Tag: Fort McMurray-Cold Lake

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Alberta Politics

Gurinder Brar running for NDP nomination in Calgary-North East. Green Party leader Jordan Wilkie to run in Banff-Kananaskis.

Gurinder Brar

Gurinder Brar is running for the Alberta NDP nomination in Calgary-North East.

“Jason Kenney has neglected Calgary-North East, an ever-growing community with no new schools, skyrocketing insurance premiums and during the devastating hailstorm, he did not raise a hand to help us;” Brar said in a press release. “Rachel is the only leader with the real vision to make life more affordable for Albertans and create jobs by diversifying the economy.”

According to his press release, Brar has taught at Olds College, Bow Valley College and SAIT and currently owns a small business. He earned Bachelor of Business Administration from Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from University of London.

Rajan Sawhney

If nominated, he will challenge United Conservative Party MLA and Transportation Minister Rajan Sawhney, who was first elected in 2019 with 49.3 per cent of the vote.

Well-liked among her colleagues, Sawhney is considered one of the stronger performers in the largely rookie cabinet appointed after the UCP win in the 2019 election.

The NDP sees opportunity for electoral gains in north east Calgary and are expected to be focusing their resources on the area ahead of the next election.

UPDATE: The NDP website now lists the Calgary-North East nomination meeting as scheduled for Feb. 17, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom.

Green Party leader to run in Banff-Kananaskis

Jordan Wilkie Green Party of Alberta Leader Banff-Kananaskis
Jordan Wilkie

Green Party of Alberta leader Jordan Wilkie has announced the he plans to run in Banff-Kananaskis in the next provincial election.

“By running as the Green Leader in Banff – Kananaskis, this district will finally get the attention it deserves. Rachel Notely and Jason Kenny treat Banff – Kananaskis like a notch on their belts,” Wilkie said. “Right now you see the Bow Valley interests being pitted against those in Bragg Creek and more urban areas like Springbank. While no one is properly taking the time to collaborate with theTsuut’ina and Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda Nations.”

“That is unacceptable and it is time for a new direction to move forward, especially on issues that affect everyone from community safety to economic prosperity,” said Wilkie.

The Edmonton firefighter was chosen as leader of the Green Party in March 2020. He holds an MA in Disaster Emergency Management.

Miranda Rosin Banff Kananaskis UCP MLA
Miranda Rosin

The riding was represented by NDP MLA Cam Westhead from 2015 to 2019 and was home to the closest race between the UCP and NDP outside of the major urban centres in the last election and is a riding the NDP are hoping to pick up in the next election.

Demographic changes in the Bow Valley are creating a more competitive electoral landscape, and the UCP’s attempts to close and privatize provincial parks, open the Rockies to open-pit coal mining, and implementation of a fee to visit Kananaskis Country have proven to be deeply unpopular in the riding, which is currently represented by UCP MLA Miranda Rosin.

There are currently three people running for the NDP nomination in Banff-Kananaskis: Sarah Elmeligi, Gavin McCaffrey, and Mark Tkacz.

Meanwhile, much further north, Green Party of Alberta vice-president Brian Deheer could run for his party in the upcoming Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche by-election but won’t announce his candidacy until the by-election is called.

“I feel it would be premature for me to comment until the election date has been set, and until it is clearer whether I’d be the candidate,” he recently told Lakeland This Week.

Deheer was the Green Party candidate in Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche in the 2019 provincial Fort McMurray-Conklin in the 2018 provincial by-election, in Fort McMurray-Athabasca in the 2014 federal by-election, and in Fort McMurray-Cold Lake in the 2015, 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

A by-election must be called by Feb. 15, 2022.

List of candidates running in 2023 election

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!

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Alberta Politics

Four candidates enter NDP nomination race in Lethbridge-East, Joshua Gogo first to seek UCP nomination in Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche by-election

Alberta NDP nomination candidates in Lethbridge-East: Maria Fitzpatrick, Amanda Jensen, Kevin McBeath, and Rob Miyashiro.

High School social studies teacher Kevin McBeath has entered the Alberta NDP nomination race in Lethbridge-East, becoming the fourth candidate to join the contest.

“My family is my top priority, and I am seeking this nomination with their future province in mind,” McBeath said in a Oct. 23 press release. “I have been investing my time, talent and treasure in Lethbridge-East for nearly two decades as a teacher and basketball coach at Winston Churchill High School. It is my love of teaching and coaching young people that has motivated me to run.”

McBeath will face former MLA Maria Fitzpatrick, local non-profit executive director Amanda Jensen, and former City Councillor Rob Miyashiro at a nomination meeting scheduled to take place on Nov. 21, 2021.

This is the second time in recent memory that the NDP have had a contested nomination in Lethbridge-East. Fitzpatrick won a nomination race against Tom Moffatt and Kris Hodgson ahead of the 2015 election.

Election results in Lethbridge-East from 1986 to 2019.
Election results in Lethbridge-East from 1986 to 2019.

Lethbridge-East has been represented by United Conservative Party MLA Nathan Neudorf since 2019.

The riding has an unusual electoral history for Conservative-voting southern Alberta, having been represented by two locally popular Liberal MLAs from 1993 t0 2011, and then by Fitzpatrick during the NDP’s term in government from 2015 to 2019.

The NDP have also scheduled nomination meetings in Edmonton-Glenora on Oct. 27, Calgary-Falconridge on Oct. 29, Calgary-Currie on Nov. 13, and Calgary-Buffalo on Nov. 15.

First candidate steps up for UCP nomination in Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche

Joshua Gogo
Joshua Gogo

Joshua Gogo is the first potential candidate to file papers with Elections Alberta to seek the United Conservative Party nomination in the upcoming Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche by-election.

A by-election will need to be called before Feb. 15, 2022 to elect a replacement for former MLA Laila Goodridge, who was elected as the Member of Parliament for Fort McMurray-Cold Lake in the Sept. 20, 2021 federal election. 

