Conservatives paint Alberta blue
Posted October 21, 2019 10:41 pm.
Last Updated October 22, 2019 6:53 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Calgary — The province of Alberta is Conservative once again, with every seat in the province except for Edmonton’s Strathcona riding turning blue. It’s a departure from the rest of the country which elected a Liberal minority government.
Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi said that Albertans aren’t happy federally, as they tend to get ignored by the rest of the country.
“Part of the problem here is that Albertans are upset because after having been the economic engine for so very long, of the country, we feel like our issues are being ignored and that we’re being characterized as people who don’t believe in climate change or who think that Andrew Scheer is too left,” he said.
“That’s not the case at all. The issue is that the economy across the country is firing on all cylinders except in Alberta which should be the engine of the country.”
Heather McPherson of the NDP holds the only non-conservative seat within the province.
In Edmonton Mill Woods, Conservative Tim Uppal defeated Liberal Amarjeet Sohi, former Minister of Natural Resources.
In Edmonton Center, Liberal Randy Boissonnault lost his seat to Conservative James Cumming.
Meanwhile in Calgary, the two seats won by the Liberals in 2015 returned to the Conservatives with Greg McLean upsetting Kent Hehr in Calgary-Centre and Jag Sahota overwhelming Liberal candidate Nirmala Naidoo in Calgary Skyview.
Calgary Skyview’s Liberal MP Darshan Kang resigned in 2017 after facing accusations of sexual harassment.
Kent Hehr, a former Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities stepped down from those posts after allegations of inappropriate behaviour in 2017 and 2018.
In Calgary, seven Conservative incumbents kept their seats:
- Len Webber in Calgary Confederation
- Bob Benzen in Calgary Heritage
- Stephanie Kusie in Calgary Midnapore
- Michelle Rempel in Calgary Nose Hill
- Pat Kelly in Calgary Rocky Ridge
- Tom Kmiec in Calgary Shepard
- Ron Liepert in Calgary Signal Hill
Deepak Obhrai previously held Calgary Forest Lawn as a Conservative until his passing in August. Conservative Jasraj Singh Hallan has maintained the Conservative seat this election.
The last time Liberals held seats in Calgary before the 2015 election was in the 1963 and 1968 federal elections.
In Saskatchewan, Conservatives won all 14 seats, an increase of four seats from 2015.
