While the timing for the next federal election has been debated since Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his intention to step down, Prime Minister Mark Carney set a date.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has been on the job for less than two weeks, and did not have a seat in Parliament, on Sunday asked that Parliament be dissolved and called an election for April 28.
While it has only been a couple of months, election fortunes appear to have changed. Since 2022 the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) had the edge in the polls. By 2024 it has been showing a double-digit lead over the incumbent Liberal party.
Today, it is neck and neck.
While according to Elections Canada, in Battle River-Crowfoot no candidate has formally been confirmed, Incumbent Damien Kurek is already on the campaign trail. Social media showed him posting signs with his sons on Sunday.
Kurek was first elected in 2019, succeeding Kevin Sorenson, and won again in 2021. Up until Parliament was dissolved he was a Member of the Canada-China Relations Committee, the Canadian Heritage Committee and a member of the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.
A quick search of the Liberal and NDP websites showed no listings for candidates for this riding. The People’s Party of Canada‘s website shows Jonathan Bridges as its candidate for Battle River Crowfoot.
A truck and trailer mechanic by trade, Bridges hails from Linden. In the 2021 election, he ran as the candidate for the People’s Party in the Bow River Riding. However, since then the electoral boundaries have changed.
The Bow River Riding, regardless of the outcome, will have a new Member of Parliament. Former MP Martin Shields resigned from his position, and in a contested nomination, David Bexte was named the candidate for the CPC.
The Arrowood resident is a farmer and the former vice president of an oilfield service company. His first policy priority is designating the family farm as a strategic national asset.
So far the Mail has not identified any candidates from the Bow River Riding representing any of the other major parties.
