logo
United Conservative Party wins Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills byelection

United Conservative Party wins Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills byelection

CTV News25-06-2025
The unofficial results are in and the United Conservative Party received 61 per cent of the byelection vote in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding.
The Alberta NDP finished with 20 per cent, the Republican Party of Alberta had 18 per cent and the Wildrose Loyalty Coalition took about one per cent.
Official results will be announced July 3.
Many political analysts were curious if the Republican Party of Alberta would receive more votes, as they focused on Alberta secession during a time when discontent with Ottawa is high.
'The results of this byelection in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills could not be more disastrous for the Republican Party of Alberta. To have come in third behind the NDP is not something that even their most ardent supporters could ever have imagined,' said Matthew Solberg with New West Public Affairs.
'I would expect them to go off into the wilderness at this point.'
Cameron Davies, Republican Party of Alberta candidate and leader, sees the 2,705 votes as laying a foundation for future support.
'It took a step of courage for people to step away from their traditional voting habits and patterns and say the status quo isn't working,' said Davies.
'My message to them is that we are still here and fighting, and we aren't going away any time soon. This is just the beginning.'
The unofficial results are in and the United Conservative Party received 61 per cent of the byelection vote in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding.
The unofficial results are in and the United Conservative Party received 61 per cent of the byelection vote in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding.
On Tuesday, Premier Danielle Smith said she hopes to quell the separatist movement and conservative vote splitting with a stronger relationship with Ottawa.
'The sentiment that you're seeing was created in Ottawa by 10 years of terrible policy. I think it can also be dialed down by Ottawa by undoing 10 years of terrible policy and allowing us to get back to investing and allowing us to be able to chart our own course as a province in our areas of jurisdiction,' said Smith.
'I think that the jury is very much still out on the future of that movement, but I'm very hopeful that we'll be able to address these concerns so that sentiment subsides.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Vancouver MLA announces private prosecution against alleged hate speech
Vancouver MLA announces private prosecution against alleged hate speech

CBC

time28 minutes ago

  • CBC

Vancouver MLA announces private prosecution against alleged hate speech

Citing what she called "inaction" on the part of B.C.'s attorney general, Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Dallas Brodie announced plans Wednesday to bring a private prosecution against a woman caught on video at a public rally last year praising the Hamas attack on Israel. Charlotte Kates, international co-ordinator of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, was the subject of a VPD hate investigation after she gave a speech in favour of Hamas at a rally outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on April 26, 2024. In a widely circulated clip, Kates leads the crowd in a "Long live Oct. 7" chant, referring to the 2023 date Hamas terrorists attacked Israel. Vancouver police recommended provincial Crown charge Kates with wilful promotion of hatred and public incitement of hatred well over a year ago; however, B.C. Prosecution Service spokeswoman Damienne Darby said the VPD investigation remains under charge assessment with no available timeline for completion. "It's been over a year of complete inaction on this file," said Brodie. "David Eby's attorney-general, Niki Sharma, has inexplicably refused to authorize Kates's prosecution, despite repeated calls from myself and other groups to do so." CBC reached out to Kates but had not heard back by the time of publication. On Oct. 15, 2024, the federal government listed Samidoun as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code. In a statement to CBC, Sharma said Brodie's private prosecution "appears to fall under federal jurisdiction as opposed to the jurisdiction of the B.C. Prosecution Service. "We will be following this process closely, while continuing to work as a government to eliminate any incidents of hate in British Columbia," said Sharma. The sidewalk outside of provincial court in Vancouver drew a robust police presence Wednesday morning when a group holding signs and waving Palestinian flags shouted down Brodie at a news conference arranged by her OneBC party. Over a dozen uniformed officers formed lines along either side of the speaker's podium, while an overhead drone captured video. A private prosecution is a prosecution started by a private individual who is not acting on behalf of a law enforcement agency or prosecution service. The Public Prosecution Service of Canada says the right of a citizen to launch a prosecution for illegal activity is a "valuable constitutional safeguard against inertia or partiality on the part of authority."

Committee weighs proposed changes to N.W.T. family violence law
Committee weighs proposed changes to N.W.T. family violence law

