Tag: Alberta Federal Candidate Nomination Update

Categories
Alberta Politics

George Chahal running for Liberals in Calgary-Skyview, Rick Peterson out of the race in Edmonton-Strathcona

George Chahal (source: Facebook)

Calgary City Councillor George Chahal announced this week that he is withdrawing his bid for re-election in the October municipal elections in order to run as the federal Liberal Party candidate in Calgary-Skyview. Chahal, who was first elected to city council in 2017, will face Conservative Party Member of Parliament Jag Sahota, New Democratic Party candidate Gurinder Singh Gill, and People’s Party candidate Harry Dhillon.

The northeast Calgary district was represented by Liberal MP Darshan Kang from 2015 until he left the Liberal caucus in 2017 following allegations of sexual harassment. The former two-term Liberal MLA sat as an Independent until his term was complete and did not seek re-election in 2019.

Rick Peterson out of Conservative race in Edmonton-Strathcona

RIck Peterson Edmonton-Strathcona
RIck Peterson is no longer in the race for the Conservative Party of Canada nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona. (Photo source: Facebook)

It appears as though former Conservative Party leadership candidate Rick Peterson is no longer seeking his party’s nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona. While neither Peterson nor the party have made any official public statement, Conservative Party sources say that he was disqualified from the race by the central party.

It now appears likely that his opponent, Tunde Obsan, the only other candidate in the race, will be acclaimed as the Conservative Party candidate in Edmonton-Strathcona. Obasan was the 2019 United Conservative Party candidate in Edmonton-South and is an audit manager with the provincial Department of Alberta Treasury Board and Finance.

Edmonton-Strathcona is currently represented by NDP MP Heather McPherson.

Don Iveson running in Edmonton-Centre?

Don Iveson
Don Iveson

Rumours continue to circulate that Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson could seek the federal Liberal nomination in Edmonton-Centre. Rumours about Iveson jumping into federal politics have been around for years, but his decision to not seek re-election as mayor and the proximity to an impending federal election has given new fuel to the speculation.

Iveson was first elected to City Council in 2007 and has served as Mayor since 2013. He is currently the chairperson of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Big City Mayors’ Caucus.

Former Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault, who represented the district from 2015 to 2019, has already announced his intentions to seek his party’s nomination.

Other nominations

The NDP have nominated Shawn Gray in Edmonton Riverbend.

Austin Mullins is now running for the Green Party nomination in Calgary-Centre. Mills had previously announced his intentions to seek the party’s nomination in Banff-Airdire, where he ran in 2019.

The right-wing People’s Party have nominated Dennis Trepanier in Battle River-Crowfoot, Edward Gao in Calgary-Confederation, Jonathan Hagel in Calgary-Midnapore, Kyle Scott in Calgary-Nose Hill, Michael Knoll in Calgary-Shepard, Brent Kinzel in Edmonton-West, Brigitte Yolande Maria Cecelia in St. Albert-Edmonton, and Murray MacKinnon in Sturgeon River-Parkland.

The party has also nominated two time Wildrose Party candidate Darryl Boisson in Peace River-Westlock and is expected to nominate Ben Whyte in Calgary-Rocky Ridge at a meeting on July 29.

The separatist Maverick Party has nominated Orrin Bliss in Bow River, Annelise Freeman in Calgary-Heritage, Josh Wylie in Foothills, and Physical Education and Social Studies teacher Todd Muir in Yellowhead.

I am building a list of candidates seeking party nominations to run as candidates in Alberta in the next federal election. If you have any additions to the list, please email me at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. Thank you.

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Murray Sigler nominated as Liberal candidate in Calgary Confederation

Murray Sigler
Murray Sigler

A notice on the Liberal Party of Canada website today noted that Murray Sigler has been acclaimed as the party’s candidate in Calgary-Confederation. Sigler is a well-known name in corporate Calgary, with a career stringing back to his days as a senior vice-president of Pacific Western Airlines and President of Canadian Airlines.

Most recently he completed a year as the interim CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, a role he filled on a permanent basis from 2002 to 2005 before his appointment as managing Director of the Alberta Government’s trade office in London, UK.

He worked as CEO of Sport Calgary from 2013 to 2019.

Sigler currently serves on the board of directors of the Calgary Airport Authority and the exclusive private Glencoe Club.

He led the Conservative caucus in the 1967 Calgary Model Parliament and donated $500 to the Alberta Party in 2017. He endorsed Alberta Party MLA Greg Clark in his bid for re-election in Calgary-Elbow in 2019.

Past provincial Liberal candidate David Gamble had previously announced his plans to seek the nomination.

Len Webber

Calgary-Confederation is currently represented by Conservative Member of Parliament Len Webber, who has been nominated by his party to run in the next election.

Webber was first elected to the House of Commons in 2015 with a narrow margin, finishing 1,586 voted ahead of Liberal Matt Grant, but was re-elected with a much wider margin 21,404 votes ahead of Liberal Jordan Stein in 2019.

Webber previously served as the Progressive Conservative MLA for Calgary-Foothills from 2004 until 2014, when he sat as an Independent. His father, Neil Webber, served as the PC MLA for Calgary-Bow from 1975 to 1989 and founded the Webber Academy private school in 1997.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is widely expected to be preparing to call an election this summer. Trudeau will be visiting Calgary tomorrow.

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Sabrina Grover nominated as the Liberal Party candidate in Calgary-Centre

Sabrina Grover has been acclaimed as the federal Liberal Party candidate in Calgary-Centre, according to a notice posted on the party website.

