'Desperate need' for NDP faces off with desire for change in Lethbridge
CBC Calgary goes door-to-door with candidates vying for southern Alberta riding
Karri Flatla is one of the many new faces of the United Conservative Party, and in Lethbridge-West, she's taking on incumbent MLA Shannon Phillips.
As Alberta's minister of environment, Shannon Phillips is known for her part in the carbon tax and recent public consultation hiccups on the province's plans to designate a parcel of land in the Bighorn backcountry into an official wildland provincial park.
In 2015, Phillips won by a landslide and took out an incumbent herself.
CBC News followed both of this year's candidates through the riding to get a sense of what constituents are saying at the door.
Both candidates chose polar opposite communities to canvas on either side of Old Man River.
On a map and the streets, the demographic differences are clear. It's a mixed bag in terms of ridings, with some grid-residential on one side and suburban homes on the other.
Flatla knocks on a door in a suburban neighbourhood cul-de-sac. The homeowner, Clinton Wall, opens the door.
Flatla introduces herself and asks the man what he thinks of the current government.
"We're just looking for an honest government. I'm an outdoorsman," said Wall, mentioning Bighorn. "That's one of my major concerns, being able to access that land so I can take my kids hiking and go out for hikes and all that."
The Lethbridge-West riding was created in the 1970s when the old riding in its place was split in half. That left the city with an eastern and western riding. Except in its first year, the Lethbridge-West riding has gone to a Progressive Conservative candidate since 1975.
That is, until Shannon Phillips began her run.
She first campaigned for the riding against incumbent PC MLA Greg Weadick in 2012, earning nearly 30 per cent of the vote (29.95). It wasn't enough to win the seat, but she clinched it with the help of the orange wave in 2015.
She won with nearly 60 per cent of the vote (59.18).
Excitement building, says UCP
Her opponent, Karri Flatla, a realtor now running for the United Conservative Party, said she recognizes it's a competitive riding.
But like the orange wave, she sees the United Conservative party building excitement across Alberta — and in Lethbridge.
"People here are ready for change," Flatla said. "They're hungry for a positive vision going forward, and a government that's going to support your prosperity and job opportunities. So we feel quite confident. But we also know that we have to work very hard."
'Just want to be heard'
Another knock in Heritage Heights and a constituent is worried about minimum wage. Another mentions the carbon levy to Flatla, who quickly assures Edna Asem that UCP Leader Jason Kenney would repeal that tax.
"I just want to be heard, and I want her to listen to me," Asem said. "I don't think she can solve all my problems. I don't think government can do everything — I just want her to acknowledge that there are people out there who want to be heard, that's all."
The next night, on the other side of Old Man River in the community known as London Road, Phillips is listening.
Her canvassing area is filled with older-looking homes that she says were built in the 1890s, when Western Canada saw a population boom.
'Desperately need' NDP, citizen says
At the first house Phillips visits, resident Christine Snead apologizes for her yappy dog, and a cat escapes onto the old porch.
Phillips noted Albertans went decades with the same political party in charge, referring to the 44-year reign of the Progressive Conservatives. That stretch, of course, was broken by the NDP in 2015.
"I think we desperately need these people to at least continue what they've been doing," Snead said. "I think they have a majority of the province in mind, not just the few."
She's sure the NDP can continue to help push for a pipeline, and she's putting a sign up on her lawn when the time comes to show her support.
Down the road, Phillips talks to several artists who pledge their support.
It's not clear which way this constituency will swing in the 2019 election — and a brief time following candidates to the doors doesn't offer much clarity.
Fight ahead, expert says
Trevor Harrison, who specializes in political sociology at the University of Lethbridge, says over the years, the city has turned more progressive.
"It's going to be a really tough fight," he said. "But I think [the NDP] probably have some hope, certainly, that they can hold on to Lethbridge-West."
The NDP swept both of Lethbridge's ridings in the last election, but Harrison said he believes the results in 2015 were anomalous.
However, he adds an asterisk to that assessment.
"Lethbridge is a conservative area, but there has been some interesting kind of cultural changes here," he said. "The education levels tend to be fairly high, the incomes are reasonably high — all of these things suggest that politics here are a little bit more complex than you might have found in other parts of southern Alberta."
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