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Alberta Politics

Peggy Wright wins NDP nomination in Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview, firefighter Jason Curry joins NDP race in Calgary-Beddington

Provincial NDP President and teacher Peggy Wright defeated former public school board trustee Michelle Draper to secure to Alberta NDP nomination in Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview.

“I have watched the thoughtful discourse Rachel Notley and the NDP have been having with Albertans to develop proposals for a better path forward,” said Wright. “Right now, Albertans are facing the biggest affordability crisis in decades, our healthcare and education systems are struggling, and we need a change.

Incumbent NDP MLA Deron Bilous, who was first elected in 2012, is not seeking re-election.

And there are more nomination updates:

Jason Curry NDP nomination candidate Calgary-Beddington
Jason Curry (source: JasonCurry.ca)
  • Calgary Firefighter lieutenant Jason Curry joins past candidate Amanda Chapman in the race for the NDP nomination in Calgary-Beddington on October 17, 2022. Curry is the Director of Government Relations for the Calgary Firefighters Association.
  • And in today’s edition of “not your grandfather’s NDP,” former Calgary Economic Development vice president Court Ellingson will challenge former bank vice president Usman Sadiq for the NDP nomination in Calgary-Foothills on October 2, 2022.
  • Retired teacher Tim Gruber is seeking the NDP nomination in Cypress-Medicine Hat. Drew Barnes, the Independent MLA for the south east Alberta riding, has asked to be allowed to rejoin the United Conservative Party Caucus.

Upcoming nomination meetings:

  • September 15 – Calgary-Mountain View NDP
  • September 17 – Edmonton-Gold Bar NDP
  • September 20 – Edmonton-Castle Downs NDP
  • September 24 – Calgary-Shaw NDP
  • September 24 – Edmonton-South NDP
  • September 25 – Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood NDP
  • September 27 – Spruce Grove-Stony Plain NDP
  • September 28 – Sherwood Park NDP
  • September 29 – Chestermere-Strathmore NDP
  • October 1 – Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills NDP
  • October 2 – Calgary-Foothills NDP
  • October 5 – Red Deer-North NDP
  • October 11 – Edmonton-City Centre NDP
  • October 17 – Calgary-Beddington NDP

I am tracking candidates and building a list of people running for nominations to run in Alberta’s next provincial election. If you know of someone running, please post a comment below or email me at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. Thank you!

(I am launching a Substack. Sign up at  Daveberta Substack).

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Alberta Politics

Big Alberta Candidate Nomination Updates

I’ve been away for the past week, so there’s a lot to catch up on. Here are some of the latest candidate nomination updates:

  • Teacher Michael Lisboa-Smith defeated Lesley MacKinnon, and Shiraz Mir to become the Alberta NDP candidate in Calgary-North West at a September 7 nomination meeting. Lisboa-Smith was endorsed by former NDP MLA Michael Connolly and U of C NDP Club President Devon Langdon.
  • Jennifer Yeremiy was nominated as the Alberta Party candidate in Calgary-North West on September 7.
  • R.J. Sigurdson was nominated as the United Conservative Party candidate in Highwood.
  • MLA Rod Loyola defeated psychologists association president Dr. Judi Malone and ETS driver Manpreet Tiwana to become the NDP candidate at a September 10 nomination meeting.
  • MLA Heather Sweet was acclaimed as the NDP candidate in Edmonton-Manning at a September 8 nomination meeting. Sweet has represented the riding since 2015.
  • MLA Shannon Phillips was acclaimed as the NDP candidate in Lethbridge-West at a September 11 nomination meeting. Phillips was first elected in 2015 and served as Minister of Environment and Parks during the NDP’s term in government. She is currently the Official Opposition Finance critic.

