Calgary Forest Lawn

Calgary Forest Lawn covers a broad swath of Calgary's east side, stretching from the established inner-city neighbourhoods of Radisson Heights and Forest Heights through the post-war subdivisions of Forest Lawn, Marlborough, and Marlborough Park, and south into newer communities such as Douglasdale and Douglas Glen. Created by the 2012 redistribution from parts of the former Calgary East and Calgary Northeast ridings, the district debuted in the 2015 election. With roughly 35 percent of residents identifying as immigrants in the 2011 National Household Survey, Forest Lawn ranked among the most culturally diverse ridings in Alberta.

Candidates

Deepak Obhrai (Conservative) — First elected in 1997 in the predecessor riding of Calgary East, Obhrai was one of the longest-serving Conservative MPs in the House of Commons by 2015. Born in Tanzania and trained as an accountant after immigrating to Canada in 1977, he served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2015 and was widely recognized for his work on international affairs and democratic development.

Cam Stewart (Liberal) — A retired Calgary Police Service officer with 25 years of experience in investigations, crime analysis, and diversity relations, Stewart held a master's degree from Royal Roads University in intercultural communication. After leaving policing, he facilitated training for the United Way of Calgary, the Red Cross, and the federal government, and chaired the Calgary chapter of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship.

Abdou Souraya (NDP) — Born and raised in Calgary, Souraya held a degree in geography with a minor in psychology and political studies from the University of Manitoba. He had worked for over 11 years with the City of Calgary and lived in the Penbrooke Meadows neighbourhood with his wife and four daughters.

Also seeking election were Judson Hansell (Green Party), Matt Badura (Libertarian), Jason Devine (Communist), and Max Veress (Democratic Advancement).

About the Riding

Forest Lawn itself was originally a separate town east of Calgary, annexed by the city in 1961, and its main commercial strip along 17th Avenue SE retains a distinctive small-town character amid discount stores, ethnic restaurants, and social service offices. Neighbourhoods like Penbrooke Meadows, Abbeydale, and Marlborough Park were built primarily in the 1960s and 1970s, and their aging housing stock and relatively affordable rents have made the area a landing pad for newcomers. Farther south, master-planned communities like Douglasdale and Quarry Park offer newer housing and proximity to employers in the Quarry Park office campus, which by 2015 housed satellite offices for several energy companies. The riding's eastern edge borders the Bow River, and the community of Ogden is home to the CP Rail Ogden Shops, historically one of Calgary's largest industrial employers. Median household incomes in the riding sat well below the Calgary average, and local concerns heading into the 2015 election included affordable housing, immigrant settlement services, public transit expansion, and the impact of falling oil prices on working-class households.