To the surprise of few, Albertans have given the province's Conservatives a 10th consecutive mandate. But it appears that Premier Ralph Klein has lost more than 10 seats to his rivals.

The Conservatives' 47 per cent of the popular vote is reduced from the last election, when they took better than 60 per cent.

The final results show the Tories won 61 seats Monday night. The Liberals are next with 17, and the NDP with four. And the new Alberta Alliance won its first-ever seat.

Heading into the election, the Conservatives held 73 seats in the 83-seat legislature. The Liberals had five seats and the NDP two, with one independent and a pair of vacant seats.

Klein himself has easily won his seat in Calgary-Elbow, taking more than 50 per cent of the popular vote.

"I want to thank them again for choosing me to serve as their MLA," Klein said of his constituents in his victory speech. "I will do my level best to serve them well."

He thanked Albertans for "giving us our marching orders for the next four years."

Klein called it a solid mandate, but acknowledged his party's losses. "While we earned a very solid majority as a government," he said, "we will have to hear what Albertans have told us tonight."

"You have my word that we'll work as hard as we can... to live up to the expectations of your government."

Before this, Klein had always improved his standings in the previous elections. He won 51 seats in 1993, 63 in 1997, and 74 three years ago in 2001.

A stronger opposition

Liberal leader Kevin Taft celebrated his party's strong showing. It was his first time leading an election race, and he was pleased with the result.

"Alberta has a new voice at the centre," he told supporters Monday night.

Among the winning Liberal candidates is David Swann, who grabbed headlines when he was fired as a medical officer of health for speaking in support of the Kyoto accord on climate change.

In Edmonton, Mo Elsalhy defeated Economic Development Minister Mark Norris.

NDP Leader Brian Mason was also leading his party in an election campaign for the first time. He was able to double the party's seat count, winning four in Edmonton. He took his own riding with 60 per cent of the vote.

Premier Klein for how long?

With Klein returned to power, there are now questions about how long he will remain in office. He has already said he will stay for at least another three years and eight months. But, if anyone is thinking of openly running for his job, Klein has made it clear it won't be tolerated.

On Saturday in his last day of campaigning, Klein said there would be retribution for would-be successors who publicly jockey for his job. He said cabinet members who break the rules could find themselves on the backbench.

A cabinet shakeup is likely to happen in the coming days.

Klein had been harshly criticized throughout the 28-day campaign for providing few details on major health-care reforms planned for next year.

What's more, he made few campaign promises and offered little discussion about how the government will spend a growing windfall of energy revenues now that Alberta is virtually debt-free.

Senators-in-waiting

As part of Monday's election, Albertans are also voting on candidates for the province's "senators in waiting."

Those results were slower to come in Monday night, and there was late word the results would be released Tuesday.

Unofficial results suggested the winners were:

• Bert Brown, a 67-year-old farmer
• Edmonton nurse Betty Unger
• Cliff Breitkreuz, a former MP from Onoway; and
• Former newsmagazine publisher Link Byfield

There are currently three vacant Alberta seats in the Senate, but Prime Minister Paul Martin has suggested he doesn't plan to fill them with the winners of the Alberta election.

Alberta started holding Senate elections in 1989 in the hope that other provinces would follow suit and press for a Senate with an equal number of seats from each province.

So far, no other province has held a similar vote.