Gogo is the Chief Economist and President of Global Advisory & Transaction Support at Afcote Associates based in Fort McMurray. He earned his Masters and PhD in Economics from Carleton University in Ottawa and a Masters degree in Computer Information Systems from Florida Institute of Technology.

In 2020, Gogo was appointed by the UCP government to serve on the Automobile Insurance Rate Board.

The date of a nomination meeting has not yet been announced.

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Alberta Politics

Jason Kenney is in big trouble and a minor cabinet swap isn’t going to solve his problems

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney

Twenty-nine more Albertans died of COVID-19 yesterday and nearly 1,000 Albertans are in hospital because of the virus, including more than 220 people in intensive care units.

Premier Jason Kenney is in big trouble and a minor cabinet swap isn’t going to solve his problems.

Kenney swapped Health Minister Tyler Shandro with Labour and Immigration Minister Jason Copping in an apparent hope that this might salvage his leadership amid growing calls for his resignation.

Shandro has been a lightning rod as Health Minister, but that was by design. Every decision he made had Kenney’s stamp of approval. He was doing as he was told.

Swapping Shandro for Copping in the middle of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is more about politics than good governance.

The blow to Kenney’s leadership after the failure of his Open for Summer plan that led to a deadlier fourth wave of COVID-19 in Alberta is not going to be fixed with a cabinet shuffle. 

Kenney’s plummeting popularity probably helped cost Erin O’Toole his chance of becoming Prime Minister in 2021. And the Premier almost certainly contributed to a sharp decline in Conservative support in Alberta that cost his federal cousins four seats in the province.

A few months ago it was almost unimaginable that the Conservatives would actually lose seats in Alberta in this federal election. But the NDP picked up an additional seat and the Liberals might have won two. 

But Kenney’s political woes are not all recent.

Since becoming Premier he has mastered the ability to anger the maximum number of Albertans possible at any given time.

His party’s financial health has also been hit hard. There have been three straight financial quarters in a row when Kenney’s UCP fell short of Rachel Notley’s NDP in fundraising. The Alberta NDP has been in the lead in every public poll since November 2020.

Calls for a leadership review are growing from UCP constituency associations and party executives like vice-president Joel Mullen. Even former deputy leader Leela Aheer has publicly questioned why he hasn’t stepped down. And the right-wing Western Standard website has reported on a rumour that country music star and two time Conservative candidate George Canyon might run for the party presidency on the platform of forcing a vote on Kenney’s leadership.

The UCP Caucus is holding a mandatory in-person meeting tomorrow, where, I imagine the growing number of disgruntled MLAs will have a lot to say about their leader’s future.

UCP waited until after the election to ask for federal help

Transportation Minister Ric McIver, who is in charge of Alberta’s Emergency Management Office, waited until the day after the federal election to send a letter to federal minister Bill Blair requesting help from the Ottawa to deal with the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UCP government waited until after Sept. 20 to request help because they didn’t want to embarrass the federal Conservatives during the election. Let that sink in.

The government’s plea for help from the federal government and other provinces will almost certainly undermine Kenney’s argument that Alberta is being treated unfairly by the rest of Canada, a key part of the reason for a province-wide referendum in October to ask for the equalization formula to be removed from the Constitution.

New Senate Nominee candidates

The nomination deadline passed at 12:00 pm yesterday for candidates to enter the Senate Nominee Election, which is being held in conjunction with two province-wide referendums and municipal elections on October 18, 2021.

Recent People’s Party of Canada candidates Ann McCormack, Kelly Lorencz, and Nadine Wellwood filed their papers to run as Senate Nominee candidates before the polls closed in the federal election in which they were defeated.

Also recently joining the Senate Nominee Election are Town of Ponoka Mayor Richard Bonnett, who ran for the Liberal Party in the 2004 federal election, and former Slave Lake Mayor and physician Karina Pillay.

Brian Jean’s favourite hobby is trolling Jason Kenney on the internet

With a provincial by-election expected to be called in Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche in the next five months, Kenney’s arch-enemy, former Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean, is musing online that he might run as a candidate. Jean asked for feedback from his followers on Facebook about whether he should run in the by-election in the area he represented as an MLA from 2015 to 2018.

Since leaving elected office in 2019, Jean has flirted with Alberta separatism and recently publicly mused about running for the leadership of the Alberta Party, which he did not. He has also called on Kenney to resign as leader of the UCP.

The by-election will be held to replace former UCP MLA Laila Goodridge, who was elected as the Conservative MP for Fort McMurray-Cold Lake in the Sept. 20 federal election.

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Alberta Politics

Conservative support drops as Liberals and NDP make gains in Alberta

A map of tonight’s federal election results in Alberta would show a sea of Conservative Party blue, but if you zoomed in on the two largest urban centres the results are more interesting.

It looks like 29 Conservative incumbents were re-elected, many with margins of victory that are large but narrower than the party’s results in the 2019 federal election.

With 71 per cent of the vote, it appears that Battle River-Crowfoot Conservative Damien Kurek was elected with the largest percentage of the vote. This is down from his 85.5 per cent of the vote in 2019.

The only new Conservative candidate elected in Alberta is Laila Goodridge, a former United Conservative Party MLA who was elected in Fort McMurray-Cold Lake.

As of 11:14pm it looks like Liberal Party candidate George Chahal has been elected in Calgary-Skyview, unseating Conservative Jag Sahota in the northeast Calgary riding.

In Edmonton-Centre, Liberal Randy Boissonnault sits with 33 per cent of the vote ahead of Conservative incumbent James Cumming with 31 per cent and NDP candidate Heather Mackenzie with 30 per cent.

If successful in his bid for election, Boissonnault will likely join Chahal in the federal Liberal cabinet as the two Liberals from Alberta.The race in Edmonton-Centre marks a breakthrough for the NDP with Mackenzie earning the party’s best ever result in the riding.

