Canadian voters will head to the polls April 28 to elect the next federal government, following an abbreviated campaign.
In Calgary, the second full day of campaigning saw candidates out door-knocking, delivering signs and engaging with voters. With fewer than five weeks until election day, the rollout has been slow. Many city ridings and others in southern Alberta do not yet have confirmed candidates from the Liberals or NDP, leaving voters unsure about their options.
Adding to the uncertainty for local voters is the fact that ridings have been added (hello, Calgary McKnight), reconfigured and, in some cases, renamed.
Here’s what Calgary voters need to know before heading to the polls:
Redrawn ridings
As part of Canada’s most recent electoral redistribution process, completed in 2023, federal riding boundaries were redrawn to reflect population growth and shifts. The redistribution, based on 2021 Canadian census data, added five new ridings overall in Canada — three of which are in Alberta — bringing the total number of federal seats from 338 to 343.
Calgary East has been restored, created largely out of the now-defunct Calgary Forest Lawn. Several north Calgary communities (Coral Springs, Monterey Park, Rundle and Pineridge) were transferred to the new riding of Calgary McKnight, with the remaining portion becoming part of Calgary East.
Calgary Rocky Ridge has a new name — Calgary Crowfoot — and has lost the community of Kincora to Calgary Nose Hill, where Michelle Rempel Garner is seeking re-election. Evanston and Sage Hill east of Symons Valley Road are now within Calgary Skyview, where Liberal George Chahal won in 2019, but who is running in McKnight this time.
“We shrunk a little bit, because the area’s grown a lot,” said Jim Palmer, CEO of the Calgary Crowfoot Conservative Association.
Palmer anticipates some voter confusion about the changes, and said his association has been communicating the changes to voters over the past year.
Elections Canada spokeswoman Leanne Nyirfa said some Calgary ridings have had more significant changes than others.
“It’s important that people know which electoral district they are in, just in case their boundaries may have changed,” she said.
Outside the city, Banff-Airdrie is now Airdrie-Cochrane with Banff, Canmore and Kananaskis swallowed up into the Yellowhead riding that stretches north to Grand Cache.
People can find their district by going to the Elections Canada website under the Voter Information service and entering their postal code.
Incomplete candidate lists and retiring MPs
On Tuesday, only the Conservatives had a full slate of candidates across all Calgary ridings.
Full races have been confirmed in Calgary McKnight, Calgary Confederation, Calgary Crowfoot, Calgary Shepard and Calgary Signal Hill.
The deadline for parties to nominate candidates or for independent candidates to put their names forward is April 7 at 2 p.m.
It’s not only riding names that have changed — so, too, have the candidates.
Longtime Conservative MPs Len Webber (Calgary Confederation) and Ron Liepert (Calgary Signal Hill) are not seeking re-election in their respective ridings. Conservative candidates Jeremy Nixon and David McKenzie will run in Confederation and Signal Hill, respectively.
The Liberals, who only recently voted in a new leader, have the most significant candidate gaps.
Cathy Moar, the party’s election readiness chair for southern Alberta, said the party is busy vetting candidates.
“A full slate is coming,” she said. “We are in waiting mode . . . Our teams are all on the ground, ready to go.”
Lori Williams, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, said boundary changes and the retirement of two long-serving Conservative MPs could lead to tighter races in several Calgary ridings.
Related
“For the Liberal party, most of the possibilities are in four Calgary ridings, and that’s largely because of the change in Skyview and (the creation of) McKnight,” she said.
Skyview, a Liberal-held riding, has shifted north and west in the new electoral map, while the newly formed Calgary McKnight now includes a significant portion of what used to be Skyview. With Chahal running in McKnight, Williams said the party has “a choice of strong candidates” for Skyview.
Calgary Confederation is also on the Liberal party’s radar. Williams said the combination of boundary changes and Webber’s retirement has turned it into a riding to watch.
“Now that (Webber) isn’t running, (Confederation) is currently sitting as too close to call,” she said.
Some local MP candidates have been in campaign mode for months. Beau Shaw, the federal NDP candidate in Calgary Centre, has been engaging with community members since his nomination in December.
On Tuesday, he was out delivering signs to some of the 140 supporters who requested them, also putting up larger signs around the community.
“We’ve been hitting the ground running ever since mid-December,” he said.
Shaw said he has been “proactive” about informing voters of the electoral boundary changes.
“I had a chunk cut out of my riding just off 37th Street — a good number of voters who would definitely vote for me, that’s for sure.”
Shaw is running against six-year Conservative incumbent Greg McLean. The Liberals have yet to name a Calgary Centre candidate despite winning the riding in 2015.
Farther south, Conservative Martin Shields is not seeking re-election in Bow River, where David Bexte is the party’s choice to succeed him.
How and when to vote
To vote in a federal election, you must be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years old on election day and be able to prove your identity and address.
A full list of accepted forms of identification is available on the Elections Canada website.
Many voters who have voted in previous federal elections will already be registered on the National Register of Electors. If you aren’t registered yet, you can do so by visiting elections.ca.
It’s not necessary to be on the Register to vote. Canadians are permitted to opt out of it and not lose their right to vote. In that case, to get on the voting list people need to visit an Elections Canada office by 6:00 p.m. on the Tuesday before election day, or do so at a polling station on election day or at an advanced polling station.
Vote early at any Elections Canada office across the country.
As of now, voters can go to any Elections Canada office in the city, which are open seven days a week, to vote early by special ballot.
You can vote early at any Elections Canada office in Canada before 4 p.m. MT on April 22.
Advance voting will take place from April 18 to 21. Advance voting stations will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Your polling station address will be listed on your voter information card or available online starting April 1.
In-person voting will take place on election day (April 28).
Your designated polling station address will be on your voter information card or searchable online after April 1.
To vote by mail, you will vote using the special ballot process. Apply to vote by mail before 4 p.m. MT on April 22.
Your ballot must be received by election day. Elections Canada encourages people voting by mail to do so as early as possible.