Grover is a Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer Nutrition International and Principal of Provoke Public Relations.

Grover was active in Alberta’a Progressive Conservative Party in the mid-2010s until Jason Kenney took over the leadership in 2017. She was also involved in Calgary-Hays MLA Ric McIver’s campaign for the party leadership in 2014.

Calgary-Centre was represented by Liberal MP Kent Hehr from 2015 to 2019. Hehr was defeated by Conservative Greg McLean in 2019. McLean is running for re-election.

See the full list of candidates nominated and seeking party nominations to run in Alberta in the next federal election.

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Federal Liberals nominate Devon Hargreaves as their candidate in Lethbridge

Devon Hargreaves

Devon Hargreaves has been nominated as the Liberal Party of Canada candidate in the federal district of Lethbridge. He is the first Liberal candidate nominated in Alberta ahead of the next federal election.

Hargreaves was the Liberal candidate in Lethbridge-East in the 2019 provincial election. He is the past Chair of the Lethbridge PrideFest and, in 2018, launched an e-petition to ban conversion therapy.

Incumbent Member of Parliament Rachael Harder has been nominated as the Conservative Party of Canada candidate. She was first elected in 2015 and was re-elected in 2019 with 65.8 per cent of the vote.

See the full list of candidates nominated or seeking nominations to run in Alberta in the next federal election, which could be called as earlier as this summer.

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Conservative MP Rachel Harder nominated in Lethbridge, Heather Mackenzie seeking NDP nomination in Edmonton-Centre

Federal candidates Rachel Harder, Heather Mackenzie and Blake Desjarlais (source: Twitter)
Federal candidates Rachel Harder, Heather Mackenzie and Blake Desjarlais (source: Twitter)

There are a few recent additions to the list of candidates running for federal party nominations in Alberta ahead of the next federal election, which is widely expected to called in the next few months:

Rachel Harder was nominated as the Conservative Party candidate in Lethbridge, a district she has represented since the 2015 election. She was re-elected in 2019 with 65.8 per cent of the vote and currently serves as the Official Opposition critic for Digital Government.

Blake Desjarlais was nominated as the NDP candidate in Edmonton-Griesbach. He was joined at his Zoom nomination meeting by Edmonton-Strathcona NDP MP Heather McPherson and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. Desjarlais is the Director of Public Affairs & National Operations for the Métis Settlements General Council.

Gurinder Singh Gill is seeking the NDP nomination in Calgary Skyview at a meeting scheduled to take place on March 22. Gill was the NDP candidate in this district in 2019 and he earned 14.9 per cent of the vote.

Kathleen Mpulubusi is expected to be acclaimed as the NDP candidate in St. Albert-Edmonton at a March 31 nomination meeting. She was the NDP candidate in this district in the 2019 election and she earned 15.2 per cent of the vote. Mpulubusi is a Letter Carrier with Canada Post and an active member of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

On April 1, Heather Mackenzie is expected to be nominated as the NDP candidate in Edmonton-Centre. Mackenzie is a former Edmonton Public School Board trustee and was an NDP candidate in Edmonton-West in the 2015 federal election. She previously ran for City Council in the downtown Ward 6 in the 2013 election.

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

8 more Conservative MPs acclaimed, Blake Desjarlais seeking NDP nomination in Edmonton-Griesbach

The non-Conservative parties are slowly starting the process of nominating candidates in Alberta ahead of the next federal election.

Blake Desjarlais is seeking the New Democratic Party nomination in Edmonton-Griesbach. Desjarlais is the Director of Public Affairs & National Operations for the Métis Settlements General Council and was the co-chairperson of the Alberta government’s Indigenous Climate Leadership Summits in 2017 and 2018. The nomination meeting is scheduled for March 18.

David Gamble is seeking the Liberal Party nomination in Calgary-Confederation. Gamble was the provincial Liberal candidate in Calgary-Klein in the 2015 election and previously served as Executive Vice-President of the Alberta Liberal Party.  

Government audit manager Tunde Obasan is challenging former federal Conservative leadership candidate Rick Petersen for the Conservative nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona. Obsan was the United Conservative Party candidate in Edmonton-South in the 2019 election where he was defeated by NDP MLA Thomas Dang.

The Conservatives are continuing to acclaim their incumbents in Alberta. As of today, I am not aware of any Conservative MPs in Alberta being challenged for their party nomination ahead of the next election.

Here is the list of the most recently acclaimed Conservatives in Alberta:

  • Calgary-Confederation – Len Webber has served as the Conservative MP for this district since 2015. He previously served as the Progressive Conservative and Independent MLA for Calgary-Foothills from 2004 to 2014.
  • Calgary-Skyview – Jag Sahota has served as the MP for this district since 2019. She was the PC candidate in Calgary-McCall in the 2015 provincial election.
  • Grande Prairie-Mackenzie – Chris Warkentin has served as an MP in northwest Alberta since 2006.
  • Fort McMurray-Cold Lake – David Yurdiga has served as an MP since 2014.
  • Edmonton-Mill Woods – Tim Uppal was first elected as MP for Edmonton-Mill Woods since 2019 and previously served as MP for Edmonton-Sherwood Park from 2008 to 2015.
  • Edmonton-West – Kelly McCauley has served as MP for this district since 2015.
  • Edmonton-Wetaskiwin – Mike Lake has served as MP for Edmonton-Wetaskiwin from 2006 to 2015 and MP for Edmonton-Wetaskiwin since 2015.
  • Medicine Hat — Cardston — Warner – Glen Motz has served as MP for this district since 2016.