Upcoming nomination meetings:

  • September 14: Former public school board trustee Michelle Draper and NDP provincial president Peggy Wright will face each other at a nomination vote in Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview.
  • September 15: MLA Kathleen Ganley is running for the NDP nomination in Calgary-Mountain View.
  • September 17: MLA Marlin Schmidt is seeking the NDP in Edmonton-Gold Bar.
  • September 20: MLA Nicole Goehring is facing a nomination challenge from Nurmaiya Brady in Edmonton-Castle Downs.
  • September 24: Former city council candidate Rhiannon Hoyle and University of Alberta researcher Nasim Boroumand is seeking the NDP nomination in Edmonton-South.
  • September 25: Teacher David Cloutier is seeking the NDP nomination in Calgary-Shaw.
  • September 25: MLA Janis Irwin is seeking the NDP nomination in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood.
  • September 27: Former Spruce Grove city councillor Chantal Saramaga-McKenzie and former Parkland County Mayor Rod Shaigec are seeking the NDP nomination in Spruce Grove-Stony Plain.
  • September 28: Five candidates are running for the NDP nomination in Sherwood Park. Strathcona County Councillor Katie Berghofer, renewable energy entrepreneur Kyle Kasawski, teacher Jeff Manchak former MLA Annie McKitrick, and information technology professional Vivian Mills will be on the ballot.
  • September 29: Calgary Transit operator Raj Jessel is seeking the NDP nomination in Chestermere-Strathmore. Jessel was the federal NDP candidate in Calgary-Shepard in the 2021 election.
  • October 1: Cheryl Hunter Loewen is seeking the NDP nomination in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills.
  • October 5: Former Red Deer City Manager Craig Curtis and past school board candidate Jaelene Tweedle are seeking the NDP nomination in Red Deer-North.

I am tracking candidates and building a list of people running for nominations to run in Alberta’s next provincial election. If you know of someone running, please post a comment below or email me at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. Thank you!

(I am launching a Substack. Sign up at  Daveberta Substack)

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Alberta Politics

Jackie Lovely wins close UCP nomination vote in Camrose, NDP MLA Deron Bilous not running for re-election in Edmonton-Beverly Clareview

MLA Jackie Lovely fended off a strong challenge from Beaver County Reeve Kevin Smook to narrowly secure the United Conservative Party nomination in Camrose.

Lovely has served as MLA for the central Alberta riding since 2019 and was appointed parliamentary secretary to the Associate Minister of Status of Women in November 2021. She previously ran as the Wildrose Party candidate in Edmonton-Ellerslie in 2012 and 2015.

Smook was first elected to council council in 2013 and was the Alberta Party candidate in Camrose in 2019.

Lovely admitted today that she was the only other person to join MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk on an awards committee that selected a sexist and racist essay for a third place prize. In a written statement Lovely said she regretted the decision but was not available to answer any questions about why she chose the essay (or whether she actually read it before giving the $200 prize). There were only 5 essays submitted for the Her Vision Inspires essay contest.

Response to Lovely’s nomination on social media was largely muted, with the notable exception of Haydn Place, the acting chief of staff to Minister of Infrastructure Nicholas Milliken, who tweeted: “Glad the former Alberta Party candidate was defeated by a long-term UCP/Wildrose activist like Ms Lovely.” 

Deron Bilous not running for re-election

Deron Bilous NDP MLA Edmonton Beverly Clareview
Deron Bilous with his original NDP MLA colleagues, David Eggen, Rachel Notley and Brian Mason, following the party’s then-breakthrough in 2012. (Source: Facebook)

After three-terms in the Legislature, NDP MLA Deron Bilous announced today that he will not run for re-election in Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview. The former NDP economic development minister was first elected in 2012 by unseating Progressive Conservative MLA Tony Vandermeer. 

“It has been an honour to serve as the member for Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview for the past 10 years, but after much consideration, I have decided not to seek re-election,” Bilous said in a statement. 

“I am incredibly proud of everything the NDP has accomplished during our time in government and as an opposition caucus, but the time has come for me to pursue new adventures in the private sector.” 

“I would like to thank my constituents, volunteers, and party members for their support over the last decade. Together, we have built a stronger community in Beverly-Clareview.”

The working-class north east Edmonton riding has a long-history of NDP representation, with former party leader Ray Martin representing the riding from 2004 to 2008 and former city councillor Ed Ewasiuk holding the riding from 1986 to 1993. Bilous was re-elected in 2019 with 50 per cent of the vote.

