Calgary Shepard

Calgary Shepard occupies the city's southeast quadrant, stretching from Deerfoot Trail east to the municipal boundary and from Glenmore Trail south to the developing prairie fringe beyond Seton. The riding was carved from portions of the former Calgary East and Calgary Southeast districts in the 2012 redistribution and first contested in 2015. It takes its name from the historic hamlet of Shepard, once a small agricultural community on the CPR line east of Calgary. Today the riding is among the fastest-growing in the city, anchored by master-planned communities such as McKenzie Towne, Cranston, Auburn Bay, Copperfield, New Brighton, Mahogany, and Seton. The 2021 census recorded a population of approximately 163,400.

Candidates

Tom Kmiec (Conservative) was born in Gdansk, Poland in 1981 and immigrated to Canada as a young child, settling in Quebec, where he was educated in the French-language school system under Bill 101. He holds a BA in political science from Concordia University and an MA in American government from Regent University in Virginia. Before his election in 2015 he managed policy and research at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and worked for the Human Resources Institute of Alberta. He is fluently bilingual in English and French.

Raj Jessel (NDP) is an employee of Calgary Transit and a member of the ATU Local 583 executive board, where he advocates for workplace safety and job security. He immigrated to Canada from India in 1986, having previously worked as a teacher in his home country.

Cam Macdonald (Liberal) was the Liberal Party's candidate in Calgary Shepard, running on the federal platform of pandemic recovery, childcare investment, and climate policy.

Ron Vaillant (PPC) is a lifelong Albertan who ran on the People's Party platform. He was an active commentator on land-rights policy and government overreach.

About the Riding

Calgary Shepard's defining characteristic is its explosive growth. McKenzie Towne, a neo-traditional master-planned community inspired by small-town urbanism, features street-front retail, traditional architectural detailing, a central high street, and a mix of single-family homes, townhouses, and apartments. Auburn Bay — centred on a 43-acre private freshwater lake — and Mahogany, built around an even larger 63-acre lake, represent a newer generation of lake-community development that has drawn young families from across western Canada.

Cranston, perched on the rim of the Bow River valley, offers panoramic views of the river and the Rocky Mountains, while New Brighton and Copperfield fill the interior with dense single-family and townhouse subdivisions. Seton, the riding's newest major development, is envisioned as a mixed-use urban centre anchored by the South Health Campus — a full-service regional hospital that opened in 2012 — along with big-box retail, restaurant clusters, and a planned recreation centre.

Demographically, the riding is among the most diverse in suburban Calgary. Punjabi, Filipino, and Chinese communities form significant population segments, particularly in the eastern communities closer to the former hamlet of Shepard. Many residents are first- or second-generation immigrants who were attracted by relatively affordable new-build housing and proximity to employment in the industrial parks along Deerfoot Trail and Barlow Trail.

Transportation infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with growth. The Green Line LRT extension — intended to connect the southeast to downtown — remained in the planning and early-construction phase during the 2021 election period, and traffic congestion along Deerfoot Trail, 52 Street, and Stoney Trail has been a persistent concern for commuters. The riding is served by multiple public and Catholic schools, the Brookfield Residential YMCA at Seton, and the commercial centres at McKenzie Towne and Shawnessy.