2025 Battle River—Crowfoot federal by-election

2025 Battle River—Crowfoot by-election
August 18, 2025
Riding of Battle River—Crowfoot
 
LPC
Candidate Pierre Poilievre Darcy Spady
Party Conservative Liberal
MP before election

Damien Kurek
Conservative

Elected MP

TBD

A by-election will be held in the federal riding of Battle River—Crowfoot in Alberta, Canada, on August 18, 2025, following the resignation of Conservative MP Damien Kurek.

Kurek, who secured re-election with over 80% of the vote in the 2025 federal election on April 28, resigned his seat on June 17 to allow Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre an opportunity to return to Parliament following his defeat in his former riding of Carleton, Ontario.[1][2]

The writ for the by-election was drawn up on June 30, 2025, with the date of the vote set for August 18 in order to avoid a conflict with Alberta Heritage Day earlier in the month.[3]

Background

On May 2, 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney affirmed his commitment to promptly ask Governor General Mary Simon to issue a writ for the by-election when requested, stating, "If it's the decision of him and the Conservative Party to trigger ... a by-election, I will ensure that it happens as soon as possible."[4] Kurek announced his resignation later that day. Kurek said in a statement his resignation is what is best for the party and his constituents.[5] Kurek said he intends to run again in the riding in the next general election.[6]

By law, Kurek's resignation could not be officially tendered until 30 days after the publication of the election result in the Canada Gazette,[7] which occurred on May 15, 2025.[8] Kurek officially resigned on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.[9] The governor general, who could issue a writ of election no sooner than 11 days after notice is given of a vacancy, dropped the writ on June 30, 2025, for a by-election to be held on August 18, 2025.[3] The riding is considered a "stronghold" for the Conservatives.[10]

Declared candidates

Jonathan Bridges

Bridges has lived in the Battle River—Crowfoot area for 15 years and is running as the candidate for the People's Party of Canada.[11] In the 2021 Canadian federal election, Bridges ran as the People's Party candidate in Bow River and finished second, receiving 5108 votes (10%). In the 2025 Canadian federal election, Bridges ran as the People's Party candidate in Battle River—Crowfoot and finished fourth, receiving 1022 votes (1.5%).[12][13][14]

Bonnie Critchley

Critchley, born in Kelowna and raised in Calgary, is an independent candidate and military veteran, having served at CFB Wainwright for "a large chunk" of her 22 years of service.[15] She achieved the rank of master corporal in the King's Own Calgary Regiment of the Canadian Army, after deploying to Afghanistan in 2011.[16] She describes herself as a "centrist independent".[15] She is a recipient of the General Campaign Star (South-West Asia) and the Canadian Forces' Decoration.[16]

Pierre Poilievre

Main article: Pierre Poilievre

Poilievre was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, and moved to Ottawa in 2000 to work for Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day. He was first elected in the 2004 federal election, initially representing the riding of Nepean—Carleton before it was redistributed as Carleton. In 2008, Poilievre graduated with a bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of Calgary. Poilievre ran in the 2022 Conservative Party leadership election, winning on the first ballot to become the leader of the Conservative Party. He also served as leader of the Official Opposition from 2022 to 2025. In the 2025 Canadian federal election, Poilievre lost his seat of Carleton to Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy.

Darcy Spady

Spady, a petroleum engineer and energy industry advisor from Alberta, was named as the candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada for the by-election on June 30, 2025.[17][18] Spady grew up in the riding, spending most of his youth in Three Hills, where he met his partner Laurie. His family farmed west of Acme, near the southwest edge of the riding. Previously, he was international president of the Society of Petroleum Engineers from 2018 to 2021.[18]

Sarah Spanier

Spanier is running as an independent.[19] She was born in Calgary and has a diploma in Justice Studies from Bow Valley College and a degree in English. She has worked in childcare, security, and social services, with a focus on supporting vulnerable populations.[19]

Longest Ballot Committee

The Longest Ballot Committee announced in May that they were targeting the by-election as part of its campaign protesting the first-past-the-post system and would aim to have as many as 200 candidates placed on the ballot. The committee previously targeted Poilievre's former electoral district of Carleton in the 2025 general election and claimed responsibility for adding 85 names to the ballot in that vote.[20]