No candidates have declared their intentions to run for the NDP nomination but names that immediately began circulating in political circles include former school trustee Michelle Draper, city councillor Aaron Paquette, recent city council candidate Cori Longo, and past federal NDP candidate Charmaine St. Germain.

Kathleen Ganley running for re-election in Calgary-Mountain View NDP

MLA and former justice minister Kathleen Ganley is seeking her party’s nomination for re-election in Calgary-Mountain View.

Ganley was first elected in Calgary-Buffalo in 2015 and hopped across the river to run in Mountain View after the riding boundaries were redrawn for the 2019 election (allowing former Calgary-Fort MLA Joe Ceci to run for re-election in Buffalo). She was re-elected in 2019 with 47.3 per cent of the vote.

  • Applications to run for the UCP nomination in Highwood close at 5:00 pm on August 12.
  • Three candidates – Michael Lisboa-SmithLesley MacKinnon, and Shiraz Mir – are running for NDP nomination in Calgary-North West scheduled for September 7.
  • David Cloutier is running for NDP nomination in Calgary-Shaw. The riding is currently represented by UCP leadership candidate Rebecca Schulz and was held by NDP MLA Graham Sucha from 2015 to 2019.
  • The showdown between UCP leadership candidate Leela Aheer and political opponents in her Chestermere-Strathmore continues on August 27 at the riding association’s next annual general meeting.

Upcoming nomination meetings

  • August 18 – Red Deer-North UCP
  • September 7 – Calgary-North West NDP
  • September 10 – Edmonton-Ellerslie NDP
  • September 15 – Calgary-Mountain View NDP
  • September 17 – Edmonton-Gold Bar NDP

I am tracking candidates and building a list of people running for nominations to run in Alberta’s next provincial election. If you know of someone running, please post a comment below or email me at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. Thank you!

(I am launching a Substack. Sign up at  Daveberta Substack

Categories
Alberta Politics

The race to become Edmonton’s next mayor is about to get crowded

Former City Councillor Kim Krushell has announced her candidacy in Edmonton’s 2021 Mayoral election at a press conference this week.

Krushell represented northwest Edmonton’s Ward 2 from 2004 to 2013 but her city hall career began in the mid-1990s when she worked as executive assistant to Councillor Lillian Staroszik and Larry Langley. She left municipal politics in 2013, becoming President of Lending Assist.

While Krushell never ran for provincial political office, she has past ties to the now defunct Progressive Conservative Party. She was the President of the PC Party association in Edmonton-Calder in the early 2000s and later served as Edmonton regional director and budget director for the PC Party until Jason Kenney became party leader in 2017.

With current Mayor Don Iveson not running for re-election, Krushell joins already announced candidates Cheryl Watson, Brian Gregg, Greg Zawaski, and, as was first reported on this website on Jan. 19, Councillor Mike Nickel.

Another former city councillor, Michael Oshry, is also said to be assembling a mayoral campaign team, and former councillor and Member of Parliament Amarjeet Sohi is rumoured to be considering a run for mayor.

And a number of new candidates have announced their plans to run for City Council:

Gino Akbari, Gabrielle Battiste and Tony Caterina have announced their plans to run in in the central Edmonton Ward O-day’min. 

Tony Caterina City Councillor PC MLA Candidate
Tony Caterina

Caterina is a four-term City Councillor from northeast Edmonton who is running in the new downtown Ward because his current Ward 7 is being heavily redistributed between the new Ward Metis and Ward tastawiyiniwak (ᑕᐢᑕᐃᐧᔨᓂᐊᐧᐠ).

The boundary change puts Caterina in a position where if he did not choose a brand new ward to run in, he could have either run in the north half of his current ward, facing off against Councillor Jon Dziadyk, or in the south side of his current ward, which now stretches south of the North Saskatchewan River to Bonnie Doon and King Edward Park. He previously ran in downtown as the Alberta Alliance candidate in Edmonton-Centre in the 2004 provincial election.

Caterina will be running in the area vacated by two-term Councillor Scott McKeen, who announced this month that he will not be seeking re-election. McKeen ran against Caterina in Ward 7 in 2010 and endorsed his main challenger, Kris Andreychuk, in the 2017 campaign. 

