Lethbridge

Situated in the heart of southern Alberta, the riding of Lethbridge covers the city of the same name, which sits along the Oldman River valley roughly 215 kilometres southeast of Calgary. With a population of about 93,000 in the 2016 census, Lethbridge is southern Alberta's largest city and a regional centre for education, health care, agriculture, and commerce.

Candidates

Rachael Harder (Conservative) — Born in Calgary in 1986, Harder grew up on a horse farm in Kathryn, Alberta, and later attended Briercrest College and Seminary in Saskatchewan, where she was named the young alumnus of the year in 2012. She completed a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Social Science at the University of Lethbridge and worked as a youth sociologist and leadership consultant before seeking the Conservative nomination.

Cheryl Meheden (NDP) — A small business owner and educator, Meheden founded Urban Grocer, a specialty grocery store in Lethbridge, and taught in the School of Business at Lethbridge College and the Faculty of Management at the University of Lethbridge. She held a doctoral degree in education and a graduate degree in business. Having lived in Lethbridge for nearly 30 years, she entered the race buoyed by the Alberta NDP's provincial victory in May 2015.

Mike Pyne (Liberal) — Pyne ran as the Liberal candidate in a riding that had been solidly Conservative for decades but where the party hoped to benefit from a national surge in Liberal support.

Kas MacMillan (Green Party), Geoffrey Capp (Christian Heritage Party), and Solly Krygier-Paine (Rhinoceros Party) also sought election.

About the Riding

Lethbridge's geography is defined by the Oldman River, which splits the city into three sectors: north, south, and west. The coulees carved by the river create dramatic landscapes within the urban area. The University of Lethbridge, founded in 1967, and Lethbridge College, founded in 1957, together enrolled about 15,000 students and gave the city a significant post-secondary presence. Agriculture dominates the surrounding economy, with the city serving as a service centre for irrigated farming operations, feedlots, and food processing plants across southern Alberta. The Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, a federal agricultural research station, has operated in the city since 1906. Major employers include the regional health authority, the two post-secondary institutions, and various agribusiness firms. Federal issues during the 2015 campaign included agricultural trade policy, support for post-secondary education, health care transfers, and water management in the Oldman River basin.