With NDP incumbent Heather McPherson re-elected with a commanding 59 per cent in Edmonton-Strathcona, it looks like the NDP may have picked up a second seat in Edmonton. As of 11:17pm, Edmonton-Griesbach NDP candidate Blake Desjarlais was leading Conservative incumbent Kerry Diotte by 557 votes with 194 of 232 polls reporting.

The NDP poured a lot of resources into Desjarlais’ campaign, with party leader Jagmeet Singh visiting the riding twice during the election and Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley and local MLAs including Janis Irwin lending their support.

The mail-in ballots could help determine the final results in Edmonton-Centre and Edmonton-Griesbach. Elections Canada starts counting those tomorrow.

The Conservative vote dropped to 55 per cent from 69 per cent in the 2019 election. The NDP vote was up to 19 per cent, a big increase from 11 per cent in 2019 and even more than the 16 per cent the NDP earned during Jack Layton‘s Orange Wave of 2011. The Liberal vote is at 15 per cent, up from 13 per cent in 2019.

The People’s Party earned 7 per cent, placing a distant second in most rural ridings but not coming anywhere close to winning a seat in the province. The separatist Maverick Party was a lot of talk but barely showed up on the radar.

Ontario MP Derek Sloan, who moved to Alberta in hopes to win a seat was defeated in Banff-Airdrie, placing fifth with 2 per cent of the vote.

But the biggest loser of the night in Alberta is Premier Jason Kenney, who’s refusal to act early and prevent the deadly fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic damaged Erin O’Toole and the federal Conservatives in the final week of the federal election.

Kenney is expected to face serious questions about his leadership when United Conservative Party MLAs meet for a caucus meeting on Wednesday. There are rumours that Kenney might even be forced to resign as Premier.

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Alberta Politics

Alberta is a pretty boring place to spend a federal election

Alberta is a pretty boring place to spend a federal election. Even as the polls shift nationally, there is a good chance the seat total could be the same as the 2019 election: 33 Conservative and one NDP.

It’s a quiet campaign.

Unlike the 2019 election, when Albertans were still riled up from that year’s April provincial election and federal campaign issues like pipelines and the carbon tax, this year feels sleepy. The majority of Albertans will surely cast their ballots again on September for the Conservative Party, but it might not be with the same level of enthusiasm and gusto as the last election.

But, if there is a chance that any seats could switch parties, here are a few of the ridings where it might happen:

Edmonton-Griesbach

Blake Desjarlais

Probably one of the only centres of electoral excitement in Alberta is where Conservative candidate Kerry Diotte is seeking re-election for his third-term against New Democrat Blake Desjarlais.

The NDP are hoping they can elect a second MP from Alberta and are putting that hope into Desjarlais’ campaign. Party leader Jagmeet Singh has visited the riding twice in the past month, spending an entire day campaigning in the district during the first week of the election, and pouring volunteer, financial and online advertising resources into the local campaign.

If the NDP are going to pick up a second seat in Alberta in this election, this is it. 

Even NDP MLAs, who shunned the federal party in 2019, have been campaigning with Desjarlais in his bid to unseat Diotte. Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood MLA Janis Irwin, Edmonton-Glenora MLA Sarah Hoffman, Edmonton-Rutherford MLA Richard Feehan, Edmonton-South MLA Thomas Dang, Edmonton-North West MLA David Eggen, and Edmonton-West Henday MLA Jon Carson have been spotted on the campaign trail in Edmonton-Griesbach. 

Full list of candidates in Edmonton-Griesbach:

  • Communist: Alex Boykowich
  • Conservative: Kerry Diotte
  • Green: Heather Lau
  • Liberal: Habiba Mohamud
  • Libertarian: Morgan Watson
  • Marxist-Leninist: Mary Joyce
  • NDP: Blake Desjarlais
  • People’s Party: Thomas Matty

Edmonton-Centre

Randy-Boissonnault Edmonton Centre Liberals
Randy Boissonnault

Conservative James Cumming and Liberal Randy Boissonnault are facing each other for the third time since 2015. Boissonnault won the first time they face each other in 2015 and Cumming unseated him in 2019. 

NDP candidate Heather MacKenzie, a former public school board trustee and past municipal candidate, is hoping to dislodge the Liberals as the main alternative to the Conservatives.

NDP vote has held firm over the past three elections, suggesting that Boissonnault’s win in 2015 and defeat in 2019 was more about voters switching between the Conservatives and Liberals than a split between the Liberals and NDP.

Toronto Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland stopped in the district at the beginning of the campaign to support Boissonnault’s bid for re-election.

Full list of candidates in Edmonton-Centre:

  • Conservative: James Cumming
  • Liberal: Randy Boissonnault
  • Libertarian: Valerie Keefe
  • Marxist-Leninist: Merryn Edwards
  • NDP: Heather Mackenzie
  • People’s Party: Brock Crocker

Edmonton-Mill Woods

Edmonton City Councillor Ben Henderson is running for the Liberal Party in Edmonton-Mill Woods
Edmonton City Councillor Ben Henderson is running for the Liberal Party in Edmonton-Mill Woods

Conservative Tim Uppal’s main challenger is city councillor Ben Henderson, who hopped south from his long-held municipal ward to run in his federal district.

While Uppal served as an MP for many terms, this is his first time running for re-election in Edmonton-Mill Woods. He was the MP for Edmonton-Sherwood Park from 2008 to 2015. 

The district was represented by Liberal MP Amarjeet Sohi from 2015 to 2019. Sohi is running for Mayor of Edmonton. 

