Alberta Senate nominee elections

The exception to this is Quebec, where its 24 divisions[c] for electing the Province of Canada's Legislative Council continue to be used as the geographic basis for senatorial appointment.

Senate nominee elections were initially held under the auspices of Alberta's Senatorial Selection Act of 1987, which was passed in response to a proposal under the Meech Lake Accord that would have required the federal government to appoint senators from lists provided by provincial governments.

After the failure of the Meech Lake and subsequent Charlottetown Accords, the federal government continued its traditional practice of appointing senators of its own volition.

In 1998, the federal government of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien filled two vacancies in Alberta before an election could be held; the pro-Senate reform provincial government of Ralph Klein then amended the act to hold elections for Senate nominees in advance of vacancies.

This request was only sometimes heeded: Stephen Harper and Brian Mulroney recommended elected nominees for appointment, while Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin, and Justin Trudeau did not.

However, in 2013 the province abandoned its plans before holding any such elections, repealing the law and instead calling for the Senate to be abolished.

[3] The New Democratic Party formed government in Alberta after the 2015 election, and due to its long-standing policy supporting Senate abolition, allowed the Senatorial Selection Act to expire in 2016.

All four elections were contested by independent candidates, with Link Byfield winning the last senator-in-waiting seat up for grabs in 2004 (although he was never appointed to the Senate).

Senate reform is popular in Western Canada, where the provinces are under-represented in the House of Commons due to representation by population.

Moreover, former Prime Minister Paul Martin said he would not recommend for appointment any nominees elected in this fashion because he does not support "piecemeal" Senate reform.

In 2004, Bert Brown, Betty Unger and Cliff Breitkreuz, nominated by the Progressive Conservatives, and Link Byfield, an independent, won the election.

All three incumbents and other pundits agreed that the move was made to help the Progressive Conservatives avoid an election loss to the Wildrose Alliance.