LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Residents in the riding of Lethbridge-West will be heading to the polls a week before Christmas to cast their ballot in a provincial byelection.
Premier Danielle Smith’s government announced Wednesday the vote will take place Dec. 18 to fill the vacancy that opened up when NDP member Shannon Phillips resigned July 1.
The NDP candidate is Rob Miyashiro while the United Conservative banner will be carried by John Middleton-Hope.
Miyashiro served on Lethbridge city council from 2013 to 2021 and ran against – and lost to – Nathan Neudorf in last year's provincial election in the Lethbridge-East constituency.
Miyashiro said in an interview that "it's about time" the byelection has been called.
"Lethbridge needs a voice in the legislature," he said. "Unfortunately, what we're seeing from (Neudorf) is representing the government to Lethbridge."
Miyashiro said Lethbridge residents are concerned about access to family doctors, affordability and education.
"I think those are all three things the UCP has the ability to fix, and they're not," he said.
Middleton-Hope is a sitting Lethbridge city councillor and former police chief.
Middleton-Hope could not immediately be reached for comment, but a statement published by the City of Lethbridge said he has taken an unpaid leave of absence from his council duties effective immediately.
Neudorf, the affordability and utilities minister, said Middleton-Hope's record of public service would serve him well in the legislature.
"I think he could add a voice to the direction that we're going, the development of Lethbridge, the development of our province, and all of the economic advantages of being a voice in government rather than a voice of opposition," Neudorf said.
"He's got a lot of experience, and I think he's doing a lot of hard work right now to win those votes."
The outcome of the byelection won’t affect the government as the UCP currently has 49 seats in the 87-seat legislature compared with 37 for the NDP.
The political jockeying over the constituency has been ongoing for weeks.
NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has repeatedly urged Smith to call the byelection given both candidates have been in place since September.
Smith, in response, has questioned why Nenshi hasn't picked a riding to run in since taking over as party leader in June.
"We had been waiting to call this byelection with the expectation that the NDP leader would also be seeking a seat in the legislature this fall," Smith said in a statement Wednesday.
"Unfortunately, he has still not made any indication that he plans to seek a seat and given it has been 151 days, apparently has no desire to sit in the legislature."
Nenshi has said he'd prefer to run somewhere in his home city of Calgary rather than a riding like Lethbridge-West just to get a seat in the legislative assembly.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2024.
Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press