See a full list of candidates who have announced their plans to run for federal party nominations in Alberta.

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Conservatives nominate Stephanie Kusie in Calgary-Midnapore, Aidan Theroux running for NDP nomination in Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan

Stephanie Kusie has been nominated as the Conservative Party candidate in Calgary-Midnapore, a riding she has represented since 2017. She was re-elected in 2019 with 74 per cent of the vote.

She is the Official Opposition critic for Transportation. 

Aidan Theroux NDP Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan
Aidan Theroux (source: Twitter)

Aidan Theroux, who ran in the 2019 federal election as the Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan NDP candidate, told the Fort Saskatchewan Record that he plans to seek his party’s nomination again. Theroux placed second in 2019, earning 12 per cent of the vote, in his first bid against Conservative MP Garnett Genuis, who was elected with a landslide 73 per cent.

See a full list of candidates who have announced their plans to run for federal party nominations in Alberta.

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Three Conservative MPs acclaimed and past leadership candidate Rick Peterson running in Edmonton-Strathcona

With a minority parliament in Ottawa and the possibility a federal election could be called at anytime, the Conservative Party of Canada has begun nominating candidates for the next federal election in Alberta.

The party announced on Twitter that it has nominated three incumbent MPs in Alberta:

  • Martin Shields in Bow River. Sheilds was first elected in 2015 and previously served as mayor of the City of Brooks.
  • Tom Kmiec in Calgary-Shepard. Kmiec was first elected in 2015 and has served as Chair of the National Conservative Caucus since September 2020.
  • Ron Liepert in Calgary-Signal Hill. Liepert was first elected to the House of Commons in 2015 after defeating six-term MP Rob Anders in the Conservative Party nomination contest. Liepert was the Progressive Conservative MLA for Calgary-West from 2004 to 2012 and served in cabinet as the minister of finance, health, education and energy.
RIck Peterson Edmonton-Strathcona
RIck Peterson, running for the Conservative Party of Canada nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona. (Photo source: Facebook)

Former leadership candidate Rick Peterson is running for the Conservative Party nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona. New Democrat MP Heather McPherson was elected in 2019 and is the only non-Conservative MP in the province. The riding was previously represented by NDP MP Linda Duncan, who was first elected in 2008.

Raised in Grande Prairie, Peterson studied at the University of Alberta in the 1970s and spent much of his career as a financial advisor and investor in British Columbia.

Heather McPherson NDP Edmonton Strathcona
Heather McPherson

As a long-time member of the Progressive Conservative Party in British Columbia and member of the PC Canada Fund, Peterson considered a run for the PC Party leadership race in 2002. While he eventually declined to run, he did go so far as to speak alongside other party leadership hopefuls, including Peter MacKay, Scott Brison and Jim Prentice, at a party fundraiser in Toronto in 2002. He instead served as co-chair of Andre Bachand‘s leadership campaign.

Peterson was briefly touted by party insiders in media reporters as a potential replacement for Stephen Harper after the federal Conservative Party’s disappointing results in the 2004 election campaign. He filed nomination papers to run for the federal Conservative nomination in Vancouver-Quadra in 2006 but withdrew in 2007, citing interference from the Prime Minister’s Office in the nomination process.

Peterson later ran for the BC Liberal Party nomination in Vancouver-Fairvew in 2008 and was later considered a potential candidate for Mayor of Vancouver in 2011 but withdrew from the Non-Partisan Association nomination contest before the election.

He then defected to the BC Conservative Party in 2012 and briefly launched a campaign to win his new party’s nomination in Vancouver-Quilchena before withdrawing from that race and announcing his plans to seek the party leadership instead. He was defeated by Dan Brooks in a divisive two-way race in 2014.

He then ran for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada in 2017, placing 12th in a crowded race of 14 candidates.

Peterson moved to Spruce Grove, Alberta after the leadership race in order to run for the Conservative Party nomination in Sturgeon River-Parkland following Rona Ambrose‘s retirement. His nomination bid was unsuccessful but he stayed in Alberta and founded the conservative advocacy group Suits and Boots.

He ran for the federal Conservative Party leadership again in 2019 but he withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Peter MacKay. And in 2020, he announced his plans to run for the Conservative Party nomination in Edmonton-Strathcona.

The date of the nomination contest in Edmonton-Strathcona has not yet been announced.

I am now tracking candidates running for federal party nominations in Alberta ahead of the next election. If you know any candidates that are not on the list, please leave a comment or email me at david.cournoyer@gmail.com. Thank you.

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Liberals and NDP *finally* fill their slates of candidates in Alberta

The New Democratic Party and the Liberal Party now appear to have full slates of 34 candidates in Alberta. The two parties have scrambled to nominate candidates in Calgary and parts of rural Alberta, with both parties dropping parachute candidates into many rural ridings in the province.

The dominance of the Conservative Party in rural areas, as well as the palpable hostility toward Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal NDP over the issue of oil pipelines (even though the Trudeau Government purchased and saved the Trans Mountain Pipeline project) is likely the biggest reason why the two parties have had such a difficult time fielding local candidates.

Here are the latest updates to the list of candidates nominated to run in the federal election in Alberta:

Battle River-Crowfoot: Dianne Clarke has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate.

Bow River: Margaret Rhemtulla has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate. Rhemtulla is the Policy Chair for the Alberta-wing of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Calgary-Midnapore: Brian Aalto has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate.

