Two way fight for many voters as only UCP and NDP have candidates in every riding

As the provincial election inches closer, Albertans have made their way to early voting. But for some, like this one in Millwoods in Edmonton, they only have two choices — the UCP and the NDP. Which raises the question, where are the other parties?

According to the Elections Alberta website, only the UCP and NDP have candidates in every riding across the province. The next closest is the green party at 41.

“People want to see their mainstream views represented in a mainstream party,” said Christine Myatt, senior consultant with West Public Affairs.

Myatt says the amount of candidates running is one of the challenges that smaller parties face, the other issue, they don’t have as much money.

“They can’t purchase ads or, you know, any of the splashy kinds of things that the larger parties are able to do. So less people are able to hear about them than they would normally if those parties had the same resources,” said Myatt.

But that isn’t stopping the smaller parties from showing up. Myatt says this election is an opportunity for less mainstream parties like the Alberta Party to make some moves in the polls.

“The Alberta Party is one of the only small parties that are registering in terms of polling numbers there. They’re polling very low, obviously, but still at 3 to 5 per cent, which is a good chunk of Albertans.”

CityNews reached out to multiple parties on Wednesday but did not hear back at this time.