RED DEER, Alta. — Premier Ed Stelmach got 77 per cent support in a leadership review vote by Tory delegates meeting in Red Deer, Alta., on Saturday.

Stelmach had faced division within the Tory ranks in recent months because of the sour economy and nagging controversies, including the troubled rollout of the province's H1N1 vaccine program.

He also faced a challenge from the upstart Wildrose Alliance, a right-wing party that has been energized by a recent byelection win and leadership race.

But on Saturday, 922 delegates voted against a leadership review and just 269 voted in favour of one.

Earlier in the day, he dismissed a protest staged by the Friends of Medicare involving 700 people rallying outside the event. The demonstration, which included strong representation from labour unions, was over hospital bed closures and other government cuts to health care.

"I'm very confident that what we've carved out in policy as the Progressive Conservative Party is the right one for Albertans," Stelmach told 1,300 Tory delegates.

The stakes in Saturday's vote had been high for Stelmach, who has been leader of the long-governing party for only three years.

Stelmach delivered a landslide victory for the Tories in 2008, winning 72 of 83 seats in the legislature.

But recent polls have suggested the Wildrose Alliance is cutting deeply into the Tories' popularity.

The right-wing party was energized by a recent byelection win in a constituency the Tories held for 40 years. Then there was a leadership race that saw Danielle Smith, a telegenic former journalist and small-business advocate, win the party's top job.

Ralph Klein was done in at his last leadership review when he receive only 55 per cent support and ended up resigning.

The former premier was one of the biggest thorns in Stelmach's side heading into Saturday's vote, telling The Canadian Press that the premier needed 70 per cent support in the vote or he should "step down."

But that apparently didn't hold as much sway as the support of former leadership rivals Ted Morton and Jim Dinning, who both asked the party to support Stelmach, as did Peter Lougheed, the former premier who led the Tories to power back in 1971.

Some of Stelmach's problems have been difficult for him to control.

Alberta's economy tanked amid a global recession. Rather than make deep spending cuts and government jobs, Stelmach chose to run a deficit, which has ballooned to a record $7 billion. That number has provided endless fodder for the fiscally conservative Wildrose Alliance.

Perhaps one of the biggest issues heading into the leadership vote was the province's handling of the H1N1 vaccination program.

When the vaccine first became available, the government said that while high-risk groups should get vaccinated first, no one would be turned away from clinics.

That mixed message led to huge lines and eventually the province was forced to close down the clinics as supplies of the vaccine dwindled. They were reopened this week under stricter guidelines, but the political damage had already been done.

The revelation that the Calgary Flames NHL team was vaccinated along with their families at a private clinic while thousands waited in line deepened the controversy.

In a speech to delegates Friday night before the vote, Stelmach talked about his political courage and told delegates he would not be afraid to take bold stands and won't back down.

"Playing it safe isn't what this party's about and it's certainly not what I'm about," Stelmach said.

"As your leader, I'm not afraid of criticism ... or to take a stand. I won't back down from my principles."