| Take 1
Calgary Centre and Calgary Centre-North are two urban ridings that contain voters who have a reputation for being independent thinkers.
In the 2000 election, Joe Clark ousted incumbent Eric Lowther – who was running under the Canadian Alliance banner – from Calgary Centre for good on a platform that was pro-choice and supported gay rights. This brand of centre-to-left politics is a significant factor in Calgary Centre and now Calgary Centre-North, which was created in 2004. The voters’ concern for social and environmental issues was demonstrated once again during the 2004 election, when the NDP candidate in Calgary Centre-North picked up more than 12 per cent of the vote, closely followed by the Green Party candidate at 11 per cent. Both ridings have large immigrant populations and high levels of education, with nearly a quarter of the adult population in Calgary Centre holding a university degree and 19 per cent in Calgary Centre-North.
CALGARY CENTRE
This riding joins residents from Calgary West and Calgary Southwest together with 70,000 residents of the former Calgary Centre to create a new riding with a population of more than 117,000. A Conservative party stronghold, the riding was once ruled by Progressive Conservative Harvie Andre for 21 years. The Reform party won the seat in 1993 and 1997, until Joe Clark regained the riding for the Tories in 2000. Clark later sat as an independent Progressive Conservative in the House of Commons after the PCs merged with the Canadian Alliance, and he retired from politics on May 13, 2004. In the 2004 federal election, Lee Richardson of the newly created Conservative Party defeated Liberal Julia Turnbull by more than 10,000 votes to win the riding.
· Lee Richardson (incumbent), Conservative Party – Richardson, 58, is widowed with three adult children. President of a finance firm, Richardson was an executive assistant to former prime minister John Diefenbaker, chief of staff to former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed from 1979 to 1983, and deputy chief of staff to former prime minister Brian Mulroney. Richardson was first elected to the House of Commons in 1988 representing the people of Calgary Southeast. An opponent of same-sex marriage, his website states, "A Conservative government will support legislation defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman."
· Brian Pincott, New Democratic Party – Pincott, 44, is married and has a dog and a cat. He is well known in the theatre community for his work during the past two decades as a lighting designer and production manager. In recent years he has become more involved in environmental issues and is the co-founder of the Calgary chapter of the Sierra Club. He says he entered politics because, "we are lacking a certain type of vision within government." Pincott adds, "As an activist, I have been on the outside trying to get change in policy and in how decisions are made. At a certain point you end up looking for ways to change the elected officials. I have a lot of experience in the environment, in the arts, and with social issues. Politics seems like a natural step!" Pincott says he is running for the NDP because of the party’s "holistic approach" to politics. "This goes far beyond simple ‘triple bottom line’ decision-making that others talk about," he says. "It is recognition of the whole ecology of our society. We cannot have environmental security without dealing with poverty at home and abroad. We cannot have fiscal stability without developing an environmentally sustainable economy and we cannot have equal chance for everyone to prosper and fulfill themselves as long as we continue to grow and develop our community along the unsustainable path that we have chosen."
· Heesung Kim, Liberal Party — This 45-year-old businessperson is married and has a border collie named Charlie. Kim owns the restaurants Ed’s and Embarcadero. A graduate of McGill University, she is a trained architect. Kim is trilingual, speaking English, French and Korean. Born in Korea, she previously lived in Montreal and Vancouver before relocating to Calgary. A former president of the Erlton Community Association, Kim has been active in grassroots business organizations including the Victoria Crossing Revitalization Zone. She says her experience as an immigrant has informed her decision to enter politics. "I came to Canada as a poor immigrant child, and was able to become successful because of the benefits and support available in Canada to people like me," she says. "I am now in a position to serve my country, to preserve my vision of Canada: a compassionate, co-operative society that protects equal rights and opportunities for all Canadians, where a strong federal government balances present and future needs."
ð John Johnson, Green Party – Johnson, 35, is single and works as a consultant in the solar power industry. He has a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Calgary. Johnson previously ran for the Green Party in the riding of Calgary Nose Hill, where he was defeated in 2004. One of Johnson’s central concerns is the obstacles to the implementation of renewable energy. "It was frustrating to find that practical solutions for clean energy, cost-effective housing and ecological remediation were stalled by a political desire to maintain the status quo," he says. Johnson says he remains optimistic about his chances on January 23 despite the lopsided victory of Richardson in the 2004 election. "Calgary Centre is the number four Green Party riding in Canada," he says. "That's fourth place in 308 ridings. A break-out seat could happen here."
