Calgary East

Calgary East is a redrawn urban riding in the city's eastern quadrants, restored under its historic name following the 2022 redistribution after a decade as Calgary Forest Lawn. The riding encompasses some of Calgary's most diverse and lower-income neighbourhoods, including Forest Lawn, Dover, Penbrooke Meadows, Albert Park/Radisson Heights, Southview, Marlborough, Marlborough Park, and parts of the communities south of Glenmore Trail extending to the riding's southern boundary. It is one of the most ethnically diverse constituencies in western Canada, with large South Asian, Filipino, Chinese, Vietnamese, and East African communities.

Candidates

Jasraj Hallan (Conservative) is the incumbent, first elected in 2019 when the riding was known as Calgary Forest Lawn. Born in Dubai to Indian parents, he immigrated to Canada as a child and grew up in northeast Calgary. Hallan has spoken openly about his difficult youth, crediting the late Alberta MLA Manmeet Bhullar with helping him turn his life around. He completed an accounting diploma at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and operated a home-building business before entering politics. In Parliament, he served as the Conservative shadow minister for Finance.

Priti Obhrai-Martin (Liberal) is the daughter of the late Deepak Obhrai, who served as Conservative MP for Calgary East and its predecessor ridings from 1997 until his death in 2019—at that time the longest continuously serving Conservative MP. She worked on all of her father's campaigns and served as his campaign manager during the Conservative leadership race. She holds degrees in anthropology and in communications and journalism, and in 2004 founded Cultural Urban Essence, Calgary's first free digital lifestyle magazine.

Jennifer Geha (NDP) was named as the NDP candidate for Calgary East as the party filled its remaining Calgary-area nominations ahead of the 2025 election.

Harry Dhillon (People's Party), Carey Rutherford (Green Party), and Garry Dirk (Christian Heritage Party) also stood as candidates in the riding.

About the Riding

Calgary East is defined by its diversity and its economic contrasts. Forest Lawn, the riding's historic core, was an independent town until annexation by Calgary in 1961 and retains a distinct identity anchored by International Avenue (17th Avenue SE), a commercial strip lined with restaurants, grocery stores, and shops representing cuisines and cultures from around the world. The neighbourhood and surrounding communities have become settlement areas for successive waves of immigrants, making the riding one of the most multilingual in the country.

Household incomes in the riding tend to fall below the Calgary average, and the area has higher rates of renters, multi-generational households, and residents relying on public transit than most other Calgary constituencies. The proximity of industrial lands along the Bow River and in the Foothills Industrial area provides blue-collar employment but also raises environmental and land-use concerns.

In 2025, affordability was the overriding issue for Calgary East's residents. Rent increases hit particularly hard in a riding with a high proportion of renters, while grocery prices and the cost of childcare strained household budgets. Immigration settlement services, language training, and credential recognition were important local concerns given the riding's newcomer population. Healthcare access—especially the shortage of family physicians and overcrowded walk-in clinics—was a persistent problem. The US trade dispute added a layer of economic anxiety, particularly for workers in the construction, manufacturing, and warehousing sectors concentrated in the riding's industrial zones.