Here's a summary of useful things to know heading into the provincial election, including forums from interVivos and the Women's Health Coalition, agenda-setting from Alberta Municipalities and Public Interest Alberta, and news about Edmonton-area ridings.
Events and dates of note
- May 10, 6pm: interVivos Presents: A Provincial Affair at 9910
- May 11, 2pm: Nominations close
- May 13, 9:30am: Women's Health Week All Candidates Forum, presented by the Women's Health Coalition at Sherbrooke Community Hall
- May 16, 6pm: Provincial Election Forum: St. Albert, organized by the St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce
- May 16, 6:30pm: Meet Your Candidates Political Election Forum: Strathcona-Sherwood Park, hosted by the Sherwood Park and District Chamber of Commerce
- May 16, 7pm: Spruce Grove-Stony Plain Provincial Candidates Forum, organized by the Greater Parkland Regional Chamber
- May 17, 11:30am: Provincial Candidates Forum: Leduc-Beaumont, hosted by The Chamber (Leduc, Nisku, Wetaskiwin Regions)
- May 17, 6:30pm: Provincial Election Forum: Morinville-St. Albert, organized by the St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce
- May 17, 7pm: Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland Provincial Candidates Forum, organized by the Greater Parkland Regional Chamber
- May 18, 6pm: Alberta Provincial Leaders Debate
- May 18, 6:30pm: Meet your Candidates Political Forum: Sherwood Park Riding, hosted by the Sherwood Park and District Chamber of Commerce
- May 18, 7pm: Drayton Valley-Devon Provincial Candidates Forum, organized by the Greater Parkland Regional Chamber
- May 23-27: Advance voting
- May 29: Election Day
Agenda-setting and temperature-taking
- Alberta Municipalities held a media briefing on May 9 about Alberta's municipal infrastructure gap, which the organization pegged at $30 billion after the provincial budget. It has more briefings to come on safety and healthcare.
- Public Interest Alberta released a brief on what it wants to see in public education.
- The Book Publishers Association of Alberta is inviting candidates and Albertans in general to share their Alberta stories.
- The Rozsa Foundation and the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations have launched VoteArtsAB, a campaign to double arts funding.
- CBC's Vote Compass invites you to answer some questions to determine which party is most aligned with your ideology. It has collected more than 54,000 responses so far.
Election news in the Edmonton region
- CBC identified a few ridings to watch in the Edmonton region: Edmonton-South West, where Kaycee Madu, the only successful UCP candidate in Edmonton in 2019, faces the NDP's Nathan Ip; Morinville-St. Albert, where the UCP's Dale Nally faces former Sturgeon County councillor Karen Shaw for the NDP; Strathcona-Sherwood Park, where the UCP's Nate Glubish faces Strathcona County councillor Bill Tonita of the NDP; and Sherwood Park, where UCP incumbent Jordan Walker faces the NDP's Kyle Kasawski, the Alberta Party's Sue Timanson, and Liberal Jacob Stacey.
- Postmedia highlighted a few more ridings that had close finishes in 2019, including Edmonton-West Henday, where Brooks Arcand-Paul is hoping to keep the seat for the NDP against the UCP's Slava Cravceno; Edmonton South, where former city council candidate Rhiannon Hoyle is running for the NDP against the UCP's Joseph Angeles; Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville, where UCP incumbent Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk is up against the NDP's Taneen Rudyk; and St. Albert, where NDP incumbent Marie Renaud faces Angela Wood from the UCP and Cameron Jefferies from the Green Party.
- Candidates in Drayton Valley-Devon and Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland are among those who suspended their campaigns due to wildfire.
- The Calgary Journal has published riding profiles written by MacEwan University journalism students, including Edmonton-West Henday, Edmonton-South West, Spruce Grove-Stony Plain, Strathcona-Sherwood Park, and Sherwood Park.
- The Sherwood Park News took a look at who's running in Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville, Strathcona-Sherwood Park, and Sherwood Park.
- The St. Albert Gazette gathered up who's running in St. Albert and St. Albert-Morinville.
- Green Party Leader Jordan Wilkie, who is running in Edmonton-Rutherford, was among the leaders of smaller parties who spoke to CBC about trying to break into what is seen as a fight between the UCP and the NDP.
Photo: As it did in 2019, interVivos is putting on A Provincial Affair, a "non-partisan unforum" allowing Edmontonians to interact with local experts on key issues in the coming election. (interVivos/Facebook)