Strathmore—Brooks

Strathmore—Brooks is a large, predominantly rural riding in south-central Alberta, stretching from the town of Strathmore east of Calgary to the city of Brooks further east. The riding is bounded by the Red Deer River to the northeast and the Bow River along much of its southern edge, and includes communities such as Bassano, Rockyford, Rosebud, Gleichen, Hussar, and Standard. The economy is a mix of dryland farming, ranching, irrigation agriculture, and oil and gas production. Going into 2015, the riding had been held by Wildrose MLA Jason Hale since 2012, but Hale crossed the floor to the PCs with Danielle Smith in December 2014 and subsequently announced he would not seek re-election, leaving the seat open.

Candidates

Derek Fildebrandt (Wildrose) — Fildebrandt was a high-profile recruit for the Wildrose Party, having served as the Alberta Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation from 2012 until late 2014. In that role, he was a prominent media commentator and advocate for reduced government spending, regularly publishing analyses calling for spending restraint and balanced budgets. He was acclaimed as the Wildrose nominee in Strathmore—Brooks in early 2015.

Molly Douglass (Progressive Conservative) — Douglass was the Reeve of Newell County, bringing municipal government experience to her campaign. She was selected as the PC candidate after Hale's decision not to seek re-election.

Lynn Macwilliam (NDP), Mike Worthington (Green Party), Einar B. Davison (Alberta Party), Ali Abdulbaki (Liberal), and Glen Dundas (Alberta First) also contested the riding.

Local Issues

The food processing industry was a defining issue for the Brooks area. The beef processing plant in Brooks, formerly operated by XL Foods, had been at the centre of the largest beef recall in Canadian history in September 2012 when E. coli contamination sickened 18 people and led to over 1,800 products being pulled from shelves. The plant was sold to JBS Canada in January 2013, but inspection issues persisted through 2014, with E. coli again found in exported meat. The plant was one of the largest employers in Brooks, and its troubled history raised questions about federal food inspection standards and their impact on local workers and the agricultural economy.

The oil price crash of late 2014 hit the riding's energy sector hard. Many residents worked in oil and gas extraction across southern Alberta, and the drop in crude prices led to widespread layoffs and cancelled projects. For a riding whose economy straddles both agriculture and energy, the downturn created anxiety about economic diversification and provincial government supports for affected workers.

The Prentice government's budget, which proposed tax increases and spending cuts to address a revenue shortfall caused by plummeting oil royalties, was poorly received in a riding with a strong fiscal conservative tradition. The Wildrose floor-crossing of December 2014 was particularly galling to constituents who had elected Hale as a Wildrose MLA only to see him join the PCs. The open nomination and the arrival of Fildebrandt as a well-known fiscal conservative voice gave Wildrose supporters a rallying point in the riding.