1 week Ago By pdtechintegration automation account
While the Yellowhead riding is projected to go blue this upcoming federal election, factors such as the new boundaries and tariffs are adding uncertainty. Lori Williams, a political scientist at Mount Royal University, explained it remained unlikely that anyone but the Conservative candidate would have a chance in the riding, given how many constituents are farmers who want a representative who understands agricultural and rural life. “That’s likely the kind of voice that’s going to dominate here, unless there’s a real surge in momentum for the Liberals,” Williams said, adding the more competitive Alberta ridings would be in Calgary and Edmonton.
The list of confirmed Yellowhead candidates includes Carstairs CPA William Stevenson (Conservative), Jasper’s director of recovery Michael Fark (Liberal) and Canmore scientist and entrepreneur Avni Soma (NDP). There is also Vicky Bayford with the People’s Party and Dale Heath with the Christian Heritage Party. The new Yellowhead riding, which stretches from Banff to Grande Cache, is one of the biggest geographically in Alberta.
Although acknowledging the size and diversity of Yellowhead, Williams noted that Alberta’s three major mountain towns are now in the same riding, which could give more impact to their voices and influence the race, especially since the Liberal candidate is associated with Jasper’s wildfire recovery . The riding also has no incumbent due to the current MP Gerald Soroka losing the Conservative nomination to Stevenson last summer and Blake Richards, who is the long-time MP for the Banff, Canmore, Lake Louise, Kananaskis Country, MD of Bighorn and Stoney Nakoda part of the riding, running for the new Airdrie-Cochrane riding. “That mixes things up a little bit,” Williams said.
“I mean, polling suggests this is still safe for the Conservatives, but it could be a bit more interesting even now in the election, but certainly after the election in terms of the demands on the representative.” According to 338Canada , Yellowhead is labelled as “CPC safe” with the Conservatives having a 99 per cent chance of winning and projected to win 68 per cent of the vote as of Thursday (April 17). Federally, the Liberals are forecasted to win 191 seats, and the Tories would be the runner-up with 123 seats.
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