Result

Canadian federal by-election, : Battle River—Crowfoot
Resignation of Damien Kurek
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Pierre Poilievre
Liberal Darcy Spady
New Democratic
People's Jonathan Bridges
Green Douglas Gook
Libertarian Michael Harris
Independent Bonnie Critchley
Independent Sarah Spanier
Total valid votes/expense limit –
Total rejected ballots
Turnout
Eligible voters

Previous result

2025 Canadian federal election: Battle River—Crowfoot
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
Conservative Damien Kurek 53,684 82.84 +11.46
Liberal Brent Sutton 7,566 11.67 +7.41
New Democratic James MacKay 2,061 3.18 −6.52
People's Jonathan Bridges 1,022 1.58 −7.75
Green Douglas Gook 474 0.73 −0.18
Total valid votes/expense limit 64,982 99.40
Total rejected ballots 391 0.60
Turnout 65,373 76.70
Eligible voters 85,237
Conservative notional hold Swing +2.03
Source: Elections Canada[21][22]
Note: number of eligible voters does not include voting day registrations.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Conservative MP resigns seat so Poilievre can run in Alberta byelection". CTVNews. The Canadian Press. June 17, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  2. ^ "UPDATE: MP Damien Kurek to resign, allowing Poilievre to run in Battle River-Crowfoot by-election". Nelson Star. May 2, 2025. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Levesque, Catherine (June 29, 2025). "Carney set to call mid-August Alberta byelection, clearing Poilievre's path to a new seat". National Post. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
  4. ^ Legree, Davis (May 2, 2025). "Mark Carney says he will quickly call byelection for Pierre Poilievre, Alberta MP to resign". CityNews Edmonton. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  5. ^ Westoll, Nick (May 2, 2025). "Mark Carney says he will quickly call byelection for Pierre Poilievre, Alberta MP to resign". CityNews Edmonton. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  6. ^ Nardi, Christopher (May 2, 2025). "Alberta MP Damien Kurek stepping down for Poilievre to run in byelection". National Post. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
  7. ^ "Conservative Damien Kurek says he'll step aside for Poilievre — but by law he has to wait". CBC News. May 6, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  8. ^ "Return of members elected at the 45th general election". Canada Gazette. 159, Part I: Number 10: Extra. May 15, 2025.
  9. ^ "Roles - Damien C. Kurek - Current and Past - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada". www.ourcommons.ca. Archived from the original on May 20, 2025. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
  10. ^ https://www.hilltimes.com/story/2025/05/08/poilievres-safe-alberta-seat-a-symbol-of-retreat-or-renewal/459555/
  11. ^ admin (April 24, 2025). "Meet the Candidates of Battle River-Crowfoot - JONATHAN BRIDGES". The Community Press. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
  12. ^ "Voter information service". Elections Canada. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  13. ^ "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts". Elections Canada. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  14. ^ "Damien Kurek officially resigns Alberta seat | Farms.com". m.farms.com. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
  15. ^ a b Su, Sukie (June 20, 2025). ""Somebody needed to step up": Bonnie Critchley runs as independent in Battle River–Crowfoot By-Election" (PDF). The Wainwright Edge. p. 2.
  16. ^ a b "MCpl Bonnie Critchley". The Military Museums. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024.
  17. ^ Previl, Sean; Cobb, Meghan (June 30, 2025). "Carney sets byelection for Alberta riding where Poilievre plans to run". Global News.
  18. ^ a b "Liberal Party of Canada announces Darcy Spady as Liberal candidate for Battle River—Crowfoot" (Press release). Liberal Party of Canada. June 30, 2025.
  19. ^ a b "Sarah Spanier for Battle River–Crowfoot". sarahspanier.ca. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  20. ^ Ellis, Brandon (May 5, 2025). "Protest group hoping to add 200+ names to Pierre Poilievre's Alberta byelection ballot". CTV News. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  21. ^ "Voter information service". Elections Canada. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
  22. ^ "Election Night Results - Electoral Districts". Elections Canada. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
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