Calgary-Foothills

Calgary-Foothills is located in the northwest corner of Calgary, encompassing the rapidly growing suburban communities of Nolan Hill, Sage Hill, Sherwood, Kincora, the Hamptons, and Edgemont. The riding also takes in the western part of Hidden Valley and a rural portion added in the 2010 boundary redistribution where the city annexed new land to its north. Heading into the 2015 election, the riding carried extraordinary significance as the seat of Progressive Conservative leader and Premier Jim Prentice, who had won it in an October 2014 by-election after becoming party leader the previous month. The Wildrose served as the official opposition, and the NDP was surging in the polls following the unpopular March 2015 budget and Prentice's controversial suggestion that Albertans needed to "look in the mirror" to understand the province's fiscal problems.

Candidates

Jim Prentice (Progressive Conservative) — Prentice was a lawyer by training who had served as a federal Conservative MP for Calgary Centre-North from 2004 to 2010, holding senior cabinet portfolios including Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Industry, and Environment under Prime Minister Stephen Harper. After leaving federal politics, he became vice-chairman of CIBC before winning the PC leadership in September 2014 and becoming Premier of Alberta. He called an early election for May 5, 2015, seeking a mandate for his budget.

Anne Wilson (NDP) — Wilson was a criminal defence lawyer who had been practicing in the Bow Valley and Calgary areas for close to a decade before the 2015 campaign. She ran against the Premier in Calgary-Foothills, arguing that the conservative tide in the province was waning and that the NDP offered a credible alternative for northwest Calgary voters.

Janet Keeping (Green Party) — Keeping was the leader of the Green Party of Alberta, having held that position since September 2012. She ran in Calgary-Foothills directly against Prentice, using the platform to advocate for environmental issues and a transition away from dependence on oil and gas revenues.

Local Issues

The dominant issue in Calgary-Foothills, as across Alberta, was the economic fallout from the oil price crash. Crude oil prices had declined roughly fifty percent between mid-2014 and early 2015, devastating Alberta's resource-dependent economy. In Calgary, the effects were felt acutely: thousands of energy-sector layoffs rippled through the city, housing values began to slip, and the sense of economic invincibility that had characterized the boom years evaporated. Prentice's March 2015 budget introduced a raft of new taxes and fees, including a health-care levy on incomes above fifty thousand dollars, higher fuel taxes, and increased tobacco and liquor markups, all while leaving the corporate tax rate untouched. The budget alienated voters on both the left and the right.

For residents of Calgary-Foothills specifically, infrastructure and services in the rapidly growing northwest suburbs were persistent concerns. Communities like Nolan Hill and Sage Hill were among the newest in the city, and residents wanted commitments on school construction, road connections to Stoney Trail, and transit access. The riding's proximity to the city's northern boundary also meant that questions about regional planning, water and sewer servicing for new developments, and coordination between the City of Calgary and Rocky View County were top of mind.