Red Deer—North

Red Deer—North covers the northern half of the city of Red Deer, Alberta's third-largest city, situated midway between Calgary and Edmonton along the Highway 2 corridor. The riding includes established residential neighbourhoods north of the Red Deer River, as well as commercial and industrial areas along Gaetz Avenue, the city's main commercial strip. The constituency had been a Progressive Conservative stronghold from its creation in 1986 until 2015, when the NDP's Kim Schreiner won the seat amid the province-wide orange wave. Heading into 2019, Red Deer was considered a bellwether, with both the UCP and NDP investing heavily in the city's two ridings.

Candidates

Adriana LaGrange (United Conservative) — A longtime Red Deer resident who served for over 11 years as a school trustee with the Red Deer Catholic Regional School Division. She was the former president of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees' Association and former vice-president of the Canadian Catholic School Trustees' Association. LaGrange held a diploma in Rehabilitation Studies from Humber College and had worked helping Albertans with developmental disabilities. She and her husband also owned and operated a trucking company and a family farm.

Kim Schreiner (NDP) --- A Red Deer resident of more than 30 years, Schreiner was first elected to the legislature in 2015. Her career before politics centred on health care aide work at Valley Park Manor, Covenant Care, and Extendicare, and she held roles as both a steward and an occupational health and safety representative with the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees.

Paul Hardy (Alberta Party) — The Alberta Party's candidate in Red Deer—North.

Local Issues

The opioid crisis and homelessness were interconnected challenges that dominated the public conversation in Red Deer heading into 2019. The city had the highest number of fentanyl overdoses per capita in the province in 2018, highlighting the strain on the healthcare system. Mayor Tara Veer publicly called on the provincial government in September 2018 to fund the consequences of gaps in addictions and homelessness services, pointing to increased street-level disorder and crime that was frustrating residents. An overdose prevention site was established in October 2018 as a temporary measure in the parking lot of the Safe Harbour shelter, but the city had been asking for years for a residential addiction treatment centre that had not materialized.

Homelessness in Red Deer was growing, with a 2018 count identifying 144 individuals experiencing homelessness. The intersection of homelessness, addiction, and mental health created visible social challenges in the city's core that affected business confidence and public safety perceptions.

Red Deer's economy, closely tied to the oil and gas service sector, had been struggling since the 2014 commodity price downturn. The carbon tax was a prominent issue, with local businesses and residents feeling the added costs. Education was also a significant concern in the riding, given LaGrange's background as a school trustee and ongoing debates about class sizes, school construction, and curriculum in Alberta's education system.