Westlock—St. Paul

Westlock—St. Paul was a federal electoral district in north-central Alberta, spanning a vast rural territory northeast of Edmonton. The riding stretched from the town of Westlock in the west to the Lakeland region near Bonnyville in the east, encompassing the towns of St. Paul, Athabasca, Smoky Lake, and numerous smaller communities across several county municipalities.

Candidates

• Brian Storseth (Conservative) — Born in 1978 in Barrhead, Alberta, Storseth studied political science at the University of Alberta. He became the youngest councillor in Barrhead's history when elected to town council in 2001. In 2003, he moved to St. Paul where he owned and operated a Co-operators Insurance branch. First elected as MP for Westlock—St. Paul in 2006 with over 68 percent of the vote, he was re-elected in 2008 and served on standing committees for Agriculture, National Defence, Foreign Affairs, and Environment. He was one of the few MPs to successfully pass a private member's bill and was the founder of the Westlock Women's Shelter.

• Lyndsey Ellen Henderson (NDP) — Henderson ran as the NDP candidate in Westlock—St. Paul in 2011, finishing second in the riding as part of the national NDP surge under Jack Layton.

• Rob Fox (Liberal) — Fox carried the Liberal banner in the riding, contending in a constituency where Liberal support had long been marginal.

• Lisa Grant (Green Party) — Grant represented the Green Party in the riding, advocating for environmental and sustainability issues in this resource-rich region.

About the Riding

Westlock—St. Paul covered an enormous stretch of north-central Alberta, taking in Westlock County, Sturgeon County, Thorhild County, Smoky Lake County, the County of St. Paul, and the Municipal District of Bonnyville. The riding's population was spread across small towns and rural communities, with no single urban centre exceeding about 6,000 people. The landscape was characterized by mixed farmland transitioning into boreal forest in the northern reaches, with numerous lakes attracting seasonal tourism.

The economy was firmly rooted in agriculture and energy. Grain farming, canola production, and cattle ranching formed the traditional backbone of the region, while oil and gas extraction — particularly in the Bonnyville and Cold Lake areas on the eastern edge of the riding — provided significant employment and revenue. Forestry also played a role in the northern portions of the constituency. The riding included several First Nations reserves, and Indigenous communities contributed to the cultural fabric and faced distinct economic and social challenges around housing, education, and health services.

Politically, Westlock—St. Paul was a deep blue Conservative stronghold. The riding and its predecessors had been represented by right-of-centre parties since the Reform wave of 1993. Storseth had built a solid personal following since his initial 2006 victory, winning by increasingly large margins. In 2011, he captured approximately 78 percent of the vote in a landslide, with the NDP finishing a distant second as part of their broader national surge.

The 2011 campaign in the riding centred on resource development, agricultural policy, and rural infrastructure. Concerns about health care access in remote communities, road maintenance, and support for the energy sector were prominent local issues. The NDP's Orange Wave, while transformative in Quebec and parts of Ontario, barely registered in this part of Alberta. Storseth's comfortable re-election reflected both the riding's unwavering Conservative loyalty and his active local presence. The riding was abolished following the 2012 redistribution, with its territory divided among several successor ridings including Lakeland, Sturgeon River—Parkland, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, and Peace River—Westlock.