2017 Calgary Midnapore federal by-election

A by-election was held in the federal riding of Calgary Midnapore in Alberta, Canada on 3 April 2017 following the resignation of Conservative MP and former Minister of National Defence Jason Kenney. The safe seat was held by the Conservative candidate Stephanie Kusie on an increased majority.

2017 Calgary Midnapore federal by-election

← 2015 April 3, 2017 (2017-04-03) 2019 →

Riding of Calgary Midnapore
Registered89,436
  First party Second party
 
LPC
Candidate Stephanie Kusie Haley Brown
Party Conservative Liberal
Popular vote 22,454 4,950
Percentage 77.17% 17.01%
Swing Increase 10.44% Decrease 5.64%

MP before election

Jason Kenney
Conservative

Elected MP

Stephanie Kusie
Conservative

The by-election was scheduled to coincide with four others across the country, and was one of two to be held in the city of Calgary; Calgary Heritage.

Background edit

Constituency edit

Calgary Midnapore covers the south-eastern corner of Calgary and is named for the Midnapore neighbourhood.

Representation edit

The electoral district was created for the 2015 federal election and has had Kenney as its only MP, however predecessor ridings from which Calgary Midnapore was created mostly out of the former seat of Calgary Southeast, with smaller portions coming from Calgary Southwest and Macleod.[1][2] It had, since the 1993 federal election, successively elected Reform, Canadian Alliance and Conservative MPs.

Campaign edit

The riding of Calgary Midnapore was vacated by Conservative MP Jason Kenney who resigned his seat effective September 23, 2016,[3] to seek the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta.[4][5]

The by-election, held on April 3, 2017, was announced on February 22, 2017. The Speaker's warrant regarding the vacancy was received on September 23, 2016. The last day a by-election could have been announced was March 22, 2017, with an election held at least 36 days afterwards.[6]

Candidates edit

Former diplomat Stephanie Kusie[7] defeated entrepreneur Myles McDougall[8] and local federal riding association president Jack Redekop[9] for the Conservative nomination, held on January 14, 2017.[7]

Haley Brown was acclaimed as the Liberal candidate on January 22.[10]

Holly Heffernan was acclaimed as the NDP candidate on February 6.[11]

Ryan Zedic was acclaimed as the Green Party of Canada candidate on December 8, 2016.[12]

Results edit

Canadian federal by-election, April 3, 2017: Calgary Midnapore
Resignation of Jason Kenney
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Stephanie Kusie 22,454 77.17 +10.44
Liberal Haley Brown 4,950 17.01 −5.64
New Democratic Holly Heffernan 735 2.53 −5.20
Green Ryan Zedic 625 2.15 −0.51
Christian Heritage Larry R. Heather 251 0.86
National Advancement Kulbir Singh Chawla 81 0.28
Total valid votes/expense limit 29,096 100.0   –  
Total rejected ballots -
Turnout
Eligible voters 89,436
Conservative hold Swing +8.08

2015 results edit

2015 Canadian federal election: Calgary Midnapore
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Jason Kenney 42,415 66.73 –9.17 $67,515.08
Liberal Haley Brown 14,396 22.65 +16.24 $11,213.46
New Democratic Laura Weston 4,915 7.73 –2.82 $18,349.56
Green Brennan Wauters 1,691 2.66 –3.77 $4,520.21
Marxist–Leninist Peggy Askin 145 0.23
Total valid votes/expense limit 63,562 100.00   $226,378.18
Total rejected ballots 179 0.28
Turnout 63,741 73.13
Eligible voters 87,158
Conservative hold Swing –12.71
Source: Elections Canada[13][14]

References edit

  1. ^ Report – Alberta, archived from the original on August 24, 2021, retrieved April 1, 2022
  2. ^ "Elections Canada site". Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  3. ^ "Calgary Tory MP Jason Kenney tweets resignation letter". Toronto Star. September 20, 2016. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  4. ^ David Cochrane (July 7, 2016). "Jason Kenney will resign as MP in October, not soon enough for taxpayer group". CBC News. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  5. ^ Fekete, Jason (August 22, 2016). "Quitting federal politics, Stephen Harper and Jason Kenney will get multimillion-dollar pensions". National Post. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  6. ^ "Vacant Seats in the House of Commons Since the 2015 General Election". Elections Canada. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Rumbolt, Ryan (January 14, 2017). "Stephanie Kusie voted Calgary Midnapore CPC candidate in byelection". Calgary Sun. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  8. ^ "Elections Canada Nominations Database". Elections Canada. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  9. ^ Dormer, Dave (September 26, 2016). "2 candidates seek nomination for seat vacated by Jason Kenney". CBC Calgary. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  10. ^ "Haley Brown named Liberal candidate in Calgary Midnapore byelection". CBC News. January 21, 2017. Archived from the original on April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  11. ^ "Updates: Calgary-Heritage and Calgary-Midnapore by-elections | daveberta.ca – Alberta Politics". Daveberta.ca. February 5, 2017. Archived from the original on April 14, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  12. ^ "Political Participants Registration: Nomination Contests Database". Elections Canada. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  13. ^ "October 19, 2015 Election Results — Calgary Midnapore (Validated results)". Elections Canada. October 21, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  14. ^ Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine