Calgary-North West

Nestled against Calgary's western fringe where residential subdivisions yield to rolling foothills, Calgary-North West draws together the mature suburbs of Tuscany, Scenic Acres, and Arbour Lake with the somewhat newer communities of Rocky Ridge and Royal Oak. The riding's population is predominantly composed of professional households --- many employed in the energy sector, engineering, and finance --- who commute along the Stoney Trail and Crowchild Trail corridors into the city's employment centres. With the completion of the southwest ring road in 2021 and continued upgrades to Stoney Trail interchanges, the riding's transportation network improved significantly during the inter-election period. The 2023 contest drew heightened attention after incumbent Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Sonya Savage announced on March 24, 2023 that she would not seek re-election, prompting Premier Danielle Smith to appoint former Calgary-North East MLA and cabinet minister Rajan Sawhney as the UCP candidate in the riding on April 1, 2023.

Candidates

Rajan Sawhney (United Conservative) --- Sawhney is a first-generation Canadian, born and raised in northeast Calgary to Sikh parents who immigrated from India in the late 1960s. She holds a degree in economics and political science as well as an MBA from the University of Calgary. She spent over twenty years in the oil and gas sector in roles spanning economics and business development, including a stint as vice-president of business development for Fracture Modeling Inc. First elected in Calgary-North East in 2019, she served as Minister of Community and Social Services and then Minister of Transportation under Premier Kenney. She entered the 2022 UCP leadership race, finishing sixth on the first ballot, and was subsequently appointed Minister of Trade, Immigration and Multiculturalism under Premier Smith before moving to the Calgary-North West nomination.

Michael Lisboa-Smith (NDP) --- Lisboa-Smith is a Calgary-born teacher working with students facing barriers to learning within the public school system. Active in the Alberta Teachers' Association, he was among the delegates who voted no confidence in the province's education minister. He also has experience in global online business development, having spoken at multiple industry conferences on emerging trends in digital commerce.

Jenny Yeremiy (Alberta Party) --- Yeremiy is a professional geophysicist with over twenty years of experience in the energy sector, most recently focusing on policies and regulations concerning the cleanup and restoration of oil and gas sites. A resident of the riding's western communities, she has been active in local volunteerism, including planting over 1,500 trees and seedlings in the community of Cougar Ridge through the community association.

Serena Thomsen (Independent) --- Thomsen ran as an independent candidate in Calgary-North West.

Alain Habel (Social Movement) --- Habel ran as the Social Movement candidate in Calgary-North West.

Local Issues

The COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath dominated much of the 2019--2023 period for Calgary-North West residents. Many of the riding's energy sector professionals were able to shift to remote work during lockdowns, but the broader economic disruption --- including the April 2020 oil price crash that briefly sent West Texas Intermediate prices below zero --- renewed anxieties about the sector's long-term stability. As oil prices recovered through 2021 and 2022, employment rebounded, but the experience reinforced conversations about economic diversification in a riding where household incomes are closely tied to fossil fuel markets.

Healthcare access became a growing concern between elections. Alberta's healthcare system, strained by successive waves of COVID-19 and worsened by staffing shortages, saw emergency room wait times surge across the province. By the spring of 2023, some Calgary hospitals were posting estimated waits of fifteen hours or more, a tangible reality for families in the riding who relied on facilities like Foothills Medical Centre and the Peter Lougheed Centre. The UCP government's handling of the pandemic --- including public clashes between then-Premier Kenney and the chief medical officer of health --- had eroded trust for some residents, while others supported the government's push to lift restrictions and reopen the economy.

Education policy also featured prominently. The UCP's proposed curriculum overhaul drew criticism from teachers' groups and many parents in the riding, who raised concerns about the draft K-6 curriculum released in 2021. The debate over curriculum content, combined with broader tensions around masking mandates and school reopenings during the pandemic, made education a locally resonant issue heading into the 2023 vote.