Foothills

Foothills stretches across southwestern Alberta from the British Columbia border in the west to just east of Highway 2, and from the southern fringe of Calgary down to the United States border. The riding takes its name from the Rocky Mountain Foothills that define its western edge, where the plains give way to rolling ranchland and eventually the front ranges of the Rockies. Communities include Okotoks, High River, Black Diamond, Turner Valley, Nanton, Claresholm, Fort Macleod, Pincher Creek, and the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, as well as Waterton Lakes National Park at its southwestern tip. The riding also encompasses Tsuu T'ina Nation, Eden Valley, and Piikani First Nation. Created from the bulk of the former Macleod riding in the 2012 redistribution, Foothills covers approximately 34,000 square kilometres of terrain ranging from prairie grassland to alpine meadow.

Candidates

John Barlow (Conservative) Born in 1971, Barlow spent 20 years as a journalist and served as editor of the Western Wheel newspaper in Okotoks before entering politics. He holds a degree in political science and lives in Okotoks with his wife Louise and their three children. First elected in a 2014 by-election to represent Macleod, he transitioned to the reconfigured Foothills riding in 2015 and was re-elected in 2019. Heading into 2021, he served as Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Agri-Food, and Food Security.

Michelle Traxel (NDP) A restaurant owner and community volunteer from Okotoks, Traxel co-owns and operates Little Fast + Fresh with her husband Jarod. Active in local charity work, she entered the 2021 race as her first federal campaign, citing the NDP platform's alignment with her priorities as a parent, small business owner, and member of the LGBTQ+ community.

Daniel Hunter (PPC) A University of Calgary graduate with degrees in political science and an MBA in new venture development, Hunter spent 18 years in the movie theatre business and founded Okotoks Cinemas. He grew up in High River and has also lived in Nanton, Fort Macleod, and Cayley. His primary campaign focus was the preservation of Charter rights and freedoms.

Paula Shimp (Liberal) A fifth-generation Foothills resident, Shimp holds degrees in political science and social work from the University of Calgary. She began her political career in 1985 as a pollster and campaign manager, and later ran as a provincial Liberal candidate in Cardston-Taber-Warner in 2004. Her top 2021 priority was safeguarding water and air quality from coal mining developments in the riding's mountain communities.

About the Riding

Foothills is defined by its ranching heritage and energy sector ties. The western half of the riding—centred on communities like Pincher Creek, Crowsnest Pass, and the foothills ranch country—has supported cattle operations for well over a century. High River, once a major rail shipping point for livestock, retains its agricultural character alongside a growing commuter population drawn by its proximity to Calgary. Okotoks, the riding's largest community with a population exceeding 30,000, has experienced rapid suburban growth as a bedroom community for Calgary, though it operates under a unique growth management strategy tied to the capacity of the Sheep River.

The riding's energy landscape is diverse. Conventional oil and gas extraction has long underpinned the economy of communities from Turner Valley—site of one of Canada's earliest major oil discoveries in the 1910s and 1920s—to the ranchlands east of Highway 2. The Pincher Creek area is simultaneously one of Alberta's premier wind energy corridors, with wind farms generating significant electricity capacity along the exposed ridgelines where prairie winds accelerate against the mountain front.

Waterton Lakes National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site shared with Montana's Glacier National Park, anchors the tourism economy in the riding's southwest corner. The park and surrounding area were still recovering from the devastating 2017 Kenow wildfire, which burned over 38,000 hectares and destroyed much of the townsite's surrounding forest. Crowsnest Pass, with its coal mining history and proximity to Fernie, British Columbia, draws heritage tourists and outdoor recreation enthusiasts. The riding also encompasses Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, another UNESCO World Heritage Site located west of Fort Macleod, which preserves nearly 6,000 years of Indigenous buffalo hunting culture.