Tories take majority in Alberta as ‘bozo-outbreaks’ cost Wildrose

It's over — CBC and The Canadian Press have called another majority government for the Progressive Conservatives in Alberta.

The results are a surprise to many.

At the beginning of the Alberta election campaign some pollsters were predicting the upstart Wildrose Party would win a majority in big numbers.

A Forum poll, from March 28, for example, had Danielle Smith's party capturing 55 of the 87 seats up for grabs.

And then polls from late last week still had Wildrose in the lead - albeit with a narrower margin.

But something happened on the way to election day - Wildrose blew it with its so-called "bozo-outbreaks."

The first such outbreak happened about 10 days ago when candidate Allan Hunsberger's homophobic blog about gays roasting "in a lake of fire" was discovered and shared with media.

Instead of distancing herself from those comments Smith stood up for her candidate.

The second blow to the party came for candidate Ron Leech who opined on radio that being white gives him a leg up against his visible minority opponents.

And once again Smith backed her candidate.

Then Smith, her self, committed a bozo act.

Last week she chirped that she wasn't convinced that climate change was real.

Liberal pundit Warren Kinsella wrote about the change in Wildrose fortunes on Monday afternoon.

"Wildrose has been dropping sharply since the bozone layer eruptions began," he wrote.

"The PCs now own Edmonton, and the huge Wildrose lead in Calgary has vanished. Rural Alberta is rural Alberta.

"The PCs have run a solid campaign under Stephen Carter (he of Nenshi fame). The homophobic, racist stuff has hurt Wildrose and there has been a lot of vote moving around in the past few days."