Stelmach was sworn in as Premier December 14, 2006.
On February 4, 2008, immediately after Lieutenant Governor Norman Kwong read the throne speech to open the legislative session, Stelmach requested a dissolution of the legislature with an election to follow March 3.
Shortly before the writ was dropped, a group calling itself Albertans for Change began to buy print and television ads that attacked Stelmach for lacking a plan and portrayed him as unfit to lead the province.
The group was funded by the Alberta Building Trades Council and the Alberta Federation of Labour, which led to a series of ads purchased by the National Citizens Coalition and Merit Contractors, in which it was accused of "putting your [union members'] money where [union leadership's] mouths are."

Despite a campaign that was called disorganized and uninspired, Stelmach's Progressive Conservatives won 72 seats in the 83-seat Legislative Assembly, an increase from the 62 that the party had won in the previous election and only two seats short of Ralph Klein's 2001 landslide.
 Political analysts attributed the party's win to its ability to present Stelmach as "a cautious, straightforward and hard-working man with a plan for Alberta's future".

The voter turnout in the election was 41%, the lowest in Alberta's history, and roughly a quarter of these had to swear an oath on election day after discovering they weren't on the voter's list.
 Opposition politicians and media blamed Stelmach's government for these problems, arguing that riding-level returning officers, who were nominated by Progressive Conservative constituency associations and who were responsible for voter enumeration, were not appointed early enough.
According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, "about half" of the 83 returning officers in the 2008 election had ties to the P.C. Party; the returning officer in Stelmach's Fort Saskatchewan–Vegreville riding had donated between $500 and $1,000 to Stelmach's leadership campaign.

Alberta Chief Returning Officer Lorne Gibson, as one of his 182 post-election recommendations to the government, suggested that the appointment of returning officers be handled by his own, non-partisan, office.
He had previously made this suggestion in 2006, but the government had not acted on it.
He also recommended following the election that his office, rather than the government's Justice department, be responsible for prosecuting election-related offenses; the latter did not lay charges in any of 19 alleged campaign finance violations Gibson brought to its attention.
In February 2009, Gibson appeared before the legislature's all-party committee on legislative offices to answer questions about the conduct of the election; there, he echoed opposition claims that the government, and not his office, was to blame for most problems.
Shortly after, the committee voted 8–3 against re-appointing him, with all Progressive Conservatives on the committee opposing his re-appointment and all opposition MLAs supporting it.
Opposition leaders David Swann and Brian Mason suggested that Gibson was being punished for criticizing the government.
Stelmach was sworn in as Premier December 14, 2006. On February 4, 2008, immediately after Lieutenant Governor Norman Kwong read the throne speech to open the legislative session, Stelmach requested a dissolution of the legislature with an election to follow March 3. Shortly before the writ was dropped, a group calling itself Albertans for Change began to buy print and television ads that attacked Stelmach for lacking a plan and portrayed him as unfit to lead the province. The group was funded by the Alberta Building Trades Council and the Alberta Federation of Labour, which led to a series of ads purchased by the National Citizens Coalition and Merit Contractors, in which it was accused of "putting your [union members'] money where [union leadership's] mouths are." 
Despite a campaign that was called disorganized and uninspired, Stelmach's Progressive Conservatives won 72 seats in the 83-seat Legislative Assembly, an increase from the 62 that the party had won in the previous election and only two seats short of Ralph Klein's 2001 landslide.  Political analysts attributed the party's win to its ability to present Stelmach as "a cautious, straightforward and hard-working man with a plan for Alberta's future".
The voter turnout in the election was 41%, the lowest in Alberta's history, and roughly a quarter of these had to swear an oath on election day after discovering they weren't on the voter's list.  Opposition politicians and media blamed Stelmach's government for these problems, arguing that riding-level returning officers, who were nominated by Progressive Conservative constituency associations and who were responsible for voter enumeration, were not appointed early enough. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, "about half" of the 83 returning officers in the 2008 election had ties to the P.C. Party; the returning officer in Stelmach's Fort Saskatchewan–Vegreville riding had donated between $500 and $1,000 to Stelmach's leadership campaign.
Alberta Chief Returning Officer Lorne Gibson, as one of his 182 post-election recommendations to the government, suggested that the appointment of returning officers be handled by his own, non-partisan, office. He had previously made this suggestion in 2006, but the government had not acted on it. He also recommended following the election that his office, rather than the government's Justice department, be responsible for prosecuting election-related offenses; the latter did not lay charges in any of 19 alleged campaign finance violations Gibson brought to its attention. In February 2009, Gibson appeared before the legislature's all-party committee on legislative offices to answer questions about the conduct of the election; there, he echoed opposition claims that the government, and not his office, was to blame for most problems. Shortly after, the committee voted 8–3 against re-appointing him, with all Progressive Conservatives on the committee opposing his re-appointment and all opposition MLAs supporting it. Opposition leaders David Swann and Brian Mason suggested that Gibson was being punished for criticizing the government.
Ed Stelmach