Edmonton City Council's new Ward boundaries with new Indigenous names.
Edmonton City Council’s new Ward boundaries with new Indigenous names.

In Ward Metis, which includes the southern half of Caterina’s current ward, Ashley Salvador and Liz John-West have filed their nomination papers. Salvador is an urban planner and President and Chair of YEGarden Suites. John-West is the Regional Service Director for WJS Canada and was a candidate in the 2017 municipal election.

In Edmonton’s south west Ward sipiwiyiniwak, first-term Councillor Sarah Hamilton has announced her plans to seek re-election. 

Ashley Salvador Ward Métis City Council candidate Edmonton
Ashley Salvador

And in Edmonton’s northeast, Lana Palmer and Tricia Velthuizen are running in the new Ward Dene. Palmer is a local photographer. Velthuizen is Press Secretary to Minister of Service Alberta Nate Glubish, and previously worked for the United Conservative Party and Wildrose Party caucuses.

Recently announced candidates in Ward Papastew include student Haruun Ali (who had previously announced his candidacy in Ward Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi), DJ and entertainment company owner Tarcy Schindelka, and Byron Vass.

Local celebrity Dan Johnstone has announced his plans to run in Ward Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi. Johnstone, who also goes by the nickname “Can Man Dan,” previously ran for city council in Ward 10 in 2013, in Ward 12 in a 2016 by-election, and mounted a brief campaign for the Alberta Party nomination in Edmonton-South ahead of the 2019 provincial election.

Edmonton Public School Board Trustee Michelle Draper announced she will not be seeking re-election. Draper has represented Ward B on the Edmonton Public School Board since 2013.

For the Edmonton Catholic School District, Sandra Palazzo is running for re-election in Ward 72, Carla Smiley in Ward 73, Alene Mutala in Ward 75, and Lisa Turchansky is running in Ward 76.

As with previous elections, I am maintaining a list of people who have declared their intentions to run for mayor, city council, or school board in the October 18, 2021 municipal elections. 

Categories
Alberta Politics

Nomination Day kicks off Edmonton’s 2017 Municipal Elections

Photo: Sarah Chan (left) and her husband, Mayor Don Iveson (right), at Nomination Day at Edmonton City Hall.

Dedicated citizens across Alberta gathered this morning in town halls and community centres to submit their nomination forms to become official candidates in this year’s municipal elections. In Edmonton, 132 candidates and their supporters stood in a line stretching through City Hall’s grand atrium in order to file their papers and officially start their bids for election.

For Edmonton, this represents a record number of candidates running for Mayor, City Council and the city’s two school boards.

Over the past year, I have maintained a list of declared nomination candidates for Council and the Public and Catholic school boards. This list is now updated to reflect the names of the candidates approved to run in the October 16, 2017 municipal elections.

On this year’s ballots, Edmontonians will see a few familiar faces and the names of many first time candidates. Three long-time local politicians will not be on the ballot this year. Longtime councillors Bryan Anderson and Ed Gibbons, and one-term councillor Michael Oshry, have decided to not seek re-election.

I will delve deeper into the candidates and the issues facing voters in this election in the weeks ahead, but here are a few initial observations about Nomination Day:

  • By my count, 48 of the 132 candidates running in Edmonton’s municipal elections are women. 13 of the 20 candidates running for the Edmonton Catholic School District are women. 11 of 28 candidates running for the Edmonton Public School Board are women. 24 of 84 Mayoral and City Council candidates are women. Equal Voice has an excellent analysis of the gender balance in this election on their website, yegparity.ca.
  • Mayor Don Iveson is being challenged by 12 candidates. Most recognizable among the challengers is perennial candidate Don Koziak. Koziak has run in at least nine municipal and provincial elections since 1995, including the mayoral race in 2007 and briefly in 2010, and as the Wildrose Party candidate in Edmonton-Glenora in 2012 and 2015.
  • Edmonton Public School Trustee Michelle Draper was acclaimed in Ward B. She is the only candidate in Edmonton to be acclaimed in this election.
  • The most crowded City Council race is in Ward 4, where 13 candidates are running to replace retiring Councillor Ed Gibbons. The least crowded City Council race is in Ward 2, where incumbent Councillor Bev Esslinger is facing 2 challengers in her bid for re-election.

