Alberta NDP get their first contested nomination in Calgary-Varsity, more than 3,000 UCPers vote in Cardston-Siksika

Photo: Julia Hayter, Joseph Schow, Kara Levis, and Marg McCuaig-Boyd

The New Democratic Party has its first contested nomination race of this election season, and it is taking place in the newly redrawn Calgary-Varsity district. With current NDP MLA Stephanie Mclean not seeking re-election, MLA Michael Connolly announced he would run for re-election in the new district, which including a significant portion of the current Calgary-Hawkwood district he now represents. Julia Hayter is challenging Connolly for the NDP nomination. Hayter is a Constituency Assistant in Mclean’s office and has received the endorsement of the University of Calgary New Democratic Party Club.

More than 3,000 party members voted in this week’s United Conservative Party nomination contest in the new hour-glass shaped Cardston-Siksika district. The new district includes most of the current Little Bow and part of the current Cardston-Taber-Warner districts and is located in one of the strongest conservative voting areas of Alberta, referred to by many as Alberta’s ‘bible belt.’

The UCP contest in Cardston-Siksika saw Joseph Schow, who led field operations for Jason Kenney’s leadership campaign, defeat Marc Slingerland, the principal of Calvin Christian School in Coalhurst. Schow ran for the federal Conservative Party nomination ahead of the 2016 by-election in Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner and previously worked as chief of staff and campaign manager for Fort Saskatchewan-Sherwood Park MP Garnett Genuis.

The NDP immediately jumped to criticize some of Schow’s social conservative political positions, including his comments about women’s reproductive rights and gay-straight alliances.

Grande Prairie-Smoky MLA Todd Loewen has been nominated as the UCP candidate in the new Central Peace-Notley district. Dunvegan-Central Peace-Notley MLA Marg McCuaig-Boyd was chosen as the NDP candidate in Central Peace-Notley at a nomination meeting tonight. This will mark the first time since 1993 that two incumbent MLAs will run against each other in a general election in Alberta.

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

Banff-Kananskis – Conservative activist Cory Morgan’s bid to seek the NDP nomination has been denied by the NDP.

Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul – Town of Cold Lake mayor Craig Copeland is running for the UCP nomination in this new district. Copeland was the Progressive Conservative candidate in Bonnyville-Cold Lake in the 2015 election. Glenn Anderson is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Anderson is a former mayor of the town of St. Paul. In 2015, he ran for the PC Party nomination in Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills.

Calgary-Bow – Paul Godard is seeking the Alberta Party nomination.

Calgary-Cross – Jesse Minhas is seeking the UCP nomination. Minas ran for the Progressive Conservative nomination in this district ahead of the 2015 election and was the Wildrose Party candidate in Calgary-East in the 2012 election.

Calgary-Klein – Kara Levis has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate. Levis ran for the leadership of the Alberta Party in early 2018 and is the former President of the National Women’s Liberal Commission of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Calgary-North East – Gul Khan has become the first Liberal Party candidate nominated for the 2019 election.

Calgary-South East – Lawyer Eva Kiryakos is seeking the UCP nomination.

Drumheller-Stettler – Former Hanna mayor Mark Nikota has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate.

Edmonton-Castle Downs – Gennadi Boitchenko is seeking the UCP nomination. He served as Chair of United Way’s Engineering Challenge from 2011 to 2015.

Edmonton-Ellerslie – Yash Sharma has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate. Sharma is the Publisher of the Asia Tribune and producer of Harmony TV and in 2016 he was one of 32 candidates to run in the Ward 12 by-election.

Edmonton-Manning – Kulshan Gill is seeking the UCP nomination.

Edmonton-Whitemud – Jonathan Dai has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate. 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.

Grande Prairie-Wapiti – Travis Toews is seeking the UCP nomination. toes is the former president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.

Sherwood Park – Jason Lafond is seeking the UCP nomination.

West Yellowhead – Paul Chauvet is seeking the UCP nomination. Chauvet is a real estate broker in Whitecourt and was first elected to Whitecourt Town Council in 2013. He was re-elected to a second-term on council in October 2017.

---