Byelection win ‘good indication’ for UCP in 2019

Kenney, who did not speak to reporters, accused the NDP of running a “fear and smear campaign” against him in the byelection, but said he would take a respectful approach as he battled the government.

“Premier Notley, I look forward to meeting you in the legislature.”

There were seven candidates in the field with Green party Leader Romy Tittel, Alberta Reform candidate Lauren Thorsteinson and Independents Wayne Leslie and Larry Heather also in the race.

But from the start, the byelection had been all about Kenney, the longtime Conservative MP and cabinet minister who entered provincial politics last year on a quest to unite the Progressive Conservatives and Wildrose to ensure the defeat of the NDP.

Calgary-Lougheed was the first electoral test of the UCP, though the south Calgary riding has long been a stronghold for both provincial and federal conservatives.

Kenney said the smashing results vindicated his push for conservative unity, noting his vote percentages were greater than the combined tally of the PCs and Wildrose in the riding in 2015.

Calgary-Foothills MLA Prasad Panda said the outcome was a resounding message to the NDP and he expects it to be repeated in the next general election.

“That’s a pretty good indication of things to come in 2019,” he said in an interview.

“That will be the same trend all over Alberta.”

The byelection battle was an opportunity for the NDP to see whether it has gained political traction from a recovering provincial economy after two years of recession. But the party instead saw a sharp drop in its vote in Calgary-Lougheed from 2015, when the NDP candidate took 32 per cent of the ballots cast in the riding and finished about 500 votes shy of Rodney.

Deputy premier Sarah Hoffman told reporters Kenney’s victory was no surprise with the conservative leader running in a conservative riding. But she acknowledged many voters have not yet felt the effect of the returning economic growth and want the NDP government to show it is operating as efficiently as possible.

“They have some concerns and we respect that and we’re going to keep working hard to ensure we have a strong economy and good jobs for all Albertans,” Hoffman said at the NDP event at the Black Swan Pub.

Since taking office in 2015, the NDP has lost two other Calgary byelections in seats formerly held by PCs. In the previous vote in Calgary-Greenway, the NDP finished fourth behind the PCs, Wildrose and Liberals.

The byelection contest was generally low key, though the one forum of the campaign took a few raucous turns.

Van der Merwe, a political neophyte, said he was happy with the campaign after being a “nobody out of nowhere trying to make the case at the doors.”