Calgary-Skyview: Rafih Bari has been nominated as the Libertarian Party candidate.

Edmonton-Centre: Donovan Eckstrom is the Rhinoceros Party candidate. Eckstrom ran for the Rhino Party in Edmonton-Strathcona in the 2015 federal election. Perennial candidate Adil Pirbhai is running as an Independent.

Edmonton-Griesbach: Andrzej Gudanowski is running as an Independent candidate. Gudanowski recently ran as an Independent candidate in Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview in the 2019 provincial election and in Edmonton’s 2017 municipal election in Ward 7.

Edmonton—Wetaskiwin: Emily Drzymala is the Green Party candidate. Drzymala is a social worker and the former president of the Alberta College of Social Workers. She was the NDP candidate in Calgary-North Hill in the 1989 provincial election.

Foothills: Cheryl Moller has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate. Moller is a retired teacher and president of the Liberal Party association in Calgary-Rocky Ridge. She was a volunteer for Kara Levis’ campaign for the leadership of the Alberta Party in 2018.

Grande Prairie-Mackenzie: Ken Munro has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate. Munro is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Alberta. He is a longtime Liberal Party supporter in Edmonton, having served as president of the Liberal Party’s Alberta-wing and candidate in Edmonton-South in the 1984 election.

Lakeland: Mark Watson has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate. Watson is a former Smoky Lake town councillor and director with the Smoky Lake & District Agricultural Society. He is also president of the Liberal Party association in this riding.

University of Alberta political science student Jeffrey Swanson has been nominated as the NDP candidate. Swanson is Vice President of the U of A Campus New Democrat club.

Kira Brunner has replaced Elke Crosson as the Green Party candidate.

Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner: Harris Kirshenbaum has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate. Kirshenbaum was campaign manager for former Liberal MLA David Swann in Calgary Mountain-View.

Red Deer-Lacombe: Tiffany Rose has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate. Rose is a PTSD Yoga educator and facilitator and owner of LacOMbe Yoga. Sarah Palmer has replaced Desmond Bull as the Green Party candidate.

Red Deer-Mountain View: Gary Tremblay has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate. Tremblay is the Chair of the Liberal Party association in Calgary-Shepard.

St. Albert-Edmonton: Jason J. Brodeur is the Rhinoceros Party candidate.

Sturgeon River-Parkland: Heather Wood is the Rhinoceros Party candidate.

Please contact me at david.cournoyer@gmail.com for additions or updates related to candidate nominations in Alberta and I will add them to the list. Thank you!
PHOTO: MAGALIE L’ABBE, CREATIVE COMMONS

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

11 days into the federal election, only 2 parties have full slates of candidates in Alberta

Elizabeth May with Green Party candidates in Calgary and southern Alberta on September 20, 2019 (photo from @EvTanaka on Twitter)
Elizabeth May with Green Party candidates in Calgary and southern Alberta on September 20, 2019 (photo from @EvTanaka on Twitter)

Photo: Elizabeth May with Green Party candidates in Calgary and southern Alberta on September 20, 2019 (photo from @EvTanaka on Twitter)

We are now 11 days into Canada’s federal election and almost all the main political parties have filled or are close to filling an entire slate of candidates in Alberta’s 34 electoral districts. By my count, the Conservative Party and People’s Party now have candidates in every Alberta riding, the New Democratic Party and Green Party have nominated candidates in 33 ridings while the governing Liberal Party still only has candidates named in 25 ridings in Alberta.

Candidates have until October 2, 2019 to submit their names to Elections Canada in order to appear on the ballot on October 21, 2019.

Here are the latest updates to the list of candidates nominated and running in the federal election in Alberta:

Banff-Airdrie: Anne Wilson is the New Democratic Party candidate. Wilson ran as a provincial NDP candidate in 2008 in Banff-Cochrane and 2015 in Calgary-Foothills (against Progressive Conservative leader Jim Prentice). In July 2015 she ran for the NDP nomination for the Calgary-Foothills by-election but was defeated by former alderman Bob Hawkesworth. Until recently she was first vice-president of the Alberta NDP.

Battle River-Crowfoot: Natasha Fryzuk is the NDP candidate. Fryzuk  is the communications coordinator for the Quarters Arts Society in Edmonton.

Bow River: Lynn MacWilliam has been acclaimed as the NDP candidate. MacWilliam serves on Bassano Town Council and ran for the provincial NDP in Strathmore-Brooks in 2015, for the federal NDP in Bow River in 2015, and again provincially in Brooks-Medicine Hat in 2019, earning 18 per cent of the vote. She previously worked in Ottawa for former Burnaby-Douglas MP Bill Siksay.

Calgary-Centre: Jessica Buresi has been nominated as the NDP candidate.

Calgary-Confederation: Gurcharan Sidhu has been nominated as the NDP candidate.

Calgary-Forest Lawn: Brent Nichols is registered as an Independent candidate.

Calgary-Midnapore: Taylor Stasila is the Green Party candidate. Stasila was the Green Party candidate in Calgary-Fish Creek in the 2019 provincial election.

Calgary-Rocky Ridge: Nathan Fortin is the NDP candidate. Fortin is an activist with UFCW 401 in Calgary. Shaoli Wang is an Independent candidate in this riding.

Calgary-Shepard: David Smith is the NDP candidate. Smith is a Workers Advocate with UFCW 401 in Calgary.

