The Alberta Social Credit party won a majority government in 1935, in the first election it contested, barely months after its formation.

After Aberhart's death in 1943 and the rise to leadership of Ernest Manning, followed quickly by the discovery of oil in north-central Alberta and its accompanying wealth for many, Social Credit took on a more conservative hue.

William Aberhart, a Baptist lay-preacher and evangelist in Calgary, was attracted to social credit theory while Alberta (and much of the western world) was in the depths of the Great Depression.

He soon began promoting it through his radio program on CFCN in Calgary, adding a heavy dose of fundamentalist Christianity to the Social Credit theories of C.H.

The basic premise of social credit is that all citizens should be paid a dividend as capital and technology replace labour in production; this was especially attractive to farmers sinking under the weight of the Depression.

[citation needed] The UFA government was also reeling from a scandal that had forced Reid's predecessor, John Brownlee, to resign a year earlier.

[3]: 127 In the 22 August 1935 election, much to its own surprise, Social Credit won a landslide victory, taking 54% of the vote and winning 56 of the 63 seats in the Legislative Assembly.

[citation needed] Certain historians believe that much of the Social Credit Party's leadership, and many of its members, didn't understand Douglas' teachings.

[citation needed] Aberhart, consumed with details of governance and administration, made little progress along the social credit monetary reform road.

[citation needed] After election he hired an orthodox financial expert named Magor, much to Douglas's displeasure, thus forestalling radical monetary reform.

[citation needed] It passed several pieces of radical populist legislation, such as the issuance of prosperity certificates to Alberta residents (dubbed "funny money" by detractors) in accordance with the theories of Silvio Gesell.

[citation needed] ATB has become a lasting legacy of Social Credit Party policies in Alberta, operating as of 2017[update] as an orthodox financial institution and crown corporation.

[3]: 128 In 1937, the administration created the Board of Industrial Relations, which was tasked with enforcing maximum working hours, minimum wages, and certifying workers' bargaining agents.

[3]: 129–130 To uphold its election promise of democratizing Alberta's government, Aberhart passed a law allowing for the recall of members of the Legislative Assembly by petition of constituents.

[3]: 127  The Albertan public recognized that the party's initial campaign promises, such as price controls and social dividends, were failing to materialize.

"Bible Bill" Aberhart died in 1943,[3]: 128  and was replaced by his Provincial Secretary and Minister of Trade and Industry,[citation needed] Ernest Manning.

[3]: 147  Under Manning's leadership, the party largely abandoned social credit monetary theories,[citation needed] though it did issue prosperity certificates from oil royalties in 1957 and 1958.

Several socially conservative laws remained in place for years, such as the ban on airlines serving alcohol over provincial airspace.

He governed with very large majorities for virtually his entire tenure, winning well over 50 percent of the popular vote and rarely facing more than ten opposition MLAs.

[citation needed] This led to rumours that Caouette had defeated Robert N. Thompson for the federal party's leadership in 1961, only to have his win vetoed by Manning and the Alberta Socreds.

[3]: 131  Censoring films sympathetic to international cooperation due to allegations of communism,[3]: 131  greatly weakening workers' protections,[3]: 131–135  and seeking to create a welcoming environment for oil investors.

the premise embodied in your proposed resolution, namely, that there is such a thing as democratic socialism, contradicts itself in that it attempts to associate two concepts of life which are diametrically opposed and opposite.""

"[9] Censoring films sympathetic to international cooperation due to allegations of communism,[3]: 131  greatly weakening workers' protections,[3]: 131–135  and seeking to create a welcoming environment for oil investors.

[3]: 131–132  Labour unions subsequently defended themselves as non-communist, or simply refused to respond to these charges in the hopes of maintaining good relationships with the government.

[3]: 127–128  In campaigning for the 1948 election, the Alberta Social Credit Party purported that the development of the province's petroleum industry was the main issue at stake, and touted the newfound prosperity resulting from this oil to win another strong majority in the Legislative Assembly.

[3]: 135–136  During the campaign, the party used such prosperity to fervently denounce the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation's calls for public ownership of the oil industry.

[3]: 147  This enabled the government to spend large amounts on education and healthcare,[3]: 147  which some historians view as partially responsible for Manning's high levels of popular support.

More importantly, the once-moribund Progressive Conservatives, led by young lawyer Peter Lougheed, won six seats, mostly in Calgary and Edmonton.

In the 1973 leadership election, Werner Schmidt, vice-president of Lethbridge Community College, who didn't hold a seat in the Legislative Assembly, ran against former Highways Minister Gordon Taylor, former Education Minister Robert Curtis Clark, and John Ludwig, dean of business education at Alberta College.

In November 1999, James Albers was elected over Jon Dykstra and Norm Racine to lead the party in a hotly contested race.