The New Democrats have come out on top in a byelection in the Alberta riding of Lethbridge-West.
Unofficial results posted on the Elections Alberta website reveal there were 7,239 votes for the NDP’s Rob Miyashiro and 6,089 for the United Conservatives’ John Middleton-Hope after 100 per cent of voting stations reported their counts. Alberta Party candidate Layton Veverka received 233 votes.
“I’m ecstatic. I’m also so proud, so humbled that the people of Lethbridge-West have elected me. It’s a huge honour,” said Miyashiro.”
The byelection marked the second time in as many years that Miyashiro battled for a seat in the legislature, having lost to United Conservative Nathan Neudorf in the 2023 general election.
Miyashiro said there was some déjà vu, though he is glad this time the results went his way.
“We were so close last time. It was the last few polls that came in last year that really kind of did it for us, so it was very similar. We were super optimistic last time, right up until the end. So, this time was a little different because we had a really good idea what our advance poll numbers were.”
Miyashiro, the current executive director of the Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization, says he will be resigning from his position now that he will have a seat in the legislature. He also served on city council in previous years.
He said his election victory is a result of listening to the biggest concerns of the voters rather than pushing his own agenda.
“I think our messaging was on point this time. We talked about issues that were important to people in Lethbridge-West. We didn’t stray from those points. We heard early on what people’s concerns were in Lethbridge-West. We heard their concerns about health care and their concerns about affordability and education.”
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Miyashiro spoke highly of his opponent, acknowledging that anyone who enters politics deserves a pat on the back.
“It’s a difficult thing to do,” he said. “You’re in the public eye and you’re taking all the shots, so good on him and his team running a good campaign.”
The byelection marked the first time ballots were cast for a legislative seat since Naheed Nenshi became the leader of the Alberta NDP. He said his party’s victory sends a message to the government that people want change.
“Obviously, this is a wonderful, wonderful result,” he said.
“The UCP tried everything to win this election. They spent untold amounts of money on negative advertising. They actually selected a great candidate. They sent cabinet ministers and the premier down to make empty promises.”
Miyashiro said he will not let his voters down.
“The people of Lethbridge-West really are sending a message to our government that what they’re doing isn’t good enough,” he said.
Nenshi also said this result is a message from voters aimed at the UCP.
“The conventional wisdom was this was a Shannon Phillips seat, but we elected a great candidate, we had an incredible campaign, but mostly we had the people of Lethbridge look at what the Alberta New Democrats have to offer and say,‘That’s the kind of optimism we’re looking for.’”
Middleton-Hope released a statement to Global News in which he said he is thankful for the campaign, but the loss won’t put a stop to his political career.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the support we received throughout this campaign. While the result wasn’t what we hoped for, we made significant strides and closed the gap considerably. It was a tight race, and I’m proud of the effort put in by my team and all our supporters. I look forward to continuing to serve the people of Lethbridge in my role on city council.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith appeared on 880 CHED, where she said the night wasn’t a complete loss, even if the NDP had managed to hold onto their seat.
“Well, Lethbridge-West has been, traditionally, one of the strongest NDP ridings in recent elections. They beat us by 2,500 votes in the last election. This time, they beat us by a thousand votes and we got a slightly larger margin, so I would say congratulations to the NDP new candidate and new member of the legislature, Rob Miyashiro. A win is a win, but we look at it saying we’re seeing some ground that we’re gaining and we’re pretty happy with that.”
The legislature seat was left vacant after New Democrat MLA Shannon Phillips resigned on July 1.
The official byelection results will be released on Dec. 28.
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