# David Khan (politician)

David Khan (born May 17, 1974) is a Canadian politician who led the Alberta Liberal Party from 2017 to 2020. Prior to running for leader, he served as the party's executive vice-president. He was elected leader on June 4, 2017.

## Political positions

Khan did not support co-operation with the Alberta Party, but did support forging closer ties with the Liberal Party of Canada. His leadership platform included a basic income pilot project, elimination of the small business tax, proportional representation for the Legislature, more free votes for MLAs, bringing private schools into the public system, and establishing universal pharmacare for those under 24.

## Personal life

Born in Calgary, Khan's father was an immigrant to Canada from Pakistan while his mother is English. Professionally, Khan is a lawyer who practices indigenous law and is fluently bilingual in both English and French. He is the first openly gay leader of a major Alberta political party.

## Election results

He was previously the party's 2014 by-election candidate in Calgary-West and 2015 provincial election candidate in Calgary-Buffalo, finishing third both times. Khan was also the Liberal candidate in the December 14, 2017 by-election in Calgary-Lougheed. He again placed third, behind United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney and the NDP candidate. Under his leadership, the Alberta Liberal Party experienced its worst results in history in the 2019 provincial election.

### 2019 general election

vte2019 Alberta general election: Calgary-Mountain View :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Kathleen Ganley | 12,526 | 47.32% | 18.45% |
| | United Conservative | Jeremy Wong | 9,708 | 36.68% | 2.24% |
| | Alberta Party | Angela Kokott | 2,345 | 8.86% | – |
| | Liberal | David Khan | 1,474 | 5.57% | -31.10% |
| | Green | Thana Boonlert | 315 | 1.19% | – |
| | Alberta Independence | Monica Friesz | 102 | 0.39% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 26,470 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 203 | 86 | 7 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 38,316 | 69.63% | 15.24% |
| | New Democratic gain from Liberal | New Democratic gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | 1.43% |
| Source(s) Source: "18 - Calgary-Mountain View, 2019 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 2017 by-election

vteAlberta provincial by-election, December 14, 2017: Calgary-Lougheed Resignation of Dave Rodney :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United Conservative | Jason Kenney | 7,760 | 71.51 | +8.35 |
| | New Democratic | Phillip van der Merwe | 1,822 | 16.79 | −15.24 |
| | Liberal | David Khan | 1,009 | 9.30 | +4.49 |
| | Reform | Lauren Thorsteinson | 137 | 1.26 | – |
| | Green | Romy Tittel | 60 | 0.55 | – |
| | Independent | Wayne Leslie | 42 | 0.39 | – |
| | Independent | Larry Heather | 22 | 0.20 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 10,852 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 28 | 2 | 96 |
| Eligible voters / turnout | Eligible voters / turnout | Eligible voters / turnout | 31,067 | 35.03 | −16.32 |
| | United Conservative notional hold | United Conservative notional hold | Swing | Swing | +11.80 |
| Source(s) Elections Alberta |||||||
* ↑ Swing is calculated from the sum of Progressive Conservative and Wildrose vote shares.

### 2015 general election

vte2015 Alberta general election: Calgary-Buffalo :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Kathleen T. Ganley | 4,671 | 35.11% | 30.39% | $3,118 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Terry Rock | 3,738 | 28.09% | -2.58% | $92,068 |
| | Liberal | David Khan | 3,282 | 24.67% | -16.80% | $54,749 |
| | Wildrose | Leah Wamboldt | 1,351 | 10.15% | -10.97% | $2,900 |
| | Green | Sabrina Lee Levac | 263 | 1.98% | – | $500 |
| Total | Total | Total | 13,305 | – | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 162 | – | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 32,950 | 40.87% | -3.39% | – |
| | New Democratic gain from Liberal | New Democratic gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | -1.89% |
| Source(s) Source: "05 - Calgary-Buffalo, 2015 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. "2015-2016 Annual Report of the Chief Electoral Officer" (PDF). Elections Alberta. Retrieved 2018-05-02. |||||||

### 2014 by-election

vteAlberta provincial by-election, October 27, 2014: Calgary-West Resignation of Ken Hughes on September 26, 2014 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Mike Ellis | 4,836 | 44.29 | −5.56 |
| | Wildrose | Sheila Taylor | 4,530 | 41.58 | +4.25 |
| | Liberal | David Khan | 927 | 8.51 | +1.05 |
| | New Democratic | Brian Malkinson | 337 | 3.09 | +0.08 |
| | Alberta Party | Troy Millington | 264 | 2.42 | +1.45 |
| Total | Total | Total | 10,894 | — | — |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 17 | 7 | 1 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 30,541 | 35.73 | — |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | − |
| Source(s) Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2015). Report on the October 27, 2014 By-elections in: Calgary-Elbow, Calgary-Foothills, Calgary-West, Edmonton-Whitemud (PDF) (Report). Edmonton: Legislative Assembly of Alberta; Chief Electoral Officer. ISBN 978-098653678-6. Retrieved April 20, 2021. |||||||