Justin Trudeau said Sunday that the expected by-election in the federal riding of Calgary Heritage, Alberta, will take place on July 24.
This election will make it possible to fill the seat previously occupied by the conservative Bob Benzen, left vacant since December 31, after he announced his departure from political life in October.
Encompassing the affluent southwest suburb of Calgary near Tsuu T’ina First Nation lands, Calgary Heritage was once occupied by former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper and former leader of the Reform Party of Canada, now the Canadian Alliance, Preston Manning.
Created following an electoral redistribution in 2013, this riding includes most of the territory of the former Calgary Southwest riding, where Mr. Harper was elected from 2002 to 2015, and Mr. Manning from 1993 to 2002 .
In the 2021 federal election, where Justin Trudeau’s Liberals were again elected to form a minority government, Bob Benzen won 56.65% of the vote in Calgary Heritage, far ahead of the New Democratic Party in second place. , at 17.33%.
The Conservative Party has already announced that its candidate will be Shuv Majumdar, a former foreign policy adviser in the Harper government. Entrepreneur Elliot Weinstein will defend the colors of the Liberal Party.
Calgary Heritage and Calgary Southwest have always been represented by Conservatives from different political parties.
The announcement of the date of this next by-election by Mr. Trudeau on Sunday comes the day before by-elections in four federal ridings, including Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount, in Montreal.