Nathan Cooper, the UCP incumbent Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA, is happy to once again be representing the riding.
Just after midnight on May 30, with all 22 polls reporting, Cooper had received 18,170 votes. NDP candidate Cheryl Hunter-Loewen finished a distant second with 4,571 votes, while Katherine Kowalchuk of the Independence Party of Alberta finished third with 1,147 votes.
Rounding out the field of candidates, Cam Tatlock of the Wildrose Loyalty Coaltion obtained 194 votes and Judy Bridges of the Solidarity Movement of Alberta received 115.
The UCP held onto its government status, securing a majority with 49 ridings, compared to the NDP's 38. It was the closest election in Alberta's history.
Cooper's riding is large and rural, with the southern boundaries including Crossfield, Beiseker, and Irricana.
Now that he’s re-elected, the question is whether Cooper will serve as speaker of the legislature for a second straight term – a position he held from 2019 to 2023.
During a post-election interview with Great West Media's Mountain View County newsroom, Cooper left the door open to serving again as speaker or angling for a cabinet post of some sort – maybe infrastructure or transportation.
“I intend to sit down with the premier and see what her hopes, desires and dreams are for the province," he said
“I want to be a good teammate. So whether or not that’s best to serve in cabinet or as the speaker, I think I’ll have a discussion with her about that. I’m certainly willing to do either.
“I want to try to best support our team as well as best represent the constituents of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills.”
As he had through the election campaign, Cooper said contrary to what some might think, in the high-profile position of speaker, he brought more government attention to the constituency than it might otherwise have received.
Reached late in the evening on election night, Hunter-Loewen said she was “disappointed, of course, but not surprised” by the result in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, which is traditionally a staunchly conservative riding.
However, she said she’s proud of what her campaign accomplished, arguing it built momentum for the NDP in the riding.
“We were out here to give the residents of Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills an option, to put forward a vision for a better future for Albertans,” she said.
Hunter-Loewen was asked if she plans to run in the next election, and said she's mum to the idea.
“Right now I don’t plan to run anything. I plan to go to bed and sleep,” she said with a laugh.
“I’m pretty tired tonight, so I’m going to do my heavy thinking when I have fresh brain and a clear head.”
Reached for comment after the votes were tallied, Kowalchuk said her campaign did well, comparatively speaking.
She said the results show that “this party is gaining momentum and that people are more open to our platform as a solution.”
During an election forum in Olds last month, Kowalchuk disagreed with suggestions that by choosing her, electors would be splitting the conservative vote.
She stood by that position on election night.
"You see the numbers, right? I mean the NDP isn’t doing extremely well in this riding, which was expected, so yes, there was no worry about splitting the vote,” she said.
