Lethbridge-West

Lethbridge-West encompasses the western portion of the city, from the coulees carved by the Oldman River through the downtown commercial district and out to residential areas on the city's western edge. The riding is home to Lethbridge College and much of the city's retail and service-sector employment. Shannon Phillips, a prominent NDP figure who first won the seat in 2015 and served as Minister of Environment and Parks in Rachel Notley's government, entered the 2023 campaign seeking a third consecutive term. The inter-election period had been marked by a police surveillance scandal involving Phillips that drew national attention.

Candidates

Shannon Phillips (NDP) — The incumbent MLA, first elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019. A former journalist and researcher, Phillips served as Minister of Environment and Parks from 2015 to 2019, overseeing the creation of Castle Provincial Park. After leaving cabinet, she continued as the MLA for Lethbridge-West. Between 2019 and 2023, it came to light that members of the Lethbridge Police Service had conducted unauthorized surveillance of Phillips in 2017 while she was a sitting cabinet minister meeting with stakeholders about park designations.

Cheryl Seaborn (United Conservative) — A registered nurse and University of Lethbridge alumna who graduated with the Gold Medal of Honour in the Health Sciences program. Seaborn had managed rural hospitals across southern Alberta and was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for her work building relationships with the Kainai Nation. She and her husband John had owned and operated a family business in Lethbridge for more than two decades, and they raised five children in the city. She was appointed directly as the UCP candidate by Premier Smith in April 2023.

Braham Luddu (Alberta Party) — The Alberta Party candidate in Lethbridge-West. Luddu had previously run for the party in Calgary-Cross in 2019.

Local Issues

The Lethbridge Police Service surveillance controversy cast a long shadow over the riding's politics between 2019 and 2023. Two police officers were found to have followed and photographed Phillips in 2017 while she was meeting with landowners about park management, and one officer ran a police database check on a stakeholder. The officers were demoted, and the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team investigated further unauthorized database searches involving Phillips. The case raised questions about police accountability and the intersection of policing, politics, and land-use disputes in southern Alberta.

Downtown revitalization and public safety remained intertwined concerns in Lethbridge-West. After the ARCHES supervised consumption site closed in 2020, the city struggled with visible homelessness and addiction challenges in its commercial core. Business owners reported ongoing difficulties, while social service agencies warned that the absence of harm-reduction infrastructure was contributing to overdose deaths. The debate over how to balance public health, business interests, and community safety continued to shape voter priorities.

Healthcare emerged as the dominant election issue in 2023, cutting across both Lethbridge ridings. Emergency room closures and diversions at the Chinook Regional Hospital during staffing shortages alarmed residents. The COVID-19 pandemic had exposed vulnerabilities in Alberta Health Services' staffing model, and by 2023, voters were focused on physician recruitment, surgical wait times, and the future of public healthcare delivery. The NDP warned against privatization of health services, while the UCP argued that expanding private delivery options would reduce wait times.