Trio of political parties to officially make the ballot in Calgary election

Recently certified, A Better Calgary said it has a plan to prevent vote splitting amongst conservative voters by bypassing certain wards.

At least three political parties will run candidates in Calgary’s upcoming municipal election, with the third officially certified this week.

A Better Calgary (ABC) announced it has been certified by Elections Calgary as a municipal political party, with candidates confirmed in seven of Calgary’s 14 wards in October’s election.

So far those candidates are Gordon Elliott in Ward 1, John Garden in Ward 2, John Grant Barron in Ward 4, Anthony Ascue in Ward 7, Tony Dinh in Ward 9, Mike Jamieson in Ward 12 and Keener Hachey in Ward 14.

According to the party’s executive director, Roy Beyer, the party is membership-driven and will include ward associations similar to how provincial parties operate.

“We actually came straight out of the blanket rezoning fiasco and said we need a political party where the people and their voice matters,” Beyer said. “That’s something that really empowers us.”

The party considers itself centre-right, with policy to be developed by its candidates who are selected by its membership.

However, ABC said its goal is to ensure conservative candidates “do not split the vote” in the next election.

Beyer told Global News the party will allow members to hold a “bypass vote” and not contest incumbents in other wards that align with the party’s membership.