The front-running candidates in the Lethbridge-West byelection are preparing for a Christmas campaign, with the vote set for Dec. 18.
The byelection is in response to the NDP’s Shannon Phillips stepping down earlier this summer, just over one year after she won her third election. She had taken down the UCP’s Cheryl Seaborn by 2,549 votes in the 2023 Alberta general election.
Despite the recent loss, the United Conservatives are hoping to reclaim the historically blue seat for the first time since Phillips first won in 2015. This task, according to Lethbridge-West UCP candidate, John Middleton-Hope, is well within reach.
“There is substantial support out there for the Conservatives, for moving the Conservatives back in.”
Middleton-Hope is a former police chief in Lethbridge and he is a current city councillor, though he has taken an unpaid leave of absence from the latter post during this campaign.
His competition is the NDP’s Rob Miyashiro, a former city councillor and current executive director of the Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization. Miyashiro ran in Lethbridge-East against eventual winner, Nathan Neudorf, in the 2023 election.
For Miyashiro, his party is the voice of the public.
“People know that we’re on their side,” said Miyashiro. “People know that we’ll work hard to make sure that people in Lethbridge-West are heard.”
As the campaigns ramp up, both candidates outlined their top four issues that they hope to make a difference on. For Middleton-Hope, his plan is to focus on public safety, health care, education and infrastructure. Meanwhile, Miyashiro agrees health care and education are top points, but he also mentioned affordability and the environment.
Middleton-Hope says his priorities are directly in line with the people of Lethbridge-West.
“We’ve knocked on thousands of doors across west Lethbridge,” said Middleton-Hope. “We continue to hear concerns about those four areas in particular.”
Miyashiro says health care is target number one as the thousands of people who are without a family doctor are proof more needs to be done.
“We don’t have enough doctors in Lethbridge. We’re not recruiting enough doctors in Lethbridge, we’re losing doctors. There (are) tens of thousands of people in Lethbridge who still don’t have a family doctor,” said Miyashiro.
However, Middleton-Hope says more is being done as more doctors will be soon trained in Lethbridge, it just won’t happen overnight.
“We’ll be able to graduate 50 doctors in three years from now. Yes, it’s going to take us three years to get there.”
For Middleton-Hope, not everything will be perfect, but he says he and his party will not stop until solutions are found.
“Not everybody across the province is happy with what the Conservatives are doing, with what the premier is doing. Not everybody is going to be happy with what I’m doing, but the reality is, we don’t give up. That’s what Conservatives do; we continue to work hard. We continue to come up with the solutions to the problems.”
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Miyashiro, however, says this byelection will be a statement to the UCP that the NDP is on the rise again.
“We’re making the statement that people in Lethbridge-West aren’t happy with what the UCP has done in government. Not just the last year and a half, (but) the last five and a half years.”
Meanwhile, he says he will also not give up, ensuring he will fight for the people and not the government.
“You need someone from Lethbridge to fight for Lethbridge issues,” said Miyashiro. “You need someone that’s going to represent Lethbridge to the Legislature, not some that’s going to represent the government to Lethbridge.”
He says he plans to capture the momentum from Phillips’ nine years representing the constituency, while also differentiating himself in a new way.
“I’m grateful for Shannon and what she’s built in Lethbridge-West. For her, and the Alberta NDP in Lethbridge-West, to have built what we’ve built in three consecutive elections, (it’s) unbelievable,” said Miyashiro.
“I need to build on that and I need to build on whatever credit I have in the community. People know what I’ve done for work and that I’ve worked for the community and I think just build on what Shannon has done.”
Meanwhile, Middleton-Hope says he has dedicated his life to serving the people of his communities, which has been Lethbridge for over two decades.
“People know me, people trust me,” said Middleton-Hope. “I’ve been in this community for 22 years. I’ve been the chief of police here, I’m on city council. You know what, I’ve committed my life to public service. That’s what I’ve done and that’s what I will continue to do for the citizens of this city.”
Despite the differences these candidates have with one another, both have shown respect, saying nothing will change about the amicability of the campaign moving forward.
“I certainly won’t be behaving any different, I don’t expect Rob to be,” said Middleton-Hope. “I think he is honourable and I think he will continue to work on behalf of his party. You can expect the same thing from me.”
Miyashiro says the same. “I have nothing against John, since John was elected on city council, we’ve had a very amicable relationship.”
Both candidates say it is important for citizens to get out and cast their ballots.
“If I can give any comment to the citizens of Lethbridge, it is critical that you get out and vote,” said Middleton-Hope. “We need your vote, we need your support. The Conservatives and John Middleton-Hope need your support.”
The sentiment is echoed by Miyashiro.
“It’s all about us keeping the seat, so we want to get our support out as much as we can… we’re going to do everything we can to make sure our supporters are going to vote,” said Miyashiro.
Alberta Party brings forward a candidate, Liberals still up in the air
Despite all the talk about the UCP and NDP, there are more than two parties fielding a candidate in this election.
The Alberta Party has put forward Layton Veverka: a power engineer who has lived in Lethbridge for over a decade.
While he admits it’s unlikely he will sit in the Legislature next month, he says a vote for him is a message to both the government and official opposition.
“That’s going to send (a statement) to both parties (that) people are mad. So, either they better figure it out, or the Alberta Party is going to take over, and we will and when we do, we are actually going to help this economy. We are actually going to fix the problems that the Conservatives caused and the NDP caused.”
He says his top priorities include fiscal responsibility, ensuring individual rights are not infringed upon and simply helping the community.
“Right now, that’s what we’re going to be concentrating on, we’re building our policies currently.”
He adds his party is the best choice for those who simply don’t want to see more of the same in government.
“We’re the party out there if you’re not liking those other two parties because they really haven’t done anything for the people. We’re a great option and we are going to do things,” said Veverka.
“You need to show these other parties, right now, this is your chance — to show the parties that they’re not doing their jobs.”
He also says a centrist government is needed to ensure the future of Alberta’s economy and energy sector is in safe hands.
“We can build an industry here, we have so many resources. From oil to wind to solar, we have everything here. Yet, we kibosh it on the Conservative side, for the solar and wind, we kibosh the oil side on the NDP.
“Why can’t we have both?”
Finally, Veverka says he plans to support every Lethbridge-West resident.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a student, an older person, middle-aged — such as myself — I’m there for you. I’m going to fight for you. The Alberta Party is going to do it’s best job to get us out of this slump with the economy, if we can get into power.”
He says even a single seat in the Legislature can make a big difference.
“Start with me and let’s see what happens.”
Meanwhile, the Liberal Party of Alberta says they are meeting to discuss their plans moving forward.
In the previous election, four candidates were on the ballot, representing the Alberta Party, Liberal Party, New Democratic Party and United Conservative Party.
Election day is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 18, with advance voting opening on Dec. 10 and running until Dec. 14. Electors have until Dec. 4 to register online, or until Dec. 7 by contacting Elections Alberta.
The seat has been vacant since July 1, when Phillips resigned and it had to be called before Jan. 1, 2025.
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