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Alberta Politics

Aheer acclaimed but not in the clear. UCP investigating alleged ballot-stuffing in North East Calgary.

Photo: Nomination candidates Leela Aheer, Shawna Gawreluck, Janet Eremenko, and Elisabeth Hughes.

Despite the drama of restraining orders and alleged death threats, MLA Leela Aheer was acclaimed as the United Conservative Party candidate in the new Chesteremere-Strathmore district after she was the only candidate to officially submit her nomination papers with the party.

But Aheer is not in the clear. Current Strathmore-Brooks MLA Derek Fildebrandt, who now sits as an Independent Conservative and was barred from challenging Aheer in the nomination, is expected to challenge Aheer in the general election.

The drama continues in north east Calgary as the UCP says it is now investigating allegations of ballot-stuffing at the founding meeting of the Calgary-North East constituency association. The allegations were made public through a video posted by a UCP member on YouTube following the meeting. Current MLA Prab Gill, who was elected as a Progressive Conservative in the 2016 Calgary-Greenway by-election, is challenging Anand Chetty and Tariq Khan for the UCP nomination in this district.

Nate Pike has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate in Calgary-North East.

Mason to “discuss his political future”

Brian Mason
Brian Mason

NDP MLA Brian Mason held a press conference this morning to announce he will not seek re-election in 2019. Next year will mark thirty-years in elected office for Mason, who currently serves as MLA for Edmonton-Highlands Norwood and the Minister of Transportation.

He was elected to Edmonton City Council in 1989 and as the MLA for Edmonton-Highlands in a 2000 by-election. He is the longest serving MLA currently in the Alberta Legislature.

Here are some of the latest updates to the list of candidates running for party nominations ahead of Alberta’s 2019 provincial election:

Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul – Former St. Paul mayor Glenn Anderson has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate.

Calgary-Edgemont – Joanne Gui has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate.

Calgary-ElbowJanet Eremenko is seeking the New Democratic Party nomination. Eremenko was a candidate for Calgary City Council in Ward 11 in the October 2017 election where she finished third with 20 percent of the vote. Past Ward 8 city council candidate Chris Davis is seeking the UCP nomination in this district.

Drayton Valley-Devon – Kieran Quirke has been nominated as the NDP candidate. He is the Chair of the Leduc-Nisku Economic Development Board and co-chair of the Alberta NDP Rural Caucus.

Chris Nielsen MLA
Chris Nielsen

Edmonton-Decore – MLA Chris Nielsen is seeking the NDP nomination in this north Edmonton district. Nelson was first elected as MLA in 2015, earning 67 percent of the vote.

Edmonton-North West – Todd Ross is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Ross was the Liberal Party candidate in Edmonton-Castle Downs in 2015, earning 4.9 percent of the vote.

Edmonton-Whitemud  Elisabeth Hughes is seeking the UCP nomination. Hughes works as a constituency assistant in the office of Edmonton-Riverbend Member of Parliament Matt Jeneroux.

Leduc-Beaumont – MLA Shaye Anderson will seek the NDP nomination, which has been scheduled for July 18, 2018. Anderson was first elected in 2015 with 38 percent of the vote. Corinne Hubert is seeking the Alberta Party nomination.

Lesser Slave Lake – Judy Kim-Meneen is seeking the Alberta Party nomination.

Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin – LGBTQ activist Chevi Rabbitt is seeking the Alberta Party nomination in this newly redrawn central Alberta district.

Morinville-St. AlbertShawna Gawreluck is seeking the NDP nomination in this new district north of Edmonton. Gawreluck is a lab technologist and a resident of Sturgeon County. She was the federal NDP candidate in the 2017 by-election in the Sturgeon River-Parkland district.


If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list. Thank you!

Categories
Alberta Politics

Alberta Candidate Nomination Update: Lisa Davis in Calgary-Bow, Another former PC MLA in with Alberta Party, and more.

Calgary school trustee Lisa Davis announced this week that she will seek the United Conservative Party nomination in the Calgary-Bow district. While Davis’ conservative leanings are well-known, her desire to leave the trustee role she was only first elected to a short 9 months ago came as a surprise and has led to calls for her resignation by some groups.

Davis ran as part of the UCP-connected ‘Students Count’ slate in the October 2017 election. She will face at least three other candidates in the nomination contest, including her former campaign manager, Demetrios Nicolaides.

Heating up in Highwood

MLA Wayne Anderson had some choice words for Carrie Fischer and Richard Sigurdson, who are challenging him for the UCP nomination in the newly redrawn Highwood district:

“My understanding was she still wants to be Mayor of Okotoks, so I’m not clear on what her political intentions are. Whether it’s for name brand recognition or not. And then Mr. Sigurdson was the President of the PC Party here in Highwood. But, was a very inactive board. Didn’t raise any funds. They weren’t really meeting on a formal or regular basis.”

Anderson and Fischer faced each other in the 2015 election as the Wildrose Party and Progressive Conservative candidates in the district.

Another former PC MLA in with Alberta Party

It appears as though former Progressive Conservative MLA Ron Casey is organizing for the Alberta Party in the new Banff-Kananaskis district. Casey was MLA for Banff-Cochrane from 2012 to 2015 and Mayor of Canmore from 1998 to 2001 and 2004 and to 2012. He was unseated in 2015 by New Democrat Cameron Westhead.