Full list of candidates in Edmonton-Mill Woods:

  • Communist: Naomi Rankin
  • Conservative: Tim Uppal
  • Liberal: Ben Henderson
  • NDP: Nigel Logan
  • People’s Party: Paul McCormack

Calgary-Centre

Sabrina Grover Liberal Calgary-Centre
Sabrina Grover

It’s a long-shot but if the Liberals are able to salvage their national campaign in the next two weeks they could be in a position to pick up this district that Liberal Kent Hehr won in 2015. In this election Liberal Sabrina Grover is challenging first-term Conservative Greg McLean.

Full list of candidates in Calgary-Centre:

  • Christian Heritage Party: David Pawlowski
  • Conservative: Greg McLean
  • Green: Austin Mullins
  • Liberal: Sabrina Grover
  • NDP: Juan Estevez Moreno

Calgary-Skyview

Justin Trudeau and George Chahal (source: Twitter)

Conservative Jag Sahota is facing a challenge from city councillor George Chahal who is running for the Liberals in this northeast Calgary district. Chahal has been endorsed by Mayor Naheed Nenshi, and a handful of city councillors including mayoral election hopefuls Jyoti Gondek and Jeff Davison.

Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau’s plane touched down just long enough for him to appear at a rally in support of Chahal during the first week of the election.

Former MLA Darshan Kang was elected as the Liberal MP in 2015 but left the Liberal caucus after allegations of sexual harassment.

Full list of candidates in Calgary-Skyview:

  • Centrist Party: Nadeem Rana
  • Conservative: Jag Sahota
  • Green: Janna So
  • Independent: Lee Aquart
  • Liberal: George Chahal
  • Marxist-Leninist: Daniel Blanchard
  • NDP: Gurinder Singh Gill
  • People’s Party: Harry Dhillon

Banff-Airdire

Conservative candidate Blake Richards will probably safely coast to re-election on September 20, but the cast of conservative characters in this district make it interesting. Richards faces former Ontario Conseravtive MP Derek Sloan, who has relocated to Alberta in order to hold rallies for anti-mask and COVID conspiracy theorists, Maverick Party candidate and rodeo competitor Tariq Elnaga, People’s Party candidate Nadine Wellwood, and Independent separatist candidate Ron Voss. 

Full list of candidates in Banff-Airdire:

  • Conservative: Blake Richards
  • Green: Aidan Blum
  • Independent: Caroline O’Driscoll
  • Independent: Derek Sloan
  • Independent: Ron Voss
  • Liberal: David Gamble
  • Maverick: Tariq Elnaga
  • NDP: Sarah Zagoda
  • People’s Party: Nadine Wellwood

The smaller right-wing parties

It has yet to be seen what kind of impact two smaller right-wing parties will have in Alberta in this election.

People’s Party leader Maxime Bernier is in Alberta this week holding a series of rallies and it seems like the right-wing populist party is gaining support among disenchanted conservatives and anti-vaxxer crowds.

Wildrose Independence Party leader Paul Hinman has been spotted at People’s Party events and Bernier also met with Cypress-Medicine Hat Drew Barnes, who currently sits as an Independent MLA after being ejected from the United Conservative Party caucus earlier in the summer. It also appears as though outgoing Fort McMurray-Cold Lake Conservative MP David Yurdiga endorsed the local People’s Party candidate in a post on his personal Facebook account.

The separatist Maverick Party is only running candidates in districts they have determined are not likely to elect a Liberal or NDP MP, which is most of Alberta, but limiting themselves to running in Conservative strongholds has probably eliminated their chances of being relevant in this election.

Former talk radio host Dave Rutherford has been joining Maverick Party interim leader Jay Hill at candidate events across the province.

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Liberals nominate 3 new candidates in Alberta, NDP to hold contested nomination vote in Edmonton-Mill Woods

It’s been eight days since the federal election was called but most parties are still nominating candidates in Alberta, a province where barring a catastrophe (or a miracle – depending on your political inclinations) the Conservatives are expected to be elected in most of the electoral districts.

Here are the latest federal candidates to be nominated in Alberta:

  • The Liberal Party has nominated Abdifatah Abdiin in Fort McMurray-Cold Lake, Irene Walker in Sturgeon River-Parkland, and Sheila Schumacher in Yellowhead.
  • The federal NDP have a contested nomination race in Edmonton-Mill Woods. Nigel Logan and Satbir Singh will face an online vote of the local membership on August 25.
  • The Green Party has nominated Kerri Coombs in Red Deer-Lacombe and Sheldon Perris in Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan.
  • The People’s Party completed its slate of 34 candidates in Alberta with the nomination of Shawn McDonald in Fort McMurray-Cold Lake.
  • The Rhinoceros Party has nominated Vanessa Wang in Calgary-Nose Hill.

These new candidates have been added to the updated list of nominated federal election candidates in Alberta. Please drop a comment below if I am missing anyone. Thank you.

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Erin O’Toole comes to Alberta amid Fort McMurray revolt against Laila Goodridge

It is unlikely that Premier Jason Kenney will be joining Conservative leader Erin O'Toole when he visits Edmonton-Centre tomorrow.
Erin O'Toole and Jason Kenney during happier times.

Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole is making a campaign stop in Edmonton-Centre on August 21 as part of his Western Canada tour. O’Toole’s will hold an event at the Winnifred Stewart Foundation tomorrow morning, likely with local candidate James Cumming who is facing a challenge from former Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault and former public school board trustee Heather Mackenzie, who is running for the NDP.

Laila Goodridge Fort McMurray-Cold Lake
Laila Goodridge

O’Toole’s first stop in Alberta during the election campaign will come a day after the board of directors of the Fort McMurray-Cold Lake Conservative association released a public letter disagreeing with the party’s decision to appoint Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche United Conservative Party MLA Laila Goodridge as the district’s candidate following MP David Yurdiga’s writ day decision to not seek re-election. Yurdiga had already been nominated as the Conservative candidate earlier this year but decided to withdraw because of health reasons.