Calgary-Signal Hill: Khalis Ahmed is the NDP candidate. Ahmed was the NDP candidate in the 2017 by-election in Calgary-Heritage, and in Calgary-Signal Hill in 2015. Marco Reid is the Green Party candidate. Reid is president of the provincial Green Party and was briefly a candidate in the 2018 Innisfail-Sylvan Lake by-election before dropping out and endorsing the Liberal Party candidate. He ran for the leadership of the provincial Greens in 2017.

Calgary-Skyview: Signe Knutson is the Green Party candidate. Knutson was the Green Party of Manitoba candidate in St. Boniface in the 2016 Manitoba election.

Edmonton-Griesbach: Safi Khan has been nominated as the Green Party candidate.

Edmonton-Manning: Vancouver-based real estate associate Laura-Leah Shaw appears to have replaced Chris Vallee as the the Green Party candidate. Shaw was the Green Party candidate in Steveston-Richmond East in the 2015 federal election.

Edmonton-West: Jackie Pearce has replaced Jeff Culihull as the Green Party candidate in this riding.

Foothills: Calgary-based writer and director Mickail Hendi is the NDP candidate. 

Fort McMurray-Cold Lake: Matthew Gilks is the NDP candidate. Gilks is a vice-president with UFCW 401. Brian Deheer is the Green Party candidate. Deheer was the federal Green candidate in the 2014 Fort McMurray-Athabasca by-election and in Fort McMurray-Cold Lake during the 2015 federal general election, and most recently in the 2019 provincial election in Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche.

Grande Prairie-Mackenzie: Erin Alyward is the NDP candidate and Shelley Termuende is the Green Party candidate.

Medicine Hat-Cardson-Warner: Liz Thomson is the NDP candidate. Thomson is the community connections coordinator with Saamis Immigration. 

Red Deer-Lacombe: Lauren Pezzela is the NDP candidate. She is vice-president and coach of the Central Alberta Quidditch league. Sarah Palmer has replaced Desmond Bull as the Green Party candidate. 

Red Deer-Mountain View: Logan Garbanewski has been nominated as the NDP candidate.

Peace River-Westlock: Jennifer Villeburn has been nominated as the NDP candidate. She was the NDP candidate in Peace River in 2006 and Green Party candidate in 2008.

St. Albert-Edmonton: Kathleen Mpulubusi is the NDP candidate. Mpulubusi is a Letter Carrier with Canada Post and an active member of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. Rob Dunbar is the Green Party candidate.

Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan: Ronald Thiering has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate.

Sturgeon River-Parkland: Guy Desforges has been nominated as the NDP candidate. Desforges is the president of Unifor Local 445 in Edmonton. He was the NDP candidate in this riding in the 2015 federal election.

Yellowhead: Kristine Bowman has been nominated as the NDP candidate. She is a Letter Carrier with Canada Post.

Please contact me at david.cournoyer@gmail.com for additions or updates related to candidate nominations in Alberta and I will add them to the list. Thank you!

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

More federal candidate nomination updates from Alberta

Photo: Campaign central in Edmonton-Centre: Randy Boissonnault’s campaign office (in an old bank) and James Cumming’s campaign office (in an old car dealership) are kitty-corner to each other on Jasper Avenue and 115 Street.

The first full day of Canada’s 2019 federal election campaign marked another round of new candidate nomination updates for the Liberal Party, New Democratic Party, Green Party, and other opposition parties in Alberta. Here are the latest updates:

  • Gwyneth Midgley has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate in Banff-Airdire. Midgley is the executive director of the Alberta Liberal Party and was that party’s 2019 candidate in Banff-Kananaskis, where she earned 1.08 per cent of the vote. Previously declared nomination candidate Jaro Giesbrecht announced on social media that his candidacy had not passed the Liberal Party’s vetting process.
  • The NDP has nominated retired Registered Nurse Holly Heffernan in Calgary-Heritage, app developer Patrick King in Calgary-Nose Hill, UFCW Local 401 activist Charmaine St. Germain in Edmonton-Manning, and law student Noah Garver in Edmonton-Wetaskiwin. Hefferman has run for the NDP in numerous past provincial and federal elections, most recently as the provincial NDP candidate in Drumheller-Stettler.
  • Logan Garbanewski is seeking the NDP nomination in Red Deer-Mountain View and a selection meeting is scheduled to take place on September 20
  • The Green Party has nominated Jeff Cullihall in Edmonton-West, Brian Deheer in Fort McMurray-Cold Lake, Shannon Hawthore in Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner, Angelena Satdeo in Yellowhead, Allison Tulick in Calgary-Heritage, Chris Vallee in Edmonton-Manning, and Stephanie Watson in Lethbridge
  • The Christian Heritage Party has nominated Tom Lipp in Bow River, Esther Sutherland in Calgary-Forest Lawn, Larry Heather in Calgary-Heritage, Joseph Alexander in Calgary-Skyview, Christine Armas in Edmonton-Griesbach, Pamella Phiri in Edmonton-Manning, Don Melanson in Edmonton-Mill Woods, and Marc Singerland in Lethbridge. Slingerland narrowly lost the United Conservative Party nomination in Cardston-Siksika to Joseph Schow ahead of the 2019 provincial election.
  • The Marxist-Leninist Party has nominated Kevan Hunter in Calgary-Confederation, Peggy Askin in Calgary-Nose Hill, Daniel Blanchard in Calgary-Skyview, Peggy Morton in Edmonton-Centre, Mary Joyce in Edmonton-Griesbach, and Andre Vachon in Edmonton-Manning.
  • Naomi Rankin is the Communist Party of Canada candidate in Edmonton-Strathcona. Rankin has served as leader of the Communist Party of Alberta since 1992 and has run in every provincial and federal election in Alberta since 1982. Also running for the Communist Party are Jonathan Trautman in Calgary-Forest Lawn and Adam Handy in Calgary-Skyview.

