Taber—Warner

Southern Alberta's irrigated farmland defines Taber-Warner, a riding that takes in the Town of Taber, the Town of Coaldale, and a constellation of smaller communities — Vauxhall, Bow Island, Foremost, Milk River, and Warner — spread across the flatlands between the Oldman and South Saskatchewan rivers. The region produces sugar beets, potatoes, corn, and canola under the spray of some of the province's largest irrigation districts, and a growing agri-food processing sector has attracted investment from companies such as McCain Foods. Grant Hunter, who first entered the legislature as a Wildrose MLA in 2015 for the predecessor riding of Cardston-Taber-Warner and joined the UCP at its founding, sought a third term. The riding also drew Paul Hinman, a former MLA and party leader returning to contest the seat under a new banner.

Candidates

Grant Hunter (United Conservative) — First elected in 2015 under the Wildrose banner for Cardston-Taber-Warner, Hunter ran in Taber-Warner after redistribution and was re-elected in 2019. He served as Associate Minister of Red Tape Reduction from 2019 to 2021 in the Kenney government, during which Alberta's grade on the Canadian Federation of Independent Business Red Tape Report Card improved from an F to a B-minus in 2020 and then to an A in 2021, the first A in the report card's history. He holds a bachelor of science in economics and political science from Brigham Young University and a master of business administration. He has owned a residential and commercial construction company for over two decades.

Jazminn Hintz (NDP) — A former journalist who grew up on her family's farm in the area. Hintz campaigned on expanding rural high-speed internet, recruiting family doctors for underserved communities, and capping utility bills. She was nominated as one of the final candidates in the NDP's drive to fill all 87 ridings.

Paul Hinman (Wildrose Loyalty Coalition) — A Warner-area rancher and longtime figure in Alberta's right-of-centre political landscape. Hinman served as MLA for Cardston-Taber-Warner from 2004 to 2008 under the Alberta Alliance banner and later led the Wildrose Alliance before it merged into the broader Wildrose Party. He also won a 2009 by-election in Calgary-Glenmore. After being removed as leader of the Wildrose Independence Party, he formed the Wildrose Loyalty Coalition, which was registered with Elections Alberta on May 1, 2023.

Joel Hunt (Green Party) — The Green Party's candidate in the riding.

Frank Kast (Independence Party of Alberta) — The Independence Party of Alberta's candidate in Taber-Warner.

Brent Ginther (Solidarity Movement of Alberta) — A Coaldale teacher running for the Solidarity Movement of Alberta, a party founded by former Alberta Independence Party leader Artur Pawlowski. Ginther expressed frustration with the UCP's pandemic-era policies.

Local Issues

Irrigation expansion and the Highway 3 agri-food corridor dominated the economic conversation. The provincial government had committed nearly $1 billion to expanding southern Alberta's irrigated acreage by up to 230,000 acres, a transformational investment for a region whose agricultural productivity depends on reliable water delivery. The twinning of Highway 3 from the British Columbia border to Saskatchewan, beginning with the 46-kilometre Taber-to-Burdett segment, was advancing through procurement, and Hunter promoted the project as critical infrastructure for a growing agri-food processing sector. McCain Foods' planned $600-million expansion of its Coaldale potato processing facility underscored the corridor's economic potential.

Healthcare access was a persistent rural concern. Residents in smaller communities like Milk River, Foremost, and Bow Island faced long drives to reach hospitals in Taber, Lethbridge, or Medicine Hat. Recruiting and retaining family physicians in small-town practices was an ongoing challenge, and forum attendees pressed candidates on how they would ensure that southern Alberta's rural population could access timely medical care.

The proliferation of right-of-centre parties on the ballot — with the UCP, Wildrose Loyalty Coalition, and the Independence Party of Alberta all competing for conservative voters — reflected grassroots discontent that had simmered since the Kenney years. Some voters in this traditionally conservative riding expressed frustration with the UCP's handling of the pandemic and its approach to federal-provincial relations, though the vote-splitting dynamic ultimately benefited Hunter's path to re-election.