United Conservative Party Leader and Premier Danielle Smith celebrates her win in a by-election in Medicine Hat, Alta., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
A rural legislature seat became a high-stakes political pursuit eliciting the attention of the province and the nation when Premier Danielle Smith went head-to-head with area candidates in the Brooks-Medicine Hat byelection, in what the News editorial board has named story of the year.
Representing constituents from the north of Medicine Hat through Brooks to Bassano, the seat became vacant Oct. 7, when former MLA Michaela Frey unexpectedly announced her resignation mere hours after Smith was chosen leader of Alberta’s UCP.
Having held the position since April 2019, Frey had previously said she would not seek re-election in May, 2023. Nevertheless, the departure was abrupt.
(And while Frey has never overtly stated the decision a political move to make available a seat for Smith, she did endorse Smith in her resignation letter, and has since been hired on as a policy adviser for Smith.)
By Oct. 8, Smith was in Medicine Hat to announce her candidacy. And with her bid, joined candidates from the NDP, Alberta Party, Independence Party and Wildrose Independence Party who were also vying for the seat.
But it was NDP candidate Gwendoline Dirk and Albert Party candidate Barry Morishita who posed the greatest challenge to Smith.
The only two candidates who actually reside in the riding, Dirk and Morishita are well-known in their respective communities; with Dirk engaged in a variety of Medicine Hat organizations and associations, and Morishita having formerly represented Brooks as its mayor.
And while a connection to the region did not exempt Dirk or Morishita from campaigning, both asserted it provided them insight on voters’ needs and priorities.
“This election is about who’s best to represent this riding,” Morishita said ahead of the Nov. 8 election. “We can elect a local representative who understands the issues and knows the people who live here.”
“For a long time, residents here have felt ignored and forgotten by their provincial government,” said Dirk. “And they want to feel heard.”
Both Dirk and Morishita called into question Smith’s ability to connect with Brooks-Medicine Hat constituents when she herself is not one (Smith is a resident of High River). But not all shared their concerns.
A popular counter was that Smith’s position as premier may be of greater benefit to the region than her not living in the region being a detriment.
“It could be a real benefit to have the premier as our MLA — to be able to go straight to the top with our concerns,” said Medicine Hat chamber president Scott Lehr following the election. “Hopefully, it will get more acknowledgement of our area and bring economic dollars to us.”
For her part, Smith simply vowed to connect with and listen to area residents — something she feels she achieved throughout her campaign.
“I wanted to learn from the people of Brooks-Medicine Hat (and) I wanted to make sure that the people of this riding felt heard and represented by their government,” said Smith. “And I am proud to say that after meeting with thousands of constituents at the doors, at events and over the phone, my campaign was able to build a plan that worked.”
While Smith’s campaign did face a few challenges — including a late kick-off and erroneous incident of door-knocking in the wrong riding — it achieved its overall mandate when Smith was declared byelection winner with 54.5 per cent of the vote. She was followed by Dirk with 26.7 per cent and Morishita with 16.5 per cent.
The majority of Smith’s support came from rural and Brooks constituents, while Dirk took the most votes in Medicine Hat and a portion of Redcliff.
The election also secured Smith a seat in Alberta’s legislature, to which she last belonged in 2015 as a representative of the Highwood riding.
And while Smith secured a smaller percentage of the vote than her predecessor Frey — possibly due to a lower overall voter turnout of 35.5 per cent, compared to 65.6 per cent in 2019 — the election legitimized her leadership of both the province’s government and UCP party.
But Dirk and Morishita warn Smith will have to live up to the promises she campaigned on if she wishes to hold onto the seat, which is coming up for election again in May, 2023, as both have voiced their intention of vying for it again — using the coming months to prepare for a battle uncommon of that seat.
The Brooks Medicine Hat byelection was chosen as Story of the Year, but other considerations were the Sept. 16 Royal Hotel fire, which destroyed a beloved local music venue rich with history, and the July 18 tornado, which left debris and damage in its wake as it ripped through Cypress County and Echo Dale.