Here are some of the latest updates to the list of candidates running for party nominations ahead of Alberta’s 2019 provincial election:

Calgary-KleinJulie Huston is seeking the UCP nomination. She previously worked as a constituency assistant to former Wildrose MLAs Paul Hinman and Jeff Wilson.

Calgary-North West – Lawyer Cyndy Morin is seeking the UCP nomination.

Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview – Jeffery Walters is seeking the UCP nomination.

Edmonton-City CentreStephanie Shostak is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Shostak is the former north Edmonton regional director for the PC Party. Shostak.

Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo – MLA Tany Yao is seeking the UCP nomination. He was first elected as MLA for this district in 2015 as the Wildrose Party candidate.

A number of candidate nomination meetings will be held in the next week:

June 23, 2018 – Kieran Quirke is expected to be nominated as the NDP candidate in Drayton Valley-Devon.

June 24, 2018 – Gul Khan is expected to be nominated as the Liberal Party candidate in Calgary-North East.

June 25, 2018 – Todd Loewen is expected to be nominated as the UCP candidate in Central Peace-Notley. The Alberta Party is expected to officially nominate Yash Sharma in Edmonton-Ellerslie, Carla Stolte in Edmonton-Glenora, and Mark Nikota in Drumheller-Stettler.

June 26, 2018 – Jonathan Dai is expected to be nominated as the Alberta Party candidate in Edmonton-Whitemud. Dai was the PC Party candidate in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood in the 2015 election and the Liberal candidate in Edmonton-Strathcona in the 2000 federal election.

June 27, 2018 – UCP members will select Joseph Schow or Marc Slingerland as their candidate in the new Cardston-Siksika district. Kara Levis is expected to be nominated as the Alberta Party candidate in Calgary-Klein.

June 28, 2018 – Marg McCuaig-Boyd is expected to be nominated as the NDP candidate in Central Peace-Notley.

June 29, 2018 – Nate Pike is expected to be nominated as the Alberta Party candidate in Calgary-North East.


If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list. Thank you!

Categories
Alberta Politics

Friday Night Nomination Candidate Update

Photo: Nicole Williams, Sarah Hoffman, Maryann Chichak, and Lisa Wardley.

Here are some of the latest updates to the list of candidates running for party nominations ahead of Alberta’s expected 2019 provincial general election:

Calgary-North EastNate Pike is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Pike is a paramedic who works for Alberta Health Services.

Calgary-North West: Lesley Doell is seeking the United Conservative Party nomination. Doell is a French Immersion facilitator and instructional coach with the Foothills School Division and the former executive director of the French Language Resource Centre in Grande Prairie. She had been considered a potential candidate for the federal Conservative nomination in Calgary-Centre in 2019.

Calgary-ShawMark Mantei is seeking the UCP nomination. He is an executive with a computer software and consulting company and previously served as the President of the Wildrose Party constituency association in this district. This district is currently represented by New Democratic Party MLA Graham Sucha.

Edmonton-GlenoraSarah Hoffman is seeking the NDP nomination in this west-central Edmonton district. Hoffman was first elected as MLA for this district in 2015 with 68 percent of the vote, She previously served two terms on Edmonton’s Public School Board including as chair from 2012 to 2015. She has served as Minster of Health and Deputy Premier since 2015.

Edmonton-West Henday – Two candidates are seeking the UCP nomination in this new west Edmonton district. Nicole Williams is a senior associate with Canadian Strategy Group and previously worked as an assistant to various MLAs and cabinet ministers in the old Progressive Conservative government. Lance Coulter is a former assistant to Edmonton-Griesbach Member of Parliament Kerry Diotte and previously served in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville – Conservative partisan activist Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk is seeking the UCP nomination. Armstrong-Homeniuk currently serves on the local UCP association and previously served as the Regional Director for Central Northeast Alberta on the PC Party board of directors. This district is currently represented by NDP MLA Jessica Littlewood.

Lac Ste. Anne-ParklandJerry Molnar is seeking the UCP nomination in this newly redrawn district northwest of Edmonton.

Peace River – There is a packed race for the UCP nomination in Peace River. The nomination candidates include former Town of Peace River chief administrative officer Kelly Bunn, Peace River music teacher Donald Lee, Mackenzie County deputy reeve Lisa Wardley, and former assistant to Jason Kenney in Ottawa Daniel Williams. This district is currently represented by NDP MLA Debbie Jabbour.

St. AlbertJeff Wedman is seeking the UCP nomination. Wedman is an officer with the Edmonton Police Service and is a retired Canadian Armed Forces pilot. He ran for the PC Party nomination in St. Albert ahead of the 2012 election. This district is currently represented by NDP MLA Marie Renaud, who is running for re-election.

Spruce Grove-Stony PlainDan Corbett is seeking the UCP nomination. He was briefly a candidate for the City of Spruce Grove mayoral election in 2017 but withdrew from the race before the election.

West Yellowhead – Town of Whitecourt mayor Maryann Chichak is seeking the UCP nomination in the newly redrawn West Yellowhead district, which now includes Whitecourt. Chichak was first elected as mayor in 2013 and was re-elected in 2017. She was the Wildrose Party candidate in the Whitecourt-Ste. Anne district in 2012, where she finished only 370 votes short of unseating PC MLA George VanderBurg. The West Yellowhead district is currently represented by NDP MLA Eric Rosendahl.

If you know any candidates who have announced their intentions to stand for party nominations, please send me an email at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. I will add them to the list.