Calgary-Fish Creek

Stretching across south Calgary's lake-oriented suburbs, Calgary-Fish Creek draws its identity from the sprawling provincial park that curves along the Bow River's southern tributary through the district's heart. The riding takes in Lake Bonavista, Midnapore, Sundance, Canyon Meadows, Queensland, Deer Run, and Deer Ridge, communities built primarily between the 1960s and 1990s that house a population skewing older and more established than Calgary's newer suburban fringes. Household incomes trend middle-to-upper range, and homeownership rates are high. The seat opened up for the 2023 election after two-term UCP MLA Richard Gotfried announced in 2022 that he would not seek re-election, making it one of several open Calgary contests heading into the campaign.

Candidates

Myles McDougall (United Conservative) — An economist and entrepreneur who spent 18 years living in the riding, McDougall founded PetroJet Canada, an oil sands technology company focused on reducing CO2 emissions, and ran it for 12 years before selling the business and launching a management consulting practice. He previously served as president of the Lake Bonavista Community Association and as CFO of the Calgary-Fish Creek UCP constituency association. A University of Calgary graduate who also lived and worked in Argentina, where he met his wife, McDougall brought a blend of energy-sector and small-business experience to his campaign.

Rebecca Bounsall (NDP) — A technology industry leader and entrepreneur, Bounsall had lived in Alberta for more than 30 years and resided in the Sundance neighbourhood. She volunteered at the Calgary Food Bank, where she saw the impact of the affordability crisis on local families. This was her second run for the NDP in the riding, having earned 28 per cent of the vote in the 2019 contest.

Charlie Heater (Liberal) — Heater carried the Alberta Liberal banner in Calgary-Fish Creek, providing a centrist option in a riding that historically leaned conservative.

Local Issues

The Green Line LRT project dominated transportation discussions across south Calgary heading into 2023. After years of funding disputes between city hall and the provincial government, the project's scope was substantially reduced, with its southern terminus cut well short of Fish Creek. The UCP government had criticized the city's original plan and withheld its funding commitment until mid-2021, and by the time the 2023 campaign arrived, the project's revised Phase 1 would not extend into the riding's communities. Many residents who had hoped for improved rapid transit connections to downtown were left frustrated, while others questioned whether the billions allocated to the project represented good value.

The pandemic years hit Fish Creek's mature communities in ways both economic and social. Many residents worked in energy-sector corporate and professional roles, and the oil price collapse of April 2020, which briefly saw West Texas Intermediate futures trade in negative territory, compounded the downturn that had plagued Calgary since 2014. Recovery came unevenly: energy prices rebounded sharply by 2022, but the cost of living rose in tandem, with grocery and utility bills climbing faster than at any point in decades. Seniors in the riding's older neighbourhoods, many living on fixed incomes, felt the squeeze particularly hard.

Healthcare access emerged as a top doorstep concern. Alberta's family doctor shortage deepened between 2020 and 2023, with the number of physicians accepting new patients across the province falling by nearly 80 per cent. In south Calgary's established suburbs, where many long-time family doctors were nearing retirement, residents found it increasingly difficult to find primary care. Emergency department wait times at nearby South Health Campus drew frequent complaints, and the provincial government's Health Care Action Plan, launched in late 2022, was viewed by many voters as a belated response to a system under severe strain.