The unsigned letter titled as an “Official Board Press Statement” states that “The Fort McMurray-Cold Lake EDA does not support or recognize the undemocratic appointment of the current candidate. This appointment severely undermines the fundamental values of conservatives and everyone’s constitutional right to democracy. Our constituents were cheated of the opportunity to democratically select their candidate and were FORCED by the by the party on who will represent them. Many qualified candidates were not given the opportunity to apply not were their conservative views vetted by the local Board.”

The statement from the Fort McMurray-Cold Lake Conservative Electoral District Association.
The statement from the Fort McMurray-Cold Lake Conservative Electoral District Association.

Conservative sources say that the nomination rules permit the party to appoint a candidate after an election is called and that an expedited nomination meeting was not possible due the vacancy in the regional organizer position. It was expected that a nomination race in Fort McMurray-Cold Lake, even a rushed one, would be highly competitive and attract many voting members, requiring significant logistics and organizational support from the party.

The sources say the party has reached out to the disgruntled local board but has not received a response.

Goodridge is currently only facing Maverick Party candidate Jonathan Meyers,  People’s Party candidate Shawn McDonald, and Green Party candidate Brian Deheer. The Liberals and NDP have not yet named candidates in the north east Alberta district.

Jason Kenney Andrew Scheer Alberta Election
Andrew Scheer and Jason Kenney at a campaign rally in Edmonton-Centre in 2019.

Meanwhile, back in Edmonton, it does not look like O’Toole will be joined tomorrow by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney.

Kenney was one of O’Toole’s most enthusiastic supporters during the 2020 Conservative leadership race but has uncharacteristically gone “on vacation” during the first week of the federal election.

Kenney last appearance at a public event was a government announcement in La Crete on August 10 ahead of a UCP “town hall” fundraiser in support of Peace River UCP MLA Dan Williams that featured a the Premier and a handful of cabinet ministers.

The Alberta Premier’s plummeting popularity has made him a punching bag in this federal campaign, with both Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh criticizing Kenney during campaign stops in Alberta yesterday. Kenney’s absence also means he avoids any questions from reporters about the growing number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Grande Prairie MLA Tracy Allard speaking out against the province’s new draft K-12 curriculum, or former MLA Donna Kennedy-Glans being removed from the board of the Banff Centre.

This is a big contrast from the 2019 federal election, when Kenney spent a week campaigning for Conservative candidates in Ontario and Manitoba and appeared hand in hand with then-leader Andrew Scheer on stage at a rally outside of Cumming’s Jasper Avenue campaign office.

Brian Jean is still around too

Brian Jean Calgary Stampede Alberta
Brian Jean

The local revolt against Goodridge’s nomination comes the day after former Fort McMurray MP and MLA Brian Jean unleashed a 23 tweet thread calling for the creation of something resembling the Saskatchewan Party. It has been rumoured that Jean may be considering seeking the leadership of the Alberta Party.

City of Brooks Mayor and former AUMA President Barry Morishita announced his candidacy for the Alberta Party leadership last week.

New candidates

  • Donna Lynn Smith has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate in Edmonton-Manning.
  • The Rhinoceros Party has nominated Travis Jones in Edmonton-Manning and Lucas Rhinocerotidae Anderson in Edmonton-Riverbend.
  • Kim Siever is running as an Independent candidate in Lethbridge.
  • Catriona Wright is running for the Green Party in Calgary-Rocky Ridge.

I am maintaining an updated list of nominated federal election candidates in Alberta. Please drop a comment below if I am missing anyone. Thank you.

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Liberals nominate Leslie Penny in Peace River-Westlock, Khalis Ahmed runs for NDP in Calgary-Nose Hill

Khalis Ahmed, Leslie Penny, and Brian Deheer.
Khalis Ahmed, Leslie Penny, and Brian Deheer.

The first full day of the 2021 federal election has passed. I spoke with CBC Edmonton on Edmonton AM and RadioActive about some of the races to watch in Edmonton in the federal election. I will have a post expanding on this up in a few days, but, in the meantime, here are the latest candidate nominations in Alberta:

  • Barrhead town councillor Leslie Penny has been nominated as the Liberal Party candidate in Peace River-Westlock. Penny was the Liberal Party candidate in this district in the 2019 federal election and ran for the Alberta Liberal Party in Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock in the 2008 and 2012 provincial elections. Penny announced earlier this month that she would not seek re-election to Barrhead Town Council after serving two-terms.
  • Khalid Ahmed is the NDP candidate in Calgary-Nose Hill, according to a report in the Calgary Herald. Ahmed was the NDP candidate in the 2017 by-election in Calgary-Heritage and 2015 and 2019 elections in Calgary-Signal Hill.
  • The Green Party has nominated Keiran Corrigall in Calgary-Signal Hill, Janna So in Calgary-Skyview, and Brian Deheer in Fort McMurray-Cold Lake. Deheer has run numerous times for the Green Party in federal and provincial elections and twice for the leadership of the Green Party of Alberta.
  • John Kuhn has withdrawn as the separatist Maverick Party candidate in Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan. Kuhn served as Mayor of the Town of Bassano from 2007 to 2008.
  • The Christian Heritage Party has nominated Tom Lipp in Bow River and Larry Heather in Calgary-Heritage. Lipp was his party’s candidate in this district in 2019 and Heather is a perennial candidate who has run in too many elections to list in this post.

I am maintaining an updated list of nominated federal election candidates in Alberta. Please drop a comment below if I am missing anyone. Thank you!

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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!

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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. 

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Sarah Hoffman secures NDP nomination in Edmonton-Glenora, MLA Dave Hanson fends off two challengers in Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul

Sarah Hoffman Edmonton Glenora MLA Alberta Election 2019

Minster of Health and Deputy Premier Sarah Hoffman has been nominated as the New Democratic Party candidate in Edmonton-Glenora for the next election. Hoffman was first elected as MLA for this district in 2015 with 68 percent of the vote, unseating two-term Progressive Conservative MLA Heather Klimchuk. She previously served two terms on Edmonton’s Public School Board including as chair from 2012 to 2015.

