Photo: Danielle Larivee, Tanya Fir, Lori Sigurdson, and Sonya Savage.
I took a short break from writing about Alberta politics while I was on vacation over the past few weeks, so I am catching up this morning on the latest Alberta nomination candidate news.
Fir defeats former Ontario MP Jeff Watson for UCP nomination in Calgary-Peigan
Tanya Fir defeated former Ontario Member of Parliament Jeff Watson and past Wildrose Party candidate Jeevan Mangat to secure the United Conservative Party nomination in Calgary-Peigan. Fir was backed by her campaign chair, Craig Chandler, a controversial conservative activist.
Quebec MP Maxime Bernier became momentarily involved in this nomination race when Fir’s campaign sent an email to their supporters claiming Maxine Bernier had endorsed his candidate. The real Bernier responded with an email disputing the claim and instead appeared to endorse his “good friend” Watson.
Larivee seeks re-election in Lesser Slave Lake
MLA Danielle Larivee is seeking the New Democratic Party nomination in Lesser Slave Lake. Larivee was first elected in 2015 unseating 7-term PC MLA Pearl Calahasen. She currently serves as Minister of Children’s Services and the Status of Women.
Former Liberal MLA runs for Alberta Party nomination
In Edmonton-South West, former Liberal Party MLA Mo Elsalhy is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Elsalhy was the MLA for Edmonton-McClung from 2004 and 2008 and ran for the party leadership in 2008. He attempted a comeback in 2012 but was unable unseat PC MLA David Xiao. During his time as MLA he served in various critic roles, including as Official Opposition critic for Justice and Public Safety, and Innovation and Science.
Here are some of the other recent updates to the list of candidates running for party nominations ahead of the 2019 Alberta provincial general election:
Calgary-Beddington – Randy Kerr defeated Josephine Pon to win the UCP nomination. Kerr was recently the focus of media attention when it was discovered he had made several social media postings that cast doubt on the legitimacy of climate change.
Calgary-East – Andre Chabot and Issa Mossa are the latest candidates to enter this UCP nomination contest. Chabot was a Calgary city councillor from 2005 to 2017. He placed a distant third in the October 2017 mayoral election, earning 3.08 percent of the vote. Mossa ran for Calgary city council in Ward 10 in 2017.
Calgary-Falconridge – Christopher Steeves is seeking the UCP nomination. He served as a councillor with the City of Chestermere from 2005 to 2017.
Calgary-Fish Creek – Cyndy Morin has withdrawn from the UCP nomination contest in this south Calgary district and endorsed fellow candidate Cindy Ross over incumbent MLA Richard Gotfried. Morin had already previously withdrawn from the UCP nomination contest in Calgary-North West before the nomination vote was held in that district.
Morin noted on her Facebook page that she intends to “bring a defamation suit against the NDP for blatantly publishing what they refer to as facts.” The NDP issued a press release days ago “asking the Election Commissioner of Alberta to investigate UCP nomination candidate Cyndy Morin, running in Calgary-Fish Creek, for accepting and promoting corporate donations to her campaign.”
Calgary-North – Devin Green is seeking the UCP nomination.
Calgary-North East – Rajan Sawhney is seeking the UCP nomination.
Calgary-North West – Sonya Savage defeated Jennele Giong and Cam Khan to win the UCP nomination. Savage is a pipeline lobbyist and served as the president of the Progressive Conservative Party youth wing in 1992.
Calgary-Peigan – Herjinder Saran is seeking the Alberta Party nomination.
Edmonton-City Centre – MLA David Shepherd is seeking the NDP nomination, which is scheduled to take place on September 6, 2018. Shepherd was first elected in 2015 and in 2017 was voted “MLA to watch in 2018” in the Best of Alberta Politics survey. Stephen Hammerschmidt is the latest candidate to enter the UCP nomination contest in this district.
Edmonton-Glenora – Marjorie Newman, David Salopek, and former Edmonton-Riverview PC MLA Steve Young are seeking the UCP nomination. A nomination meeting will be held on August 15, 2018.
Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood – Atul Ranade is seeking the UCP nomination. Ranade previously withdrew from UCP nomination contests in Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview and Edmonton-South.
Edmonton-Manning – Dakota Drouillard is seeking the UCP nomination. Jitender Sahni has withdrawn from the Alberta Party nomination contest.
Edmonton-Meadows – Amrit Matharu has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate.
Edmonton-Mill Woods – James Moore is seeking the Alberta Party nomination.
Edmonton-Riverview – MLA Lori Sigurdson has been nominated as the NDP candidate in this district. She was first elected in 2015 and currently serves as Minister of Seniors and Housing.
Edmonton-South – Inderdeep Sandhu is seeking the UCP nomination.
Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville– Marvin Olsen is seeking the Alberta Party nomination.
Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland: Don McCargar has been nominated as the Alberta Party candidate. McCargar made headlines in 2016 when he put his $7.5 million Parkland County mansion for sale. The palatial home included a sauna, wet bar, six-vehicle garage, and a car wash, as well as herringbone marble tiles covering the floors and hand-painted dome murals adorning the ceilings.
Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright – Blake Prior is seeking the UCP nomination. Prior was the Progressive Conservative candidate in the Battle River-Wainwright district in the 2015 election.
West Yellowhead– Stuart Taylor is seeking the UCP nomination. Taylor was the Wildrose Party candidate in this district in the 2012 and 2015 elections. He is a former Hinton town councillor and was defeated in his bid for mayor in 2017.
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!
One reply on “Wednesday Morining Alberta Candidate Nomination Update”
Here ate the facts on the Bernier issue. This is the email we sent out. So you should correct your post
Subject: MISUNDERSTANDING With Maxime Bernier Cancelled Meeting
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2018 21:56:55 -0600
From: Tanya Fir Campaign
To: Tanya Fir Campaign
MISUNDERSTANDING WITH MAXIME BERNIER CANCELLED MEETING
Dear friends,
I know you have received many emails from Tanya’s competitors. We have limited our amount, but, need to respond to this email. Thank you for reading.
You have received an email from Jeff Watson which we feel needs some clarification.
Below is the phone text transcript between a Mr. Karim Jivraj who was arranging the Maxime Bernier meeting for Tanya Fir and I. I simply copied and pasted it to this email below so you can see for yourself the confirmation that we did get. Maxime Bernier did endorse Karim Jivraj for his federal nomination in Calgary Centre.
A few things that need to be clarified:
It was Karim Jivraj from the federal Conservative Party that contacted us about a joint effort with Tanya Fir and him for Maxime Bernier as he clearly wanted our help in his federal nomination.
I did spell Maxime’s name wrong. I am sorry for that, typos happen in campaigns sometimes. My apologies to all.
We were told shortly before the event with Tanya Fir & Maxime that he would not be arriving due to transportation issues.
Those that did attend were provided a handout and invitation to a Maxime / Karim Jivarj event in the evening and apologies were given for Maxime’s last minute cancellation.
Tanya as you can see below in the text thread was also invited, but, she chose to continue door knocking.
We have not received an endorsement from Maxime Bernier as evidence by it not being listed on Tanya’s endorsement section see http://www.tanyafir.ca/endorsements, but, did expect one at the meeting that never transpired.
Now I do know that Jeff served with Maxime and understand they are friends, but, the timing of all of this seems very suspect being that the vote is just a few days away.
I am disappointed in the continued misinformation and attacks on Tanya and I just wanted to provide you the facts in this situation
Karim Jivraj’s website is http://www.karim2019.ca I just spoke with Karim and he claims to be as upset as I am. I am giving Karim the benefit of the doubt on this and that it was a series of misunderstandings because you can see in the text exchange between him and I that he really wanted to work with us and I have no reason to distrust him. It seems to be a scheduling error and I am willing to forgive. We need to be united against the federal Liberals and the provincial NDP.
Tanya will continue to call you and knock on your door and focus on the issues that matter to you. Like she said in her last email to you that “You will be bombarded by smooth pleas from a career politician and I am sure the personal attacks against me or my campaign will continue.”
