Calgary election results leave disappointed voters on both sides

Monday night's Liberal win left a lot of disappointed Conservative voters in Calgary and across Alberta, despite the party's strong showing locally.

At Bottlescrew Bill's Pub in Calgary's Beltline district, election coverage was blaring from multiple TVs. But as the Liberals pulled ahead early, Luke Bungay was matter-of-fact.

"I really used to think that the pain that Canadians feel will drive them to the right to more pragmatic politicians that care about cost of living and practical things," he said, sitting at a table with half a dozen other oil and gas workers.

"But I guess we're not quite there yet. So let's see what another few years of Liberal reign does to the country.… I'm concerned about Canada's relationship with the States being weakened by a guy who plays hardball," he added. "I hope things get better here but I just don't have a lot of faith."

In Calgary, the Conservatives captured 10 of the city's 11 ridings. Liberal candidate Corey Hogan won in Calgary Confederation.

The rest of southern Alberta went for the Conservatives. 

Nationally, the Liberals were projected to win another term. By Tuesday afternoon, it was confirmed to be a minority government.

The crowd at Bottlescrew Bill's had voters from across the spectrum. The Green Party team claimed a large table and cheered when they got their first seat on the board. They were hoping for three seats, said party supporter Jason McKee. 

That didn't materialize, but at least the Conservatives didn't win, he said.

At the next table, Liberal supporter Kelsey Brooks said she was nervous heading into the evening. She works in the environmental sector and worried her colleagues would lose their jobs if Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was in power. 

"It's great that [Liberal Leader Mark] Carney is coming in. I mean, he doesn't have a lot of political experience, but he's more fiscally conservative," she said. 

"In terms of climate change, he got rid of the consumer carbon tax, but he's keeping the industrial carbon tax. I think middle-ground policies like that are going to really help them."

Do seats in Alberta matter to the politicians?

Throughout the campaign, CBC journalists have put extra emphasis on hearing from Canadians about what matters to them and inviting them to share their stories. 

Michelle Spencer came to a CBC event in Pincher Creek, Alta., where she spoke about her hopes for a carefully managed pivot in the energy economy to ensure sustainable jobs for the next generation. 

She runs a business reclaiming building material, and while she's happy about the Liberal victory, she's disappointed more Liberals didn't win in Alberta and B.C. She's worried about what that means for Alberta's relationship with the rest of Canada going forward. 

"As an Albertan, I'm a little disappointed that we didn't do that just because then we would have some power and we would matter," she said. 

"Albertans want to have a voice in Ottawa, and if it was clear to the country that Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C. had made the difference between a minority and majority government, then all of a sudden the seats here look different."

As for what her friends and neighbours are feeling in her Conservative-leaning riding, she said people thought that Canada was ready for a change. 

"That we were finally going to turf the Liberal government.… I suspect this morning that people will be feeling kind of shocked that Poilievre has lost his seat," she said. "Conservative voters saw him as someone who has the answers." 

"But that's kind of a wake-up call to Albertans. The tone that Poilievre set and the brand of conservatism that Alberta is selling really isn't that compelling."

A government that doesn't understand agriculture

Jason Jackson was seeding peas at his farm near Olds, Alta., until midnight Monday, then came in and checked the news.

He wrote a First Person piece for CBC during the campaign about right-to-repair legislation and how he wants a party that understands agriculture.  

"I'm disappointed. I have a government right now that I don't think understands or even really cares," he said.

The Liberals didn't run a candidate in his riding of Ponoka-Didsbury. As for a future agriculture minister, if it's MP Kody Blois from Nova Scotia again, he'll be disappointed.

"I've sent him a couple letters and never got a response from him," he said. "I hope somebody intelligent in the Liberal Party realizes what they've been doing here isn't working for Alberta."

He said he also hopes the Liberals will move forward on promised infrastructure projects, especially an east-west pipeline or energy corridor.

Carney lost Albertans with focus on a 'boogeyman'

Calgary resident Kiran Somanchi also wrote a First Person piece for CBC this campaign, sharing why he felt Liberals were the strongest option to support the oil and gas industry.

He's disappointed the Liberals didn't have a stronger showing locally, and thinks it's because Carney focused so much on threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

He wants Canada to use its oil to build its economy, but still supports the carbon tax

6 days ago

Duration 4:57

Kiran Somanchi, 41, says he and his family do their best to keep their carbon footprint minimal, but he wants to cast his vote for a party that sees Canada’s rich oil and gas resources as an opportunity for building up the economy.

"I think Carney did a great job, but I think he focused a little too much on the external threats of Trump and the threat to sovereignty," said Somanchi. "I think that didn't resonate as well here, where people are more interested in resource development and growing the economy. I wish he would have leaned into that more heavily."

Even in his speech last night, Carney repeated the same points around Trump and the threat to Canadian sovereignty, said Somanchi. 

"I'm like, 'OK, cool. But let's move beyond that. Let's go deeper: What are you going to do? How are you going to unite the county and develop the economy?'

"The fall back is the external boogeyman narrative. After a while, people just tune it out."    

Voted Conservative but still feeling hopeful

Jaime Espinosa voted in Canada for the first time this election after immigrating from Mexico 10 years ago. He works as a financial analyst for an electricity company and participated in CBC's voter conversations at a Mount Royal University event. 

He voted Conservative this time because he felt the country would benefit from a change in government, but he isn't too disappointed in the results.

"My hope is that [the Liberals] put the effort into reaching out to the provinces that voted Conservative and pay close attention to making concessions that can make people from the Prairies feel more included in federal politics."

"I'm feeling hopeful," he said. "Alberta's relationship with the rest of the country is damaged. The fact that Carney is Albertan, and the fact that the Liberals decided to backtrack some of their most divisive policies like the carbon tax, that gives me hope."   

"I've lived here three years after living in Toronto and I recognize there needs to be some healing between Albertans and the feds."