CALGARY — Albertans went to the polls in a historic election Monday that preserved the 41-year-old Progressive Conservative political dynasty after a divisive 28-day campaign.

Public opinion polls on the eve of the election suggested Danielle Smith and the Wildrose Party would win but from the early results it was evident that Premier Alison Redford and the Progressive Conservatives would remain in power.

By shortly after 9 p.m. local time, TV networks were declaring a Tory majority.

Although not final, the Edmonton Journal was reporting late Monday night that Tories were elected in 61 ridings with 44 per cent of the popular vote, Wildrose candidates were elected or leading in 19 ridings on 34.5 per cent of the vote; the NDP had four members and the Liberals three.

"I guess the polls played jokes on us," said Wildrose candidate Rob Anderson in Airdrie, a bedroom community north of Calgary. "The people of Alberta have spoken but maybe the fearmongering worked better than we thought."

The 41-year-run in government for the Tories is one of the longest provincial dynasties in Canadian political history behind the 43 years of the Nova Scotia Liberals (1882-1925) and the 42-years of Conservative rule (1943-1985) in Ontario.

The election has implications well beyond the borders of the resource-rich province given Alberta's growing clout in Canadian politics and the globally contentious issue of oilsands development.

When Redford called the election in March, the Conservatives held 66 seats in the legislature, the Liberals eight, Wildrose four, New Democrats two, Alberta Party one, one independent and there was one seat vacant. Four more seats were added in the fast-growing province before the election.

During the campaign, NDP leader Brian Mason and Liberal leader Raj Sherman largely took a back seat to the two women leading a party into an election for the first time.

"It's tough to describe what we have seen here," said Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Mount Royal University in Calgary. "The interest, the excitement — all of that sort of stuff — is unprecedented in Alberta."

The weather was ideal on election day in much of Alberta with sunshine and temperatures reaching 30 C in several places. The weather was expected help voter turnout that reached a historic low of only 40.6 per cent in the March 2008 election.

Addressing cheering supporters, Smith acknowledged that she was disappointed and had been hoping for a better result. But she took what many will see as a defeat in stride, promising that Wildrose would continue vying to become the province's government.

"Am I discouraged? Not a chance," she said. "Albertans have decided that Wildrose might need some time. Might need some time to prove ourselves, some time to establish ourselves, and I relish the opportunity."

In her victory speech to supporters, Redford said Albertans chose to build upon "the shoulders of our great history" in choosing the Progressive Conservatives to return to government.

At the same time, in an allusion to the fact the campaign was historic and engaged Albertans in a way few such elections had in recent memory, Redford recognized that a record number of voters had turned out to have their voices heard.