Please check out Tanya’s completed website at http://www.tanyafir.ca and look at her policy section as well.
Tanya has run a factual campaign and we will continue to do so and her private sector work ethic will continue to shine.
Thank you for realizing there is two sides to everything.
Thank you for your continued support.
Craig B. Chandler
Campaign Chair
Committee To Elect Tanya Fir
Phone: 403-720-1911
Website: http://www.tanyafir.ca
Text Message Exchange Between Karim Jivraj And Craig Chandler
Me 07/08/18 12:08 AM
Hey give me a call tomorrow. We need to talk.
Karim Jivraj 07/09/18 7:32 PM
Spoke with Maxime. Happy to have Tanya speak at our event with him on July 19
Karim Jivraj 07/13/18 10:12 PM
Should I expect a call back ?
Me 07/14/18 12:55 PM
So what is happening as I kinda look like an absolute fool right now.
Karim Jivraj 07/14/18 5:17 PM
Get a Tanya Fir event going with local UCP members. Simple. No third party organizations involved.
Me 07/14/18 5:27 PM
Yes already changed and that is what is happening
Karim Jivraj 07/14/18 5:43 PM
Awesome – thanks for understanding Craig.
Karim Jivraj 07/16/18 3:27 PM
Hi Craig. Need an event description on Tanya Fir letterhead ASAP please
Me 07/16/18 3:34 PM
Just sent and I need to know if it is actually happening or if I need to cancel event
Karim Jivraj 07/16/18 3:39 PM
Ok can we just take out the “lost by only 645 votes part” ?
Me 07/16/18 3:41 PM
Done but I need confirmation so I do not have egg on my face again
Karim Jivraj 07/16/18 3:42 PM
Ok super. Just confirm that proceeds are going to Tanya Fir campaign ?
Me 07/16/18 3:49 PM
?
Me 07/16/18 3:50 PM
Well they are actually just going to the hotel because that is the cost of lunch but any additional donations will go to Tanya
Karim Jivraj 07/16/18 3:52 PM
Ok super. Let me just clear this with the office – give me an hour or so
Me 07/18/18 1:46 PM
Kinda ticked that I have had no response about tomorrow at all. I will cancel it once again. I am not happy being made a fool of twice
Karim Jivraj 07/18/18 2:03 PM
Everything is OK for tomorrow. When I say I will deliver, I deliver.
Karim Jivraj 07/18/18 2:04 PM
Event confirmed. Transportation arranged.
Me 07/18/18 2:05 PM
Ok
Karim Jivraj 07/18/18 2:06 PM
Now I need you to deliver for me.
Karim Jivraj 07/18/18 2:06 PM
1) Can you blast out my Campaign Launch invite to your membership ?
Karim Jivraj 07/18/18 2:07 PM
There will be food. Best club in the city.
Karim Jivraj 07/18/18 2:07 PM
I need Tamara to send that Tweet today so that I know you guys are serious about working together.
Karim Jivraj 07/18/18 2:09 PM
And I need the updated CPC Centre list.
Me 07/18/18 2:10 PM
Yes I have sent it to several people that are PGIB
Me 07/18/18 2:11 PM
I will call her she is in California
Karim Jivraj 07/18/18 3:22 PM
Can you blast out the invite to your whole membership ? We need 40 extra bodies
Me 07/18/18 3:23 PM
Yes I will
Karim Jivraj 07/18/18 3:30 PM
Ok super. I need the list in the next hour. I can drive over and come get it on a USB
Me 07/19/18 3:07 PM
Call me
Me 07/19/18 4:13 PM
I have 25 coming tonight and I told them they are free and you can buy them a drink. These are all Tanya supporters and the Assistant Campaign Manager for Tamara and board members of Calgary Peigan will also be there Maxine better stay the he’ll out of Peigan altogether now
Me 07/19/18 4:43 PM
I guess thus all in your hands and I hope you speak highly of Tanya people are watching
Karim Jivraj 07/21/18 2:07 PM
Thanks Craig. Sorry you and Tanya couldn’t make it. We had a really successful evening