Hoffman has managed to navigate her role as Health Minister, a large and challenging department, and continue to serve as Premier Rachel Notley’s chief political lieutenant. As I have written before, she is a contender for strongest member of cabinet, and is on my list of cabinet ministers who I believe are future Premier material.

Dave Hanson MLA UCP Bonnyville Cold Lake St Paul
Dave Hanson

MLA Dave Hanson fended off two challengers to secure the United Conservative Party nomination in the new Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul district today. City of Cold Lake mayor Craig Copeland, who also ran for the PC Party in Bonnyville-Cold Lake in the 2015 election, and private school administrator Glenn Spiess, were unable to unseat Hanson in this contest.

Hanson was endorsed by former Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean, who served as the MLA for Fort McMurray-Conklin until resigning earlier this year. Copeland had the endorsement of Fort McMurray-Cold Lake Conservative Member of Parliament David Yurdiga.

At a candidate forum held before the vote, all three candidates, including Hanson, expressed their support for the further privatization of health care in Alberta.

The nomination contest in this district initially looked as if it would be a contest between Hanson and Bonnyville-Cold Lake MLA Scott Cyr, but Cyr dropped out of the contest in April 2018.

Hanson was first elected in 2015 as the Wildrose MLA for Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills. He currently serves as UCP Indigenous Relations critic.

Upcoming Nomination Meetings

On September 13, 2018, UCP members in Calgary-Elbow will choose either past city council candidate Chris Davis or former party leadership candidate Doug Schweitzer as their candidate in the next election. Schweitzer is a lawyer who briefly considered running for the PC Party leadership in 2017 before dropping out and later running for the UCP leadership, where he placed third with 7.3 percent of the vote. He served as CEO of the Manitoba PC Party from 2008 to 2009 and was manager of Jim Prentice’s campaign for the leadership of the PC Party in 2014.

Doug Schweitzer Calgary Alberta Conservative
Doug Schweitzer

Schweitzer is endorsed by Chestermere-Rockyview UCP MLA Leela Aheer, former PC MLA and cabinet minister Jim Dinning, and former Calgary mayoral candidate Bill Smith. And Davis is endorsed by retired oil company executive Allan Markin and Kudatah leader George Clark.

Whoever wins this nomination will face Alberta Party MLA Greg Clark, who was first elected as MLA for Calgary-Elbow in 2015.

UCP members in Grande Prairie-Wapiti will choose their next candidate on September 14, 2018. With incumbent UCP MLA Wayne Drysdale not seeking re-election in 2019, party members will choose between Sexsmith town councillor, family literacy coordinator and former bible school registrar Kate Potter and former president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association Travis Toews.

Toews is being endorsed by Walter Paszkowski (MLA for Smoky River from 1989 to 1993, and MLA for Grande Prairie-Smoky from 1993 to 2001),Everett McDonald (MLA for Grande Prairie-Smoky from 2012 to 2015), and County of Grande Prairie councillor Peter Harris.

Former Liberal Party MLA Mo Elsalhy is expected to be nominated as the Alberta Party candidate in Edmonton-South West on September 15, 2018. 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.

Danielle Larivee
Danielle Larivee

UCP members in Edmonton-Rutherford will select their next candidate on September 15, 2018.  Four candidates are seeking the nomination: MacEwan University assistant professor Rafat Alam, Shaun Collicott, Laine Larson, and Hannah Presakarchuk.

CBC reported in May 2018 that Larson has questioned vaccination science and has suggested parents may be harming their children by vaccinating them against disease. Larson is an independent contractor and the step-son of former Reform Party Member of Parliament Deborah Grey.

NDP MLA Danielle Larivee is expected to be nominated as her party’s candidate in Lesser Slave Lake on September 16, 2018. Larivee was first elected in 2015, unseating seven-term PC MLA Pearl Calahasen. Larivee currently serves as Minister of Children’s Services and Minister for the Status of Women.

Marvin Olsen expected to be chosen as the Alberta Party candidate in Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville on September 16, 2018. Olsen is the owner of Grim’s Contracting Ltd. Previously declared nomination candidate Campbell Pomeroy withdrew his name from the contest.

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

Calgary-Klein – Julie Huston has withdrawn from the UCP nomination contest.

Calgary-Lougheed – Rachel Timmermans has been selected as the Alberta Party candidate in this southwest Calgary district. Timmermans, a Mount Royal University policy studies student, will face UCP leader Jason Kenney in the next election.

Calgary-North – Tommy Low is seeking the UCP nomination.

Calgary-North East – Gurbachan Brar is seeking the NDP nomination in this new north east Calgary district. Brar is a former President of the Punjabi Likhari Sabha and a former broadcaster at RED FM 106.7.

Camrose – Kevin Smook is seeking the Alberta Party nomination. Smook is councillor for Division 1 on Beaver County council, where he was first elected in 2013. He served as Reeve of Beaver County from 2014 to 2017.

Edmonton-Rutherford – Aisha Rauf defeated Arnold D’Souza to secure the Alberta Party nomination. She is an instructor and according to her website biography is waiting for her PhD Linguistics thesis defence. She was interviewed in a September 2017 episode of the Broadcast.

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!

Former NDP leader, school trustee Ray Martin releasing new book

Ray Martin NDP MLA School Trustee Edmonton Alberta
Ray Martin

Former MLA Ray Martin is releasing his memoir, “Made in Alberta: The Ray Martin Story” on September 27, 2018.

Martin is the former leader of the Alberta NDP and served as leader of the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly from 1984 to 1993. He was elected as the MLA for Edmonton-Norwood from 1982 to 1993 and Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview from 2004 to 2008, and ran for the provincial NDP in 9 separate elections between 1975 and 2012. He most recently served as a trustee on the Edmonton Public School Board representing Ward D from 2013 to 2017.

