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This is one of 28 reports that provide the background for the Genuine Progress Indicators (GPI) System of Sustainable Well-being Accounts. It explains how we derived the index that was earlier published in Sustainability Trends 2000: The Genuine Progress Statement for Alberta, 1961 to 1999. The research for this report was completed near the end of 2000.

This report examines the trends in the health of Alberta's political democracy as a measure of the condition of a civil society. It looks at trends in voter participation in municipal, provincial and federal elections, days sitting in the Alberta Legislature, and the use of closure in debate in the Alberta Legislature from 1961 to 1999. There are no estimates of the economic benefits or costs of a health democracy. The trends in voter participation are intended to serve as a proxy for the health of a democratic society where citizens feel interested in engaging in political processes and feel that their input and views are respected by elected officials. Days sitting in the Alberta Legislature and the use of closure in legislative debate are used as proxies for the health of civil debate-a key to a healthy, vibrant and open society. The trends in voter participation are used in the Alberta GPI accounting system in conjunction with 22 other societal and human health indicators that make up the full 51 GPIs in the Alberta GPI well-being accounting system.