Tory members have spoken and declared Alison Redford the winner of the Progressive Conservative Association leadership and Premier-elect of the province of Alberta.
Redford received 37,104 votes, 1,713 more than her closest competitor, Gary Mar, who captured 35,491 votes.
The new leader took to the podium at the Edmonton Expo Centre shortly after she was declared the winner.
Redford has had a tough week with the passing of her mother, Helen, but she says she is excited about the future and that it is time for a change.
She went on to say, "make no mistake, we are going to do things differently."
The race for the Tory's top job came down to three candidates and a second vote to decide a winner.
Doug Horner, Gary Mar and Alison Redford made their way into the PC celebration to the applause of their many supporters.
The vote came down to the wire and Tories waited with anticipation as the votes were tallied.
The winning candidate needed 50 percent plus 1 of the votes to seal the deal. Because none of the three candidates were able to achieve a majority, the vote was narrowed down to two.
Members marked their ballots with their first and second choice. As no candidate received the 50 percent plus 1 needed to be declared outright as the victor, the second choice on the third place candidate's ballots came into play to decide the winner.
Redford thanked her fellow candidates and said she was thinking about her mom who was one of her biggest supporters.
To view a breakdown of the votes by constituency, visit the Progressive Conservatice Association of Alberta Website.
