Liberals are already dreaming of a majority — and more seats in Calgary might be key

CALGARY — It’s a little less lonely to be a Liberal in Calgary these days. The line of supporters extends a kilometre outside of the Red and White Club at McMahon Stadium, where Liberal Leader Mark Carney is set to hold a rally. It is taking place in the riding of Calgary Confederation, which Liberals expect could be a nail-biter this election . Running under the red banner is Corey Hogan, vice president at the University of Calgary and host of the political podcast “The Strategists.” He is hastily replacing the previous candidate, Thomas Keeper, who stepped down reportedly for a 20-year-old domestic assault charge. Hogan will be facing off against former United Conservative Party MLA Jeremy Nixon, now running for the federal Tories. Nixon was also tapped as a last-minute candidate after the incumbent MP, Len Webber, suddenly announced his retirement before the election call. At only 15 years old, William Grunan-Harlow is waiting in line to enter the Liberal venue, a sign with Hogan’s name on it in hand. He may not be able to vote for the candidate but is eager to meet Hogan, who he knows of through his podcast. It is Grunan-Harlow’s first partisan event, and he is beaming with excitement at the idea of meeting other people who hold similar political views to him. “I had never met a Liberal in my entire life outside of my family, and now I’ve met quite a few,” said the articulate teenager, pointing to the long line of supporters behind him. One of those supporters is Richard McMillan, who is clearly of voting age and says he will be casting his ballot for Hogan. “He’s really capable and I honestly think he’s cabinet minister material,” he said. Inside the venue, the crowd goes wild when Hogan briefly takes the stage. Hogan is clearly at ease in front of such a large crowd. He tells them that Janet Brown, Alberta’s most recognized pollster, told CBC that a riding like Calgary Confederation is “a bellwether riding” for whether Liberals are going to win a minority or a majority. “The polls say if we show up, we’ll win,” Hogan said. The next one to take the stage, Lindsay Luhnau, the director of a local investment co-operative running for the Liberals in Calgary Centre, another riding that the party is hoping to pick up, said her team is getting “incredible feedback at the doors and on the doors.” “Progressives across Calgary are uniting,” she said, referring to the NDP’s slide in the polls that is seemingly benefiting her party. Calgary is typically a Conservative stronghold in federal politics. Liberals elected a lone representative, George Chahal, in Calgary Skyview in 2021. Chahal is now running in the Calgary McKnight riding, while Hafeez Malik is hoping to succeed Chahal in Skyview. Chahal said he thinks he will no longer be alone in Calgary after the next election. “I think we will see Liberal support be much higher than it has in previous elections, and I am confident that I will be joined by more colleagues representing their constituencies from the Liberal Party of Canada after April 28,” he said. According to Duane Bratt, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, four ridings in Calgary are going to be in play: McKnight, Skyview, Centre and Confederation. “Those will be battlegrounds that we haven’t typically seen in this city,” he said. It is no coincidence that Carney decided to make his announcement to transform Canada into an “energy superpower” with some of his candidates in Calgary. “We need to get… Liberal candidates elected, as many as possible, so we can put this into place,” he said of his commitments. Liberals are pushing another candidacy: Priti Obhrai-Martin, daughter of beloved long-time Conservative MP Deepak Obhrai. She is running in the riding of Calgary East against Conservative incumbent Jasraj Singh Hallan, also popular in the riding. In a recent interview, Obhrai-Martin said her father had spoken highly of Carney’s work as governor of the Bank of Canada during the 2008 recession. When Carney decided to run for the leadership, she said he “piqued” her interest and put her hand up to get involved with the party. Community members then asked her if she would be willing to run. She said yes. “It’s very emotional,” she said. “It’s my dad’s riding. I’ve been door-knocking in this area since I was 16. I know the Conservatives. I know everybody here. It was not an easy decision. But people were asking me to step up. I was like, ‘Okay, I’m all in.’” Obhrai-Martin said she was “scared” to join the Liberals at first but said people have been respectful of her decision. “They recognize that I have a legacy. They recognize that we have a family name and integrity, and they know that I didn’t take this lightly,” she said. After the end of the Calgary rally, she is treated like a local celebrity, with Liberal supporters patiently waiting to take pictures with her and exchange a few words. Obhrai-Martin might make it to Parliament like her father or she might not. But she said that if she felt the need to join Carney’s Liberals, others might do as well. National Post, with files from Noah Brennan, Calgary Herald calevesque@postmedia.com

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