Here are a few of the photos from Nomination Day that I have posted on Flickr under Creative Commons licensing:

Aaron Paquette, candidate for Edmonton City Council in Ward 4.
Aaron Paquette, candidate for Edmonton City Council in Ward 4.
Bridget Stirling, candidate for Edmonton Public School Board in Ward G.
Bridget Stirling, candidate for Edmonton Public School Board in Ward G.
Kris Andreychuk (right) and his family. Kris is running for Edmonton City Council in Ward 7.
Kris Andreychuk (right) and his family. Kris is running for Edmonton City Council in Ward 7.
Michael Janz, candidate for Edmonton Public School Board in Ward F.
Michael Janz, candidate for Edmonton Public School Board in Ward F.
Laura Thibert, candidate for the Edmonton Catholic School Board in Ward 77.
Laura Thibert, candidate for the Edmonton Catholic School Board in Ward 77.
Ahmed Knowmadic Ali, candidate for Edmonton Public School Board in Ward A.
Ahmed Knowmadic Ali, candidate for Edmonton Public School Board in Ward A.
Categories
Alberta Politics

PCs and NDP seal up full slates, election call expected tomorrow

With Alberta’s provincial election expected to be called tomorrow, both the governing Progressive Conservatives and New Democratic Party are expected to have candidates in place in all 87 constituencies today. If the writ is dropped tomorrow, April 7, then the provincial election will be held 28 days later on Tuesday, May 5, 2015.

Tony Caterina City Councillor PC MLA Candidate
Tony Caterina

The final PC candidate nomination meetings being held today are in Calgary-McCall and Calgary-Fort. There are six candidates seeking the nomination in Calgary-McCall (Rajinder Harika, Issa MosaMuhammad Rasheed, Jagdeep Sahota, Jangbahadur Sidhu and Kuldeep Sidhu) and four in Calgary-Fort (Bev DeSantis, Andy Nguyen, Christopher Primeau and Peter Singh). Ms. DeSantis has received Mr. Prentice’s endorsement in the Fort nomination.

Edmonton City Councillor Tony Caterina is the PC candidate in Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview. Mr. Caterina will face hard-working first-term NDP MLA Deron Bilous. Mr. Caterina is well-known in northeast Edmonton, having represented that area since 2007, and his candidacy will keep this swing riding in play.

Since 2004, the constituency has changed hands three times between the PCs and NDP, with Mr. Bilous defeating PC MLA Tony Vandermeer in 2012 by 245 votes.

Harman Kandola Edmonton Ellerslie
Harman Kandola

This is Mr. Caterina’s second attempt at provincial office. He stood as the Alberta Alliance candidate in Edmonton-Centre in the 2004 provincial election.

According to CBC reports,  when the election is called Mr. Caterina will suspend his City Council salary but he will continue to participate in council meetings during the campaign.

Mr. Caterina replaces Harman Kandola, who was nominated as the PC candidate in that constituency in late March. Mr. Kandola is now the appointed PC candidate in Edmonton-Ellerslie, a spot that was vacated under controversy by former cabinet minister Naresh Bhardwaj.

The PCs appointed Catherine Keill as their candidate to challenge Liberal/Green/Alberta Party candidate Laurie Blakeman in Edmonton-Centre. Ms. Keill is the Director of Community and Caucus Outreach in the Premier’s Office and previously worked for Mr. Prentice when he was a cabinet minister in Ottawa. She also served as Deputy Chief of Staff to former Mayor Stephen Mandel and was campaign manager for former City Councillor Karen Leibovici‘s mayoral election bid in 2013. The last time a PC candidate was elected in this constituency, Peter Lougheed was premier.

I have updated the list of Alberta Election candidates with these and more changes.


Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley NDP Leader Alberta
Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley

Mack, Ryan and I are excited to announce that NDP leader Rachel Notley will be our guest on the AbVote Google Hangout at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 9, 2015. Watch the hangout live at abvote.ca and send us your questions using the #abvote hashtag on Twitter. You can also watch previous hangouts with Edmonton-Centre MLA Laurie Blakeman and the Wildrose leadership candidates.

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Alberta Politics

Tuesday Night candidate nomination updates in Alberta

With the spectre of a spring provincial general election hanging over us, the Progressive Conservative, Wildrose and New Democratic parties are in a hurry to nominate candidates in Alberta’s 87 constituencies. On Jan. 19, 2015, the PC Party announced that nomination votes would be opened in 12 more constituencies on Feb. 28, (in addition to the 35 constituencies scheduled to hold nomination contests on Feb 21, 2015). This means the PC Party will have more than half of their election candidates nominated before the end of February 2015.

In desperate need of good news, the Wildrose Party is expected to soon announce a handful of newly nominated candidates in constituencies across Alberta. The Liberals have yet to nominate any candidates.

Here are the latest candidate nomination updates, by constituency:

Ron Casey Banff Cochrane MLA
Ron Casey

Banff-Cochrane: Progressive Conservative MLA Ron Casey has announced plans to run for his party’s nomination. Mr. Casey was first elected in 2012 and was the only PC MLA elected from rural southern Alberta in that election. Scott Wagner remains the only candidate in the Wildrose nomination contest, as Paul McLean withdrew from the contest soon after the mass-floor crossing of Wildrose MLAs in December 2014.

Calgary-Northern Hills: MLA Teresa Woo-Paw declared on Twitter that she is running for re-election. The two-term MLA is being challenged for the PC nomination by mortgage broker and L.L.B. graduate Aryan Sadat.

Calgary-VarsityStephanie Mclean is seeking the NDP nomination, scheduled for February 21, 2015. Ms. Mclean recently stood as the NDP candidate in the Calgary-Elbow by-election and will also soon be nominated as the federal NDP candidate in the new Calgary-Confederation riding.

Sarah Hoffman NDP Edmonton Glenora
Sarah Hoffman

Edmonton-Glenora: As predicted in my previous update, Edmonton Public School Board Chairperson Sarah Hoffman will seek the NDP nomination, scheduled for Feb. 13, 2015. Ms. Hoffman was first elected to the school board in 2010. Ms. Hoffman’s candidacy has been endorsed by fellow trustees Michael Janz, Michelle Draper, and Ray Martin.

Edmonton-Gold Bar: This will be a race to watch. PC MLA David Dorward plans to seek re-election. Gold Bar was held by the Liberals from 1986 until 2012, when popular MLA Hugh MacDonald retired. The lack of Liberal incumbent led to a three-way race which saw Mr. Dorward elected with 33% of the vote. Placing second in that race with 29% was NDP candidate Marlin Schmidt, who is already nominated to run again.

Kerry Towle
Kerry Towle

Innisfail-Sylvan Lake: Wildrose-turned-PC MLA Kerry Towle announced she will seek the PC nomination. Ms. Towle crossed the floor to the PCs in late November 2014.

Little Bow: Bev Muendel-Atherstone announced on Facebook that she has submitted her nomination papers to run in this southern rural constituency. Ms. Muendel-Atherstone earned 6.15% of the vote as the NDP candidate in the 2012 election.

Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills: Town of Carstairs Councillor Nathan Cooper is running for the Wildrose Party nomination in this central Alberta constituency. Mr. Cooper currently serves as Chief of Staff for the Wildrose Official Opposition.

Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre: The Sundre RoundUp reports that the former Wildrose-turned-Independent MLA Joe Anglin is considering a run for the PC nomination in his constituency. First elected as a Wildrose MLA in 2012, Mr. Anglin also led the Alberta Green Party from 2008 to 2009.

Vermilion-Lloydminster: First-term PC MLA Richard Starke announced on Twitter that he will seek the PC nomination in this east central Alberta constituency. Mr. Starke briefly served as Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation from 2013 until 2014.


I have added these updates to the list of nominees and nomination candidates planning to run in Alberta’s next general election. Please email david.cournoyer [at] gmail.com if there are additions to the list. Thank you.