Martin’s decades worth of experiences in Alberta politics will certainly mean he has many interesting stories to tell. I am definitely adding this new book to my Fall 2018 reading list.

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Three candidates jump into Green Party of Alberta leadership contest, Pro-Life Political Association of Alberta seeks new leader

Alberta Green Party leadership candidates 2018 Matt Leviki, Brian Deheer, and Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes.
Matt Leviki, Brian Deheer, and Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes.

Photo: Matt Leviki, Brian Deheer, and Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes.

Four months after party leader Romy Tittel resigned, the Green Party of Alberta has announced that three candidates have stepped forward to seek the party’s leadership ahead of a September 22, 2018 vote.

Tittel was chosen as leader in November 2017 and stepped down in March 2018. She released a statement on claiming her resignation was a result of troubling internal party decisions and personality conflicts with party activists. She was succeeded by interim leader Coral Bliss-Taylor.

The three candidates running for the party leadership are:

Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes is an indigenous and social justice activist. She currently works as an Administrative Coordinator at the Native Centre at the University of Calgary. She is a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 6 in Saskatchewan.

Brian Deheer is a resident of Lac La Biche and is the chairperson of the Athabasca Watershed Council. He was a 2017 leadership candidate and in the 2015 election had the party’s strongest showing in Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills, where he earned 2.8 percent of the vote. He 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. He most recently ran in the Fort McMurray-Conklin by-election, where he earned 0.72 percent of the vote.

Matt Levicki is a resident of Lamont with a background in media and broadcasting. He was a candidate for the Evergreen Party in the 2012 provincial election in the Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville district, where he earned 1.35 percent of the vote.

The Green Party ran candidates in 24 constituencies in the 2015 election and earned a total 7,321 votes across the province.

The Green Party’s best ever showing in a provincial election took place in 2008, when the party earned 43,222 votes, or 4.5 percent of the province-wide vote. In that election, property rights activist Joe Anglin earned 22 percent of the vote in the Lacombe-Ponoka constituency. Anglin led the party for a short period until it was dissolved in 2009 (it was reformed in 2011) and was later elected as a Wildrose Party candidate in Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, where he served as MLA until 2015.

Meanwhile, the Pro-Life Political Association of Alberta, formerly known as the Social Credit Party of Alberta, will choose a new leader on August 17, 2018. The party name was changed following a takeover of the calcified old party by anti-abortion activists in 2016. The Social Credit Party formed government in Alberta from 1935 until 1971.

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Justin Trudeau rallies Alberta Liberals just like Notley did five months ago

Justin Trudeau speaks to a large crowd of Liberal supporters at an 8am rally in Edmonton on Oct. 18, 2015.
Justin Trudeau speaks to a large crowd of Liberal supporters at an 8am rally in Edmonton on Oct. 18, 2015.

While Canadians could be on track to elect the country’s first Liberal Party government since 2004, it looks like Albertans could remain firmly in the Conservative Party camp, even after Stephen Harper‘s decade-long reign in Ottawa. But while most of Alberta’s federal ridings are expected to produce large victories for Tory candidates when the votes are counted tomorrow night, a handful of ridings in Alberta’s two major cities could produce some interesting results.

Attracting crowds of 2,000 in Edmonton and 4,000 in Calgary today, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau spent the final day of the 11-week election campaign in western Canada. The excitement in the crowd was undeniable. It has been a long time since Alberta Liberals have had something to be excited about.

I don’t know what Trudeaumania felt like in 1968, but the energy at today’s rally in Edmonton rivalled the energy at Rachel Notley‘s 2,000 person rally in the final week of this year’s provincial election. And I bet if you polled the people at that Trudeau rally, I would expect that most will have enthusiastically voted for Ms. Notley’s New Democratic Party on May 5, 2015. It was that ability to unite moderate and progressive voters under her party’s banner that led to the NDP’s election victory earlier this year.

While many of those moderate voters may help re-elect the Alberta NDP in 2019, they were excited about the federal Liberals today. And with moderate and progressive voters still divided between the federal Liberals and NDP in Alberta, it remains likely that any gains in the province could be marginal.

But while hopes for an NDP government led by Tom Mulcair in Ottawa may have been dashed, for now, the NDP remain well-positioned to elect two Members of Parliament in Edmonton, the epicentre of Ms. Notley’s orange wave. Two-term NDP MP Linda Duncan is expected to be re-elected in Edmonton-Strathcona. The NDP have also poured plenty of energy and resources in the campaign in Edmonton-Griesbach, where a two-way race has pitted NDP candidate Janis Irwin against former one-term city councillor Kerry Diotte.

Back at the rally, where the crowd of Liberals cheered enthusiastically for the Edmonton area Liberal candidates on stage, the largest cheers were for Trudeau and Amarjeet Sohi, the popular city councillor running for election in Edmonton-Mill Woods (where the rally was held). During his speech, Mr. Trudeau focused on some of the issues that Mr. Sohi has fought hard for on city council – like the much needed expansion of the LRT line to south east Edmonton.

Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson briefly entered the federal election fray earlier in the campaign when he criticized the federal Conservatives for not proposing new funding for Edmonton’s LRT system, while promising similar funding for projects in other cities. While his criticisms ruffled the delicate feathers of some local Conservatives, Mr. Iveson may find a more cooperative partner in a new federal government willing to invest in urban transportation infrastructure. And that kind of change is exciting.

Here is a list of some other Alberta ridings to watch on Election Night:

Calgary-Centre: Former Liberal MLA Kent Hehr is facing Conservative candidate Joan Crockatt, who was narrowly elected in a 2012 by-election.

Calgary-Confederation: Lawyer Matt Grant, running for the Liberals, faces former Progressive Conservative MLA Len Webber. Well-known former journalist Kirk Heuser is running for the NDP.

