By Chris Brown

Brooks-Medicine Hat byelection set for early November

Oct 11, 2022 | 3:04 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Voters in Brooks-Medicine Hat will go to the polls on Nov. 8.

Premier Danielle Smith said today at her first media availability as premier that according to party rules the leader is allowed to appoint candidates in up to four ridings and she used that authority to appoint herself the United Conservative Party candidate in the riding.

“My personal way of how I want to represent a riding is very consistent with what I see in my own riding of Livingstone-Macleod which is a rural riding. I moved out there on purpose in 2011 and I want to represent a rural riding. So it made sense to me to run in Brooks-Medicine Hat,” she said.

Smith announced on Saturday that she intends to run in a byelection in the Brooks-Medicine Hat riding following the resignation of MLA Michaela Frey last week. Former Brooks mayor and current Alberta Party Leader Barry Morishita and the NDP’s Gwendoline Dirk have already been nominated by their parties.

The earliest the winner of the byelection could sit in the legislature is Nov. 29.

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Smith also defended her decision to not run in or call a byelection in Calgary-Elbow, which has been vacant since Doug Schweitzer resigned in the summer. Smith said that the constituency association is partway through its nomination process and said there are at least three people who want to put their name forward. She said the board has told her they want to have an open and fair competition and appointing herself or another candidate would interfere in the process.

Drew Barnes has been selected by the speaker of the legislature to oversee Brooks-Medicine Hat while it is without an MLA. Justice Minister Tyler Shandro has been selected to oversee Calgary-Elbow.

Smith won a leadership race on Thursday to replace Jason Kenney as UCP leader. Kenney announced he was quitting months earlier following an uninspiring 51 per cent vote of support in a party leadership review. After the sixth ballot, Smith earned 54 per cent of the vote.