Calgary-Hays

Calgary-Hays covers the deep southeast corner of Calgary, taking in the neighbourhoods of McKenzie Lake, McKenzie Towne, Quarry Park, Douglas Glen, and Douglasdale. Created in the 2004 boundary redistribution from the rapidly growing former Calgary-Shaw riding, the district had seen substantial population growth as new suburban communities filled in the southeast quadrant. The 2010 redistribution further split the riding to create Calgary-South East, reflecting the continued pace of development. Ric Mciver, a former cabinet minister who had held the seat since 2012, was seeking re-election after running in the 2014 PC leadership race.

Candidates

Ric Mciver (Progressive Conservative) — Mciver was a businessman and former Calgary city alderman who had represented Ward 12 on city council from 2001 to 2010, serving on the Calgary Police Commission and the board of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association. He was first elected to the legislature in 2012 in Calgary-Hays and served as Minister of Transportation and then Minister of Infrastructure before resigning from cabinet in May 2014 to run in the PC leadership race, where he placed second to Jim Prentice. He was subsequently appointed Minister of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour in the Prentice cabinet.

Carla Drader (NDP) — Drader was the NDP candidate in the riding, carrying the party's banner in a traditionally conservative corner of the city.

Local Issues

Calgary-Hays was defined by the rapid suburban growth that had transformed southeast Calgary over the preceding decade. Communities like McKenzie Towne were planned developments built from scratch in the 2000s, and residents contended with the growing pains typical of new suburbs: insufficient school capacity, limited transit service, and the need for community recreation facilities. Traffic congestion on routes connecting these communities to downtown Calgary and to Deerfoot Trail was a daily frustration, and residents looked for provincial support for road improvements and transit infrastructure.

The oil price crash had a significant impact on the riding's upper-middle-class households, many of whom worked in the energy sector. The wave of downtown office layoffs in late 2014 and early 2015 meant that many families in these newer communities were suddenly facing mortgage stress and economic uncertainty. Quarry Park, a mixed-use development along the Bow River, was emerging as an employment node with major corporate tenants, but the broader economic slowdown raised questions about the pace of development. The Prentice government's budget, with its new personal taxes and health-care levy, was unpopular among conservative-leaning voters who felt the government should have cut spending more aggressively rather than raising taxes.