Calgary-Skyview: Former Liberal MLA Darshan Kang faces Conservative MP Devinder Shory.

Edmonton-Centre: A three-way race between Liberal Randy Boissonnault, New Democrat Gil McGowan and Conservative James Cumming.

Fort McMurray-Cold Lake: Liberal Kyle Harrietha and Conservative David Yurdiga face each other in a rematch from a closely fought 2014 by-election.

If you find yourself without an election night party tomorrow night, feel free to come down to the Metro Cinema (Garneau Theatre) and watch the coverage on a 30 foot theatre screen. While you watch the results, I will be talking politics on stage with Wab Kinew, Samantha Power, Drew Hayden Taylor and Mike Hudema. The event, part of Litfest, begins at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $10.

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Tuesday Morning Federal Election Updates from Alberta

A sign in Calgary-Heritage, as part of NDP candidate Matt Masters' sendharperamessage.ca campaign.
A sign in Calgary-Heritage, as part of NDP candidate Matt Masters' sendharperamessage.ca campaign.

Some of the latest from the federal election campaign trail in Alberta:

  • NDP leader Tom Mulcair will visit the Lethbridge riding this week to campaign alongside candidate Cheryl Meheden during his visit to Alberta. He will also speak at a rally in Calgary tonight. Mr. Mulcair is back in Alberta this week to participate in a Globe and Mail debate on Sept. 17.
  • Introduced by Health Minister Sarah Hoffman, Mr. Mulcair spoke to an estimated crowd of 1,700 supporters in Edmonton on Sept. 10.
  • Liberal leader Justin Trudeau made a campaign stop in Edmonton on Sept. 9 to rally a crowd of 1,500 supporters. During his visit, Mr. Trudeau promised additional funding for the southeast LRT to Mill Woods if the Liberals form government on Oct. 19.
  • Both Mr. Mulcair and Mr. Trudeau met briefly with Edmonton mayor Don Iveson during their visits.
  • For a $50.00 donation to Calgary-Heritage NDP candidate Matt Masters Burgener, anyone can place a custom message on a campaign-style lawn sign that will be placed near one of Conservative leader Stephen Harper‘s election signs.
  • The federal Liberals have chosen their final candidate in Alberta by nominating businessman Robert Prcic in Calgary-Nose Hill. Mr. Prcic earned 3.8 percent of the vote as the provincial Liberal candidate in the October 2014 Calgary-Foothills by-election.
  • The Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy has released projections of ten ridings that the NDP need to win to get the most seats and ten ridings the Liberals need to win to get out of third place. For the NDP, the list includes the Alberta riding of Edmonton-Manning, and for the Liberals, the list includes the ridings of Calgary-Centre and Edmonton-Centre.
  • ThreeHundredandEight.com is maintaining riding levels projections that show a handful of Alberta ridings in play during this federal election. As of Sept. 13, 2015, the projections show potential NDP wins in Edmonton-Griesbach, Edmonton-Manning, Edmonton-Strathcona and Lethbridge. The Liberals are projected to do well in Calgary-Centre, Calgary-Confederation, Calgary-Skyview and Edmonton-Centre.
  • A poll conducted by Mainstreet Technologies suggests the election in the new Fort McMurray-Cold Lake could be closer than last year’s by-election results in the old riding of Fort McMurray-Athabasca. The poll showed Conservative David Yurdiga with the support of 35 percent and Liberal Kyle Harrietha with 27 percent support. In the June 2014 by-election, Mr. Yurdiga only finished 11 points ahead of Mr. Harreitha in what was considered a very close race for this riding (in the 2011 election, former Conservative MP Brian Jean was re-elected with a margin of 58.6 percent).
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Conservative MP backs Wildrose leader in Fort McMurray

Conservative MP David Yurdiga and Wildrose leader Brian Jean pose with volunteers.
Conservative MP David Yurdiga and Wildrose leader Brian Jean pose with volunteers.

Provincial Tories in northern Alberta are not pleased with Fort McMurray-Athabasca Conservative Member of Parliament David Yurdiga after he appeared in a photo on social media this weekend helping Wildrose leader Brian Jean and party volunteers assemble election signs [see photo above].

Don Scott MLA Fort McMurray Conklin
Don Scott

Mr. Jean is the former MP for the area and is currently running against PC MLA and Innovation and Advanced Education Minister Don Scott in the Fort McMurray-Conklin constituency.

Facing a strong challenge from federal Liberal candidate Kyle Harreitha in the 2014 by-election, Mr. Yurdiga’s campaign received a last minute endorsement from PC leadership candidate, and now Premier, Jim Prentice. Mr. Yurdiga’s support for Mr. Jean is sure to have raised the ire of Mr. Prentice’s inner circle.

Mr. Harreitha will once again challenge Mr. Yurdiga in the October 2015 federal election in the newly redrawn Fort McMurray-Cold Lake constituency.

Kyle Harrietha Liberal Fort McMurray alberta
Kyle Harrietha

Mr. Yurdiga’s by-election campaign manager, Kim Farwell also tweeted a photo of volunteers helping Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater Wildrose candidate Travis Olson build campaign signs. Mr. Olson is running against PC MLA Jeff Johnson, who also endorsed Mr. Yurdiga in the 2014 by-election.

According to Elections Alberta financial disclosures, Mr. Yurdiga also made a $900 donation to the Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater Wildrose constituency association in 2014.

A deep divide between the federal Conservatives and provincial PCs emerged during the 2012 provincial election when a number of Conservative MPs actively campaigned for Wildrose candidates in their areas of the province. The ascension of former Ottawa cabinet minister Mr. Prentice to the PC leadership and mass floor-crossing of Wildrose MLAs was expected to erase the divide.

Mr. Yurdiga later tweeted that he also planned to help out PC candidates in his riding.

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