Please contact me at david.cournoyer@gmail.com for additions or updates related to candidate nominations in Alberta and I will add them to the list. Thank you!

Thank you to CBC Edmonton for having me on the radio on Tuesday morning to talk politics with Mark Connolly, Melissa Caouette, and Chaldeans Mensah ahead of the official election call.

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Trudeau coming to Edmonton on the first day of the federal election

Amarjeet Sohi Justin Trudeau in Edmonton Mill Woods

Photo: Justin Trudeau at a rally to launch Amarjeet Sohi’s re-election campaign in July 2019.

The federal election is expected to be called tomorrow and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to be in Edmonton on September 12 for a rally with candidates and supporters at the Westbury Theatre in the heart of Edmonton-Strathcona.

The Liberal Party could be hoping to make gains in this riding with the retirement of long-time New Democratic Party MLA Linda Duncan, but, while it is certainly “in play,” it is more likely Liberal resources will be focused on re-electing the party’s two local MPs – Randy Boissonnault in Edmonton-Centre and Amarjeet Sohi in Edmonton-Mill Woods.

As Minister of Natural Resources, the congenial and personally popular Sohi has been tasked with the unfortunate role of being one of the public faces of the federal government-owned Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project. Despite spending considerable political and financial capital saving the project from failure, the Trudeau Liberals have faced growing hostility in traditionally Conservative-dominated Alberta.

The election will be held on October 21, 2019.

Liberals filling out their slate of candidates in Alberta

Phones are buzzing across Alberta tonight as the Liberals, NDP and Greens try to fill their slates of candidates in this province before an expected federal election call tomorrow. With around 40-days left until Election Day, these last minute candidates will have a lot of ground to cover in order to catch up with their opponents, and, in reality, many of them will serve as paper candidates carrying their party’s banner.

The Liberal Party nominated six additional candidates since last Friday:

  • Calgary-Forest Lawn: Jagdish Anand is an Ophthalmologist and Retina Surgeon with a practice in Sunridge Professional Centre and is also attached with Rockyview General Hospital. He was previously a candidate for the Liberal Party nomination in Calgary-Skyview before Nirmala Naidoo was appointed.
  • Calgary-Heritage: Scott Forsyth is a photographer and family physician who holds both medical and law degrees from the University of Calgary. He was the Liberal candidate in Calgary-Heritage in the 2017 by-election where he earned 21.7 per cent of the vote.
  • Calgary-Nose Hill: Josephine Tsang leads the programming and partnership development in the Energy Transitions section of TELUS Spark. She previously taught at Mount Royal University and  holds a Ph.D in Physical Organic Chemistry from Queen’s University.
  • Edmonton-Wetaskiwin: Richard Wong is the vice-chairperson of the Liberal Party association in Edmonton-Riverbend.
  • St. Albert-Edmonton: Gregory Springate is a assistant professor teaching accounting, auditing, tax, finance and information systems at MacEwan University in Edmonton. Springate is the former treasurer and chief financial officer of the Alberta Liberal Party. He briefly sought the Liberal Party nomination in Edmonton-West ahead of the 2015 federal election.
  • Yellowhead: Jeremy Hoefsloot is chairperson of the Young Liberals of Canada in Alberta and until recently was a student of political science and philosophy at the University of Alberta.

The NDP have a number of nomination meetings scheduled for this week, including in Calgary-Nose Hill, where Patrick King is expected to be acclaimed on September 11, 2019. Gurmit Bhachu was nominated as his party’s candidate in Calgary-Midnapore and the NDP were also expected to name a candidate in Calgary-Heritage today.

The Christian Heritage Party nominated Dawid Pawlowski as its candidate in Calgary-Centre. Pawlowski is the brother of controversial street pastor Art Pawlowski. Also running in Calgary-Centre is Animal Party of Canada candidate Eden Gould.

Please contact me at david.cournoyer@gmail.com for additions or updates related to candidate nominations in Alberta and I will add them to the list. Thank you!

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Liberals, NDP and Greens scrambling to fill candidate slates in Alberta ahead of federal election call

Jasraj Singh Hallan, Nirmala Naidoo, Joe Pimlott, Gurdiner Singh Gill
Jasraj Singh Hallan, Nirmala Naidoo, Joe Pimlott, Gurdiner Singh Gill

Photo: federal candidates Jasraj Singh Hallan, Nirmala Naidoo, Joe Pimlott, and Gurinder Singh Gill

With a federal election expected to begin sometime in the next nine days, some of Canada’s major political parties are scrambling to fill their slate of candidates in Alberta. At the time this update was published, the Liberal Party had 17 candidates nominated in Alberta’s 34 ridings, the NDP had nominated candidates in 9 ridings, and the Greens had candidates in 21 ridings. The Conservative Party and People’s Party had nominated full-slates of 34 candidates.

The regionally dominant Conservative Party is already expected to sweep most of the federal races in Alberta on October 21, 2019, but it is still a bit shocking that the other major political parties are still so far behind in their candidate selection process. It sends a pretty strong signal that those parties will be spending most of their resources in other provinces that are seen as more competitive, with the exception of a few Alberta ridings – Edmonton-Strathcona for the NDP and Calgary-Centre, Edmonton-Centre and Edmonton-Mill Woods for the Liberals.

