Alberta PCs become the longest serving government in Canadian history

They may be years removed from their glory days, but this his past weekend marked a pretty epic milestone for Alberta's Progressive Conservative party.

On Saturday, the PCs became the longest serving government in our country's history — they've now governed Alberta for 15,690 days and counting.

If you missed the 'celebrations', don't feel bad.

It seems that the only person to notice was University of Calgary political science professor Paul Fairie who shared these very informative tweets:

To put that number of days into context, 55 per cent of Albertans have never seen another government in power.

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While Fairie only lists provincial governments, it appears that the Alberta PCs have also endured beyond every other federal government as well.

Two Liberal prime ministers — William Lyon MacKenzie King and Louis St. Laurent served 7,912 days from the 1930s to 1950s while a version of the Conservative party served 6,474 consecutive days between 1878 and 1896.

And while political parties are a relatively new phenomenon in municipal politics, the Alberta PCs have outlasted Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion who 'only' has 13,051 days in office.

[ Related: From hay fields to metropolis: Hazel McCallion reflects on her career as mayor of Mississauga, Ont. ]

How and why the PCs have been able to stay in a power since 1971 is up for debate.

Certainly, in a province with an abundance of oil reserves and strong economic prospects, right-leaning free market policies play well with the electorate.

The PCs have also been blessed with beloved leaders with strong personalities such as Peter Lougheed, Ralph Klein and even Don Getty.

Regardless, most pundits and pollsters were sure the streak would come to an end during the 2012 election campaign — especially with emergence of another right wing party, Wildrose.

But Alison Redford's PCs won again.

As explained by Rod Love, Klein's chief of staff, that's because they are a resilient bunch.

"The PC brand is maybe the strongest brand in Canadian political history," Love told Reuters on election night 2012.

"It can take a ton of hits and body shots, and after 41 years, Albertans still respond to the brand."

[ Related: In light of the ongoing spending scandals, is the Alberta PC brand still salvageable? ]

Whether the streak can continue past the next election — whenever that may be — remains to be seen.

The once mighty party is now in the midst of a leadership campaign following the resignation of Redford over the controversy about her spending habits.

The latest polls have the PCs at just 19 per cent.

But with over 15,600 days in office, they've had a good run.

(Photo courtesy of the Canadian Press)

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