For the first time since 2001, more Albertans went to the polls than stayed home Monday.

A voter casts a ballot in Monday's provincial election. (CBC)

About 57 per cent of voters cast ballots — 1.29 million voters — in what was anticipated to be one of the closest races in decades.

But the tight race never materialized, as Albertans elected another large Progressive Conservative majority.

Last time around, only 40 per cent of the electorate bothered going to the polls, helping then-Tory premier Ed Stelmach win a resounding majority over the impotent opposition parties.

The 2012 turnout was the highest since 1993 when 60 per cent of voters chose Ralph Klein's Tories over Laurence Decore's Liberals.