CBC

timean hour ago

  • CBC

Committee weighs proposed changes to N.W.T. family violence law

Proposed amendments to who can seek emergency protection orders in the N.W.T. could save lives, a committee on Bill 27 heard Tuesday — but some questioned whether the changes are overly broad. Under the Protection Against Family Violence Act, victims can apply for an emergency protection order from a Justice of the Peace any time there has been family violence. During a public briefing on the bill Tuesday, N.W.T. Justice department staff said it would make people in dating and caretaker relationships eligible for emergency protection orders, add gender-inclusive language and recognize stalking as family violence. Justice Minister Jay Macdonald said the amendments recognize the "evolving nature" of who can be considered a family member and reflect Indigenous concepts of family. A domestic violence survivor told the committee that proposed amendments to who can seek emergency protection orders would have made a difference for her. She declined to give her name to the committee to protect her children's privacy. The woman said she was in a dating relationship with her abuser and could not get an emergency protection order, despite calling RCMP over 20 times about violence and threats. The two were not married or living together and didn't have children at the time. Only once they became married was the woman able to secure an emergency protection order. Her husband stabbed her repeatedly in her own home. The proposed changes "could save someone's life," said the woman, who wished her emergency protection order had come sooner. The changes emerged from a Supreme Court decision and review of a denied emergency protection order, Justice department staff told the committee. It addresses the findings of a study of emergency protection orders by the YWCA N.W.T. that said the act lacked provisions addressing stalking and cyberstalking, according to Laurence Pouliot, a senior policy analyst with the justice department. The act will enable RCMP to provide assistance identifying a stalker so a person can seek a protection order, said Pouliot. Proposed protections would allow victims to pursue stalkers for compensation without having to prove damages, said Pouliot. The amendments are pooled from a review of advancements in other provinces and territories and respond to the Calls for Justice on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQ+ people, said Pouliot. Act doesn't address school violence Committee chair Jane Weyallon Armstrong said the bill doesn't go far enough to address stalking. She said she knows of some families that have relocated to larger centres, only for their children to experience bullying and violence in those larger centres. "There is a lot of stalking, but it happens after school hours …. what can we do to help them?" said Weyallon Armstrong. MLA Robert Hawkins said the definition of stalking should mention intimidation, including by the relatives of a former partner. "Not all intimidation leads to violence," said Hawkins, but the legislative amendments should recognize the "emotional trauma" caused by stalking. Brad Patzer, assistant deputy minister at the Justice department, said the legislative amendments are not intended to address school children who are not family members. He suggested restraining orders and peace bonds as Criminal Code remedies for violence outside the family unit. Mackenzie Delta MLA George Nerysoo said elders in his region need protection from family violence, which is often related to alcohol and drugs or financial abuse, but also occurs in public settings. Nerysoo says elders are often "right in the middle" of intimate partner violence, and gave the example of one elder who wanders the streets in the middle of the night to escape violence in their home. Some elders are scared to leave their houses or leave the door unlocked, or are financially abused by people who loiter outside stores, he said. MLA Shauna Morgan asked the committee to consider if the bill was too broad, and asked for wording that prohibits putting youth at risk of homelessness. She asked why tools like peace bonds and restraining orders would not be sufficient. Yellowknife family lawyer Margo Nightingale made written submissions to say while elders need protection, there "can and should be a greater awareness of other tools that exist." Patzer explained the Criminal Code has a high burden of proof, leading to the need for tools like emergency protection orders. The deadline for written submissions on Bill 27 is Friday Aug. 29.

SAAQclic: Legault's office informed in 2020 of risk of cost overruns of IT project
SAAQclic: Legault's office informed in 2020 of risk of cost overruns of IT project

CTV News

timean hour ago

  • CTV News

SAAQclic: Legault's office informed in 2020 of risk of cost overruns of IT project

Commissioner Denis Gallant arrives for the opening of public hearings of the Commission of Inquiry into the Management of the Modernization of the Information Systems of the Société de l'assurance automobile (SAAQ) in Montreal on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press) Premier François Legault's office was informed in 2020 of a delay in the rollout of the SAAQclic platform and of a dispute with the consortium that could lead to cost overruns. Véronik Aubry, who was chief of staff to former Transport Minister François Bonnardel from 2018 to 2021, testified Wednesday afternoon before the Gallant Commission. ADVERTISEMENT Following a meeting in July 2020 with Nathalie Tremblay, then-CEO of the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), Aubry said she met with a political adviser from the premier's office, Ariane Gauthier. Aubry said she gave her an update on the latest developments related to the SAAQ's digital shift. The platform's rollout was delayed by a year. 'I remember mentioning the project's postponement to two people: Ariane in the premier's office. However, I assured her that, in terms of costs, we were still looking at the same $458 million scenario,' said Aubry. Did she mention that there was a dispute between the SAAQ and the consortium, and that this could have 'financial implications?' asked commission attorney Mélanie Tremblay. 'I mentioned it to Ms. Gauthier,'Aubry replied. She said she also advised someone in the office of Cybersecurity and Digital Minister Éric Caire about the timeline, but believes she failed to mention the dispute and its possible financial impact. Legault has so far always maintained he was not aware of the cost overruns associated with the SAAQ's IT modernization project. The project is expected to cost at least $1.1 billion, which is $500 million more than planned, according to the Auditor General. Legault's former right-hand man at the Ministry of the Executive Council, Yves Ouellet, knew as early as Sept. 7, 2022, that the costs of SAAQclic were skyrocketing, according to testimony given by former SAAQ CEO Denis Marsolais to the Gallant Commission in late spring. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 20, 2025. By Frédéric Lacroix-Couture, The Canadian Press

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store