When the NDP ended the PC's 44-year lock on power in Alberta a year ago, life under the dome was sure to change. The new government caucus was younger, more gender-balanced and less politically experienced than their Tory predecessors. Instead of the usual lawyers, rural politicians and farmers, the NDP caucus has five social workers, three university students, a cancer specialist and the owner of a yoga studio.

While the NDP differs from the PCs in a number of ways, a year in government has shown that some things have stayed the same.

The PCs focused their efforts and arguably many of their policies on rural Alberta where they could count on votes throughout their 44 years in power. The NDP are seen as an urban party. Although they won seats in rural ridings, most were in Edmonton and Calgary. That orientation has translated into a willingness to take on issues the Tories shunned to avoid losing rural votes, like LGBTQ equality, the phase-out of coal-fired power plants and regulating farm safety.

The NDP elected a nearly equal number of women and men in the May 2015 vote. That gender parity was reflected in Notley's cabinet which had a 50/50 split. The obvious sign of that change was when Calgary-Varsity MLA Stephanie McLean announced her pregnancy. Rules surrounding MLA absences from the legislature were so outdated they didn't cover maternity leaves. McLean was the first Alberta MLA to give birth while in office. Notley sent a clear message on where she stood on that issue -- she named McLean to her cabinet 10 days before she gave birth.

Notley also created Alberta's first standalone Status of Women ministry. The NDP caucus has three openly-LGBTQ MLAs, the first in Alberta history.

The Tories were seen as the party most comfortable in the boardrooms of corporate Calgary. Critics said that was reflected in a low corporate tax rate, a reluctance to raise royalty rates and a delay to acknowledge the effects of climate change that would have an impact on oil and gas companies. Shortly after the NDP took power, they raised the corporate tax by two percentage points, they dismantled the 10 per cent flat tax in favour of a progressive income tax structure that makes higher earners pay more. They also took the first step in raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2018, which has angered small business owners across the province.

The Tories long touted the so-called Alberta advantage -- no sales tax, a 10 per cent corporate and personal income tax, and a lack of debt. The NDP has reversed that, arguing that the current economic downturn is an excellent time to borrow money and build much-needed infrastructure. The new government hired former Bank of Canada David Dodge to write a report that mostly backed that position. Much to the dismay of those on the right, the NDP also plans to borrow to cover operating expenses, bringing the debt to a forecasted $57.6 billion in three years.

The Tories kept pushing back their plan to deal with the effects of greenhouse gases. But after years of claiming the oilsands had no environmental effects on the air and water of northern Alberta, the NDP made it one of their top priorities when they came into office. A panel led by well-known University of Alberta economist Andrew Leach met through the summer and the government relied on its report to come up with a climate plan, which was introduced in November. The government plans to introduce a carbon tax on Jan. 1, 2017, vowing to consumers to rely less on fossil fuels and to roll out a number of initiatives to switch to a greener economy.

The Tories steadfastly refused to introduce a PST even as they vowed to get off the rollercoaster of fluctuating oil and gas prices. The NDP is following the same path even though the government will borrow billions of dollars to pay for the day to day operations over the next three years. Economists say a PST makes sense but Notley has vowed that it won't happen in this term of office.

When they were in opposition, the NDP decried the culture of Tory political appointments to government, agencies, boards and commissions. But the Notley government appears to be heading down the same path. Former NDP MLA Bob Hawkesworth was named the executive director of the McDougall Centre shortly after losing the Calgary-Foothills byelection to Wildrose candidate Prasad Panda. Mark Wells, the former director of communications for the NDP became the managing director of the Public Affairs Bureau and Chris O'Halloran, the Alberta NDP party president, was hired as a stakeholder relations manager. The government's insistence that people need to apply for vacancies on the University of Calgary board of directors has raised suspicions that ABCs will be filled with NDP supporters.

The Progressive Conservatives faced a number of fundraising scandals during their time in office.

CBC News investigations revealed a number of constituency associations accepted donations from municipalities through tickets to fundraisers purchased by municipal officials who were then reimbursed through taxpayer dollars. The NDP has also faced its own scandals. The party was forced to apologize for the promotion of a Calgary fundraiser that made it sound like access was being sold to Notley and her cabinet. Notley was subject to an ethics probe over her involvement in fundraisers in Toronto and Edmonton. Although she was cleared, the ethics commissioner warned the party about the optics of the two events

As the bitter debate over Bill 6 pushed the fall legislature session into an extra week, government house leader Brian Mason invoked closure, or limited debate, on the contentious bill. When Mason was in opposition, he complained when the Tories used similar tactics.

Bills 45 and 46 sparked protests by public unions at the legislature after they were introduced by the PCs under Alison Redford. Two years later, farmers and ranchers held protests across the province and at the legislature to protest the implementation of Bill 6, the farm safety bill.