Key election battlegrounds in Alberta
Posted Mar 27, 2011 7:46 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Stephen Harper Conservatives held 26 of 28 seats in Alberta when the Governor General dissolved the current sitting of Parliament, Saturday.
Despite the fact Alberta has traditionally painted itself Tory Blue, that doesn’t mean there won’t be some races to watch, both here in Calgary and around the province, when Canadians go to the polls on May 2nd.
University of Calgary Political Scientist Tom Flanagan, the former Chief of Staff for Prime Minister Harper, tells the Calgary Herald the Liberals have their best shots at winning seats in Calgary Centre-North, the vacant riding held by former Environment Minister Jim Prentice, and Calgary East where Josipa Petrunic has been door knocking for months. The 31-year-old Petrunic is an academic who grew up in the blue-collar neighborhood.
In Centre-North, University of Calgary academic Stephen Randall is challenging newcomer Michelle Rempel, the former riding association president for the Tories in Centre-North.
For their part, the Grits also feel they have a shot in Calgary Northeast.
However, Flanagan points out that Conservative candidates have had a habit of winning their ridings by more than 50 per cent of the vote in Calgary, making Liberal hopes long shots.
There’s a reason NDP leader Jack Layton kicked off his campaign in Edmonton, Saturday. The New Democrats made a breakthrough in 2008 when Linda Duncan won Edmonton-Strathcona. The NDP hope to hold that seat and want to add Edmonton-Centre, a seat the Liberals are eyeing as well since it was once held by Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, as well as Edmonton-East.