Former UCP candidiate Hallan wins Conservative nomination in Calgary-Forest Lawn

Jasraj Singh Hallan won the Conservative Party nomination in Calgary-Forest Lawn, defeating Andre Chabot, Amrit Rai Nannan, and Aman Obhrai (son of deceased former MP Deepak Obhrai). Hallan runs a residential home building business in Calgary and was the United Conservative Party candidate in Calgary-McCall in Alberta’s 2019 provincial election where he finished 13 points behind New Democratic Party MLA Irfan Sabir.

Calgary-Forest Lawn was the eighth closest race in Alberta in the 2015 federal election, with Obhrai finishing 4,932 votes ahead of the Liberal candidate in that election.

As noted in a previous update, Joe Pimlott has been chosen as the federal NDP candidate in Calgary-Forest Lawn. Pimlott is a community liaison with Metis Calgary Family Services and was the NDP candidate in Calgary-Peigan in the 2019 provincial election.

Naidoo runs for Liberals in Calgary-Skyview

Nirmala Naidoo has been acclaimed as the Liberal candidate in Calgary-Skyview. The former television broadcaster was the Liberal candidate in Calgary-Rocky Ridge in the 2015 election. She briefly served as co-chair of the Alberta Liberal Party’s leadership contest before stepping down to serve as the spokesperson for Sandra Jansen during her brief campaign for the Progressive Conservative Party leadership in 2016 (Jansen had endorsed Naidoo’s federal candidacy in 2015).

Naidoo’s candidacy was approved despite two other candidates having announced their intentions to run for the Liberal Party nomination in this riding.

The riding is currently represented by Independent MP Darshan Kang. Kang is a former two-term Liberal MLA who was elected as a federal Liberal in 2015 before leaving the Liberal caucus in 2018 following allegations of sexual harassment.

Gurinder Singh Gill was recently nominated as the NDP candidate in Calgary-Skyview.

Here are some of the other nomination updates:

  • The Liberals have nominated Ghada Alatrash in Calgary-Signal Hill. She is a Syrian-Canadian writer and holds a PhD in Educational Research from the University of Calgary.
  • Leslie Penny is the nominated Liberal Party candidate in Peace River-Westlock. Penny ran for the provincial Liberal Party in Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock in the 2008 and 2012 elections.
  • Ronald Brochu is the Liberal Party candidate in Sturgeon River-Parkland. Brochu has run for the provincial Liberal Party in Edmonton-Gold Bar in 2015 and Drayton Valley-Devon in 2019.
  • Del Arnold has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate in Calgary-Shepard. Arnold is the former vice-president of the Alberta Society of Registered Cardiology Technologists.
  • Tariq Chaudary has been acclaimed as the Liberal Party candidate in Edmonton-Riverbend. Chaudary was the Liberal candidate in this riding in 2015, where he earned 30 per cent of the vote.
  • Audrey Redman is expected to seek the NDP nomination in Edmonton-Riverbend on September 16, 2019.
  • Gurmit Bhachu is seeking the NDP nomination in Calgary-Midnapore. Bhachu is active with the provincial NDP in Calgary-Fish Creek and briefly considered seeking the nomination in that district before the 2019 provincial election. The nomination meeting is scheduled to take place on September 10, 2019.
  • The NDP will nominate candidates in Calgary-Heritage on September 10 and in Calgary-Nose Hill on September 11.
  • Elke Crosson has been nominated as the Green Party candidate in Lakeland.
  • Alex Boykowich is running in Edmonton-Griesbach for the Communist Party of Canada. Boykowich recently ran as the Communist Party of Alberta candidate in Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood in the 2019 election.
  • Dougal MacDonald is running in Edmonton-Strathcona as a candidate for the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada. MacDonald also ran for his party in this riding in the 2015 federal election.

Federal Green candidate now interim leader of the Green Party of Alberta

Will Carnegie Green Party of Alberta Calgary Forest Lawn
Will Carnegie

Will Carnegie, the federal Green candidate in Calgary-Forest Lawn, is now the interim leader of the Green Party of Alberta following the resignation of Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes.

“I’ve had devastating personal losses and health challenges over the past year, and I need time to step away, focus on family, and heal,” Chagnon-Greyeyes explained in a press release from the party.

Carnegie, who ran for the provincial Greens in Calgary-East in the 2019 election, will remain interim leader until a new leader is elected in early 2020.

This marks the fourth change in Green Party leadership in Alberta since 2017.

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Four candidates running for Conservative Party nomination in Calgary-Forest Lawn

Four candidates have been approved to seek the Conservative Party nomination in Calgary-Forest Lawn on August 29, 2019. Already declared candidates Andre Chabot and Amrit Rai Nannan are seeking the nomination along with two additional candidates:

  • Aman Obhrai is a real estate agent and the son of former Member of Parliament Deepak Obhrai, who died on August 2, 2019 and had represented this riding since 1997. The senior Obhrai had been nominated to run as the Conservative Party candidate.
  • Jasraj Hallan runs a residential home building business in Calgary and was the United Conservative Party candidate in Calgary-McCall in Alberta’s 2019 provincial election. He placed second to NDP MLA Irfan Sabir with 39 per cent of the vote.

