# 2022 Brooks-Medicine Hat provincial by-election

A by-election was held in the provincial riding of Brooks-Medicine Hat in Alberta, Canada, on November 8, 2022, following the resignation of incumbent United Conservative MLA Michaela Frey.

## Context

On October 6, 2022, former Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith was elected leader of the United Conservative Party, defeating all other candidates including former Minister of Finance Travis Toews after six ballot counts. The election was triggered by the resignation of Jason Kenney following a leadership review. A week after her election, Smith was sworn in as the 19th Premier of Alberta. As Smith was not a member of the Legislative Assembly when she became premier, fellow UCP MLA Michaela Frey resigned her seat and had encouraged Smith to run in the by-election. Longstanding convention in Westminster systems when the leader of the governing party is not a member of the legislature to either hold a general election or a by-election, often caused by a sitting member in a safe seat resigning in order to allow the newly elected leader a chance to enter the legislature. Smith won the by-election, with 54.5% of the vote.

## Constituency

The district is located in southeastern Alberta, containing the entirety of Newell County and the northern portions of Cypress County and Medicine Hat. It is named for its two largest communities, Medicine Hat and Brooks, and also contains CFB Suffield. Within the city of Medicine Hat, its border with Cypress-Medicine Hat runs southeast along Highway 1, then northeast along Highway 41A until the railroad tracks, then east along the South Saskatchewan River.

## Candidates

The election was contested by 3 party leaders, Smith of the UCP, former Brooks mayor Barry Morishita of the Alberta Party, and Jeevan Mangat of the Wildrose Independence Party. Gwendolyn Dirk of the Alberta NDP would recontest the riding in the 2023 general election.

## Results

Alberta provincial by-election, 8 November 2022: Brooks-Medicine Hat :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United Conservative | Danielle Smith | 6,919 | 54.51 | -6.15 |
| | New Democratic | Gwendoline Dirk | 3,394 | 26.74 | +8.85 |
| | Alberta Party | Barry Morishita | 2,098 | 16.53 | +9.60 |
| | Alberta Independence | Bob Blayone | 225 | 1.77 | +0.80 |
| | Wildrose Independence | Jeevan Mangat | 56 | 0.44 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 12,692 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 45 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,695 | 35.51 | -30.27 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 35,872 |
| | United Conservative hold | United Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -7.48 |
| Source(s) Source:Elections Alberta |||||||

## 2019 results

vte2019 Alberta general election: Brooks-Medicine Hat :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | United Conservative | Michaela Glasgo | 13,606 | 60.66 | -11.42 | $57,924 |
| | New Democratic | Lynn MacWilliam | 4,012 | 17.89 | -5.33 | $16,573 |
| | Independent | Todd Beasley | 2,759 | 12.30 | – | $36,347 |
| | Alberta Party | Jim Black | 1,554 | 6.93 | +4.30 | $10,750 |
| | Liberal | Jamah Bashir Farah | 281 | 1.25 | +0.05 | $500 |
| | Alberta Independence | Collin Pacholek | 218 | 0.97 | – | $1,751 |
| Total | Total | Total | 22,430 | 99.53 | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 105 | 0.47 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,535 | 65.78 | – |
| Eligible electors | Eligible electors | Eligible electors | 34,257 |
| | United Conservative notional hold | United Conservative notional hold | Swing | Swing | -3.05 |
| Source(s) Source: Elections AlbertaNote: Expenses is the sum of "Election Expenses", "Other Expenses" and "Transfers Issued". The Elections Act limits "Election Expenses" to $50,000.United Conservative Party change is calculated from combined Wildrose and Progressive Conservative totals. |||||||