Stage set for 21 federal races in northern, central Alberta as candidate deadline passes

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 10, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

With the deadline for campaigner registration passed, voters successful Edmonton and bluish Alberta tin present see their options.

Candidates had until Monday to taxable their information papers, and connected Wednesday Elections Canada released a last database of confirmed candidates.

The electoral representation looks antithetic from the past election, aft a nationwide redistribution of national electoral districts based connected the 2021 Canadian census. A full of 5 caller ridings were created, 3 of which are successful Alberta, and different districts were redrawn to relationship for colonisation changes.

There are 21 electoral districts successful cardinal and bluish Alberta. These see 9 ridings successful Edmonton arsenic good as:

• Battle River–Crowfoot
• Fort McMurray–Cold Lake
• Grande Prairie
• Lakeland
• Leduc–Wetaskiwin
• Peace River–Westlock
• Ponoka–Didsbury
• Red Deer
• St. Albert–Sturgeon River
• Sherwood Park–Fort Saskatchewan
• Parkland
• Yellowhead

Of the 123 candidates moving successful those 21 ridings, 16 are incumbents, a fewer are ballot stalwarts, and galore others are making their archetypal appearance.

Six incumbents are moving successful districts that person had their boundaries redrawn. Of the 5 ridings that are unfastened races, lone 2 existed with the aforesaid boundaries successful the past election.

The Conservatives and NDP fielded afloat slates arsenic usual, portion the Liberal Party and the People's Party of Canada some came up 1 shy, missing nominees successful Ponoka–Didsbury and Peace River–Westlock respectively.

The Green Party antecedently enactment guardant a campaigner for each Alberta riding successful each 5 national elections betwixt 2004 and 2015. But this twelvemonth marks the 2nd predetermination successful a enactment that they person not done so, with 9 candidates successful bluish and cardinal Alberta.

Some parties' appearances connected the ballot fluctuate betwixt elections. The Maverick Party, antecedently known arsenic Wexit Canada, fielded 10 candidates successful 2021, but folded successful February.

Meanwhile, Naomi Rankin — person of the Alberta section of the Communist Party of Canada — has stood arsenic a campaigner successful each national predetermination since 1988, this clip successful Edmonton Centre.

One notable displacement this twelvemonth is the fig of candidates moving without the endorsement of a governmental party.

Those candidates tin take to tally arsenic independents, successful which lawsuit "independent" appears nether their sanction connected the ballot successful spot of wherever enactment affiliation would appear. Alternatively, they whitethorn alternatively take "no affiliation" and person a bid of dashes appears connected the ballot.

Ten independents and 2 non-affiliated candidates are moving successful the 21 districts successful cardinal and bluish Alberta. That's a large leap from the 2 independents that ran successful each of the past 2 elections.

Determining a crushed for these kinds of shifts isn't imaginable with specified a tiny information set, according to Anthony Sayers, a prof of governmental subject astatine the University of Calgary.

"The situation with changing numbers of independents oregon adjacent different campaigner features (such arsenic saltation successful fig of women, minorities etc.) is whether the effect is random saltation oregon a effect to immoderate structural origin (say, accrued unhappiness with the large parties, oregon the increasing power of women successful parties)," helium said successful an email to CBC News.

"This would necessitate a bully woody of empirical enactment implicit a slightest a fewer elections."

Of the 123 candidates successful bluish and cardinal Alberta, 31 publically place arsenic women.

Previously, Edmonton had respective ridings which extended beyond the metropolis limits. With the redistribution, Edmonton inactive has 9 districts, but each are present afloat wrong the metropolis proper. Meanwhile, the areas surrounding the metropolis person redrawn electoral boundaries, with caller ridings similar St. Albert–Sturgeon River and Leduc–Wetaskiwin.

Election Day is April 28. Advance voting runs from April 18-21 and the deadline to use to ballot by message is April 21.