Alberta election: UCP, NDP split battleground Calgary; cabinet ...

The United Conservatives lost several key seats in Calgary but maintained a hold on the city

Published May 29, 2023  •  Last updated 2 hours ago  •  2 minute read

NDP supporters are bathed in orange light as they watch election results at the NDP watch party at the Palace Theatre in downtown Calgary on May 29. Photo by Jim Wells /Postmedia

The United Conservatives lost numerous key seats in Calgary but maintained enough seats in the hotly contested battleground to secure a majority government in Monday night’s Alberta election.

When the dust settled on the election early Tuesday morning, Danielle Smith’s UCP had won 12 out of Calgary’s 26 constituencies, while Rachel Notley’s NDP triumphed in 14 ridings.

The split result in Calgary is the culmination of a campaign which saw the bulk of electioneering take place in Alberta’s largest city. Parties, pundits and pollsters had predicted Calgary would hold the balance of the election, with the NDP slated to win Edmonton and the UCP taking much of rural Alberta, a forecast which held true Monday.

Though they won the election, the night brought several big losses for the UCP in Calgary, as several incumbents fell in their bids to return to the legislature.

Those defeats include prominent cabinet ministers Jason Copping, Jeremy Nixon, Jason Luan and Nicholas Millikan.

And Tyler Shandro was behind in Calgary-Acadia by a razor-thin margin, with the former health minister and justice minister trailing behind the NDP’s Diane Batten by only seven points. A judicial recount is expected to be triggered for that riding. NDP candidate Nagwan Al-Guneid’s 31-vote win over UCP incumbent Whitney Issik in the neighbouring Calgary-Glenmore also lands in recount territory.

Both parties and their leaders spent the vast majority of their election campaign within Calgary’s city limits, pitching residents their vision for the future of the city and province.

UCP Calgary-Shaw candidate Rebecca Schulz retained her seat. She said at the UCP’s election-night party prior to final results that she was feeling optimistic.

“And I mean tonight, seeing the momentum, I think others are feeling that as well,” Schulz said.

“I’m just so grateful for those people that put their trust in us and are out there putting in the hard work to hopefully see a re-elected United Conservative government.”

At the NDP’s Calgary headquarters Monday night, Calgary-Buffalo candidate Joe Ceci said he was feeling good despite some early tallies suggesting a UCP lead. He says it’s been a “marvellous” campaign.

“It used to be blue, blue, blue, here in (Calgary) and we’ve changed that,” he said. “I had so many people say I can’t believe the number of orange signs that are in this city. It’s invigorating. It’s enlightening to kind of feel that there’s support behind every door.”

The UCP’s biggest pledge for Calgary came before the campaign even began, when they promised $330 million to pay for infrastructure costs needed to get the new arena deal for the Calgary Flames across the finish line. Smith has said her government will give final approval for that funding after the election.

Prior to the election, the UCP held 23 Calgary seats, while only three NDP MLAs represented the city.

A slow trickle of vote reporting meant it was unclear for much of the night which party had won in the city.

Despite the sluggish reporting, Elections Alberta said in a statement to Postmedia there were no problems with vote counting.

Please see the Twitter thread below for further updates on results in Calgary:

— With files from Michael Rodriguez and Matthew Black

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Twitter: @jasonfherring