CALGARY CENTRE-NORTH
Formed in 2004, tucked between Nose Hill and Calgary’s northeast, Calgary Centre-North comprises ridings held by the Reform Party in 1993 and 1997, and captured by the Tories in 2000. Following the fusion of the Reform/Alliance and Progressive Conservative parties, today’s Calgary Centre-North riding is a stronghold for the Conservatives, with Jim Prentice beating his next closest rival in the 2004 election by more than 17,000 votes.
· Jim Prentice (incumbent), Conservative Party – Prentice, 49, is married and has three daughters. Prentice has practiced law in Alberta for more than 20 years as a partner with the firm Rooney Prentice. His clients have included the Alberta government and the Calgary Board of Education. In more recent times Prentice has become known as a property rights expert. He was on the Indian Land Claims Commission for 10 years. In Calgary, his firm represented the residents of the neighbourhood of Lynnview Ridge, who sought financial compensation from Imperial Oil after their homes became uninhabitable due to contamination by an oil refinery previously located in the area. Following Preston Manning’s resignation as a member of Parliament in 2002, Prentice won the nomination for the Progressive Conservative party in the byelection for the riding of Calgary Southwest. When Stephen Harper (then newly elected leader of the Canadian Alliance party) replaced Ezra Levant as a candidate in the byelection, Prentice withdrew from the race. In 2003, Prentice ran in the Progressive Conservative leadership race and was defeated by Peter MacKay. In 2004, Prentice ran as a candidate for the newly formed Conservative Party in Calgary Centre-North, easily defeating Liberal Cathy McCluskey by more than 17,000 votes. "After being elected in 2004, Mr. Harper appointed me as the Conservative Party’s critic for Aboriginal and Northern Affairs," says Prentice. "I have worked hard for our riding since being elected and have remained in constant contact with my constituents through town hall meetings and door-knocking – not just during election time, but continuously throughout my mandate."
· Matthew Moody, Liberal Party – Moody, 45, was born in England and came to Canada with his parents in 1963. Becoming a Canadian citizen in 1980, Moody is married with two children. An entrepreneur, he owns a food development company. Moody studied management and marketing at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. He has been active through his church in helping Calgary’s homeless community and is currently a board member of the Huntington Hills Community Association. As a former member of the Progressive Conservatives, Moody says he became involved with the Liberals in 2004 after becoming disillusioned with the Tories. "I don’t want Canada to lose our touch of humanity to neo-conservative influences," he says. "The residents want to know that whoever represents them will be honest and responsible."
· John Chan, New Democratic Party – Chan, 48, is single and works as a compliance inspector with Alberta Environment. Chan has significant experience working for non-governmental organizations, including the Canadian Hunger Foundation and Canada World Youth. Committed to youth and social justice issues, Chan has previously served on the executive of Change for Children and the Centre for International Alternatives. Chan previously spent a decade in El Salvador and Guatemala working as a human rights worker. He says he is running in the election because he wants "ordinary citizens to become involved in politics." He adds, "In Guatemala I was shot at trying to protect people’s right to vote and I come back here and I have to convince people to vote." Chan believes the political process has been "hijacked" by corporate lobbyists who now have more influence than ordinary Canadians. Chan wants to halt the privatization of the health care system, advocate for affordable housing and post-secondary education and "make poverty history."
· Mark Andrew MacGillivray, Green Party — MacGillivray, 37, is single and works in sales in the publishing/telecommunications industries. MacGillivray has been the chief financial officer of the Green Party since 2003. He has also been involved in community theatre and helped organize the inaugural Earth Day celebrations in Calgary. With a focus on environmental concerns, MacGillivray says, "The Green Party will build a more competitive economy with more secure jobs rooted in a renewable energy production and conservation industry. While oil and gas has given Alberta prosperity, the Green Party offers prosperity for as long as the sun shines and the wind blows." MacGillivray captured more than 11 per cent of the vote in the riding of Calgary Centre-North when he ran for the Green party in the 2004 election. |
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