Former Ontario MP Jeff Watson announced on Facebook that he had declined to seek the nomination. Watson previously ran for a UCP nomination in 2018 and Conservative nomination in Battle River-Crowfoot in 2019. It would also appear as though previously declared candidate Ryan Ellis is no longer seeking the nomination.

Joe Pimlott is expected to seek the New Democratic Party nomination in Calgary-Forest Lawn. Pimlott is a community liaison with Metis Calgary Family Services and the former executive director of the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary and provincial vice-president of the Metis Nation of Alberta. He was the Alberta NDP candidate in Calgary-Peigan in the 2019 provincial election where he placed second to UCP candidate Tanya Fir with 29 per cent of the vote.

Here are some other updates from nomination contests across Alberta:

  • Habiba Mohamud defeated Brian Gold to secure the Liberal Party nomination in Edmonton-Griesbach on August 24, 2019. Mohamud is listed online as a researcher at the Alberta Women’s Science Network and a professor of sociology at MacEwan University.
  • Stephanie Watson has been nominated as the Green Party candidate in Lethbridge.
  • The Greens have also nominated Gordie Nelson in Battle River-Crowfoot, Riny Tuithof de Jonge in Bow River, Jocelyn Grosse in Calgary-Nose Hill, Bridget Lacey in Foothills, and Shannon Hawthorne in Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner.
  • Victoria Stevens has withdrawn from the NDP nomination in Edmonton-Griesbach, which is scheduled to take place on August 27, 2019. Mark Cherrington and Abdulhakim Dalel are contesting the nomination.
  • Jesse Lipscombe has withdrawn from the Liberal nomination in St. Albert-Edmonton.
  • Nick Flaumitsch has withdrawn as an Independent candidate in Banff-Airdrie.

Update: Maggie Farrington has been acclaimed as the Liberal Party candidate in Fort McMurray-Cold Lake. Farrington is the Chief Executive Officer at Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and former chair of the Board of Governors at Keyano College.

Please contact me at david.cournoyer@gmail.com for additions or updates related to candidate nominations in Alberta and I will add them to the list. Thank you!

Dave Cournoyer and Jagmeet Singh.

Jagmeet Singh visits Alberta

Wandering through the Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival grounds over the weekend I bumped into federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, who was enjoying some of the local cuisine with his supporters.

Singh was in Alberta last week to support local candidates, including Edmonton-Strathcona candidate Heather McPherson who is running to succeed three-term NDP MP Linda Duncan. 

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics

Federal Nomination Update: Conservatives will choose a Calgary-Forest Lawn candidate on August 29

Calgary-Forest Lawn
Calgary-Forest Lawn

At least three candidates are actively seeking the Conservative Party nomination in Calgary-Forest Lawn following the death of seven-term Member of Parliament Deepak Obhrai on August 2, 2019. Obhrai was first elected in 1997 and had already been nominated to run as his party’s candidate in the October 2019 election.

Andre Chabot, Ryan Ellis, and Amrit Rai Nannan, are expected to seek the Conservative Party nomination to succeed Obhrai.

  • Andre Chabot is a former Calgary city councillor and ran for mayor in 2017. He later ran for a United Conservative Party nomination in Calgary-East in 2018. Following allegations that nomination winner Peter Singh engaged in fraud and bribery during the nomination contest, Chabot and his fellow UCP nomination candidates Jamie Lall, Issa Moussa and Matthew Dirk signed a letter asking UCP Leader Jason Kenney and deputy leader Leela Aheer for the results of the contest to be overturned.
  • Ryan Ellis is the CEO of Accelerate Marketing & Web Design and has served as the Vice President of the  Conservative Party association in Calgary-Signal Hill.
  • Amrit Rai Nannan is a teacher in the Rocky View School district and has volunteered as the regional director for the now-defunct provincial Progressive Conservative Party in east Calgary. She was an organizer for Student Vote at the school she teachers at during the 2017 and 2019 elections.

It is unclear whether former PC Party MLA Moe Amery will enter the contest. Amery briefly challenged Obhrai for the nomination but withdrew his candidacy in 2018.

George Clark, known for his part leading the Kudatah against Rachel Notley‘s NDP government, announced on Facebook that he would not seek the nomination.

In other Alberta nomination news:

In Calgary-Skyview, engineer Raj Dhaliwal announced his plans to challenge Jagdish Anand for the Liberal Party nomination.

Brian Gold is expected to be acclaimed as the Liberal candidate in Edmonton-Griesbach at a nomination meeting on August 24, 2019. Gold earned 21.6 percent of the vote as  the Liberal Party candidate in Edmonton-Greisbach in 2015, and he later earned 12 percent of the vote in the 2017 Sturgeon River-Parkland by-election.

Three candidates are expected to seek the NDP nomination in Edmonton-Griesbach on August 27, 2019: Mark Cherrington, Abdulhakim Dalel, and Victoria Stevens. The NDP had their second strongest showing in Alberta in this district in 2015, with Janis Irwin earning 34 percent to Conservative candidate Kerry Diotte‘s 39 percent. Irwin was elected as the MLA for Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood in the 2019 provincial election.

Peter Nygaard defeated Jule Asterisk to win the Green Party nomination in Peace River-Westlock. Nygaard owns a plumbing and gas fitting company and is a member of Onion Lake Cree Nation.

And Aidan Theroux has been nominated as the NDP candidate in Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan. Theroux is a second-year communications studies student at MacEwan University in Edmonton.

Please contact me at david.cournoyer@gmail.com for additions or updates related to candidate nominations in Alberta and I will add them to the list. Thank you!

Email