lost his nomination contest to Zulkifl Mujahid, who was subsequently removed by the provincial board and replaced by Yao due to ongoing legal matters.

[83] Two independent members of the Legislative Assembly decided not to run in 2023: former New Democrat Thomas Dang,[84] along with former United Conservative Drew Barnes.

[85] The election campaign was tense and featured a wide gulf between the two opposing parties, with an increasingly populist UCP facing a left-leaning NDP.

[89] Following her selection as leader of the United Conservative Party, Danielle Smith made a number of changes to Alberta's healthcare system.

[91] The United Conservative Party promised to hire more obstetricians and educational support in a focus on women and children, and offered a bonus for healthcare professionals moving to Alberta.

[95] Smith's previous advocacy for creating co-payments and shifting the burden of healthcare payments from the government to individuals, employers and insurance companies[96] was criticized by the New Democratic Party.

[99] As an affordability measure, the United Conservatives proposed extending the fuel tax holiday, previously budgeted until June 2023, to December 2023, at an estimated cost of $570 million.

These recommendations would establish fixed formulas for non-renewable natural resource revenue, debt, and GDP to guide future spending.

[99] Rachel Notley, the leader of the New Democratic Party, expressed her support for transitioning the electrical grid to net-zero emissions by 2035.

[104] Prior to the election, the United Conservative government of Jason Kenney had an education policy favouring charter schools,[105] and undergoing a curriculum review, which was criticized by the Alberta Teachers' Association.

[107] In an effort to enhance confidence in public safety, Danielle Smith promised to implement an ankle bracelet monitoring program to supervise violent offenders who were released on bail.

[108] They also proposed deploying Alberta Sheriffs to the border to combat drug and gun trafficking and to increase funding for specialized law enforcement teams.

[109] The New Democratic Party pledged to strengthen law enforcement by hiring an additional 150 police officers and 150 support staff, including social workers and addiction counselors.

[115] The New Democratic Party received endorsements from former Progressive Conservative ministers Thomas Lukaszuk,[116] James L. Foster,[117] and Doug Griffiths.

[118] The NDP also received endorsements from former Wildrose and Progressive Conservative MLA Blake Pedersen,[119] and former Liberal Party of Alberta leader David Swann.