# Calgary Southwest

Calgary Southwest was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015. The district was in the southwest part of the city of Calgary, south of Glenmore Trail and west of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway line.
Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper represented the riding during his leadership.

## History

The electoral district was created in 1987 from parts of the Bow River, Calgary West, Calgary East, Calgary South, and a small piece of Calgary Centre ridings.
The riding was abolished during the Canadian federal electoral redistribution, 2012, 80% into Calgary Heritage and 20% into Calgary Midnapore.

### Historical boundaries

* 1987 representation order
* 1996 representation order
* 2003 representation order

### Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following members of the House of Commons of Canada:
| Parliament | Years | Member | Party |
| Calgary Southwest Riding created from Bow River, Calgary Centre, Calgary East, Calgary West and Calgary South |||||
| 34th | 1988–1993 | Bobbie Sparrow | Progressive Conservative |
| 35th | 1993–1997 | Preston Manning | Reform |
| 36th | 1997–2000 | Preston Manning | Reform |
| 36th | 2000–2000 | Preston Manning | Alliance |
| 37th | 2000–2002 | Preston Manning | Alliance |
| 37th | 2002–2003 | Stephen Harper | Alliance |
| 37th | 2003–2004 | Stephen Harper | Conservative |
| 38th | 2004–2006 | Stephen Harper | Conservative |
| 39th | 2006–2008 | Stephen Harper | Conservative |
| 40th | 2008–2011 | Stephen Harper | Conservative |
| 41st | 2011–2015 | Stephen Harper | Conservative |
| Riding dissolved into Calgary Heritage and Calgary Midnapore |||||

### Members of Parliament

All three of the riding's MPs were prominent: Bobbie Sparrow served in the cabinet led by Kim Campbell, while Preston Manning was the leader of the Reform Party of Canada from 1987 and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2000. Its final MP in the Southwest configuration was Prime Minister Stephen Harper, an economist and a lecturer outside politics. He was elected to Calgary Southwest, shortly after becoming leader of the Canadian Alliance and thus leader of the Opposition, in a 2002 by-election occasioned by Manning's retirement. From 2003, Harper was the leader of the re-formed Conservative Party of Canada, and from 2006, prime minister; he ceased to be both after the 2015 Canadian federal election.

## Election results

vte2011 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | Stephen Harper | 42,998 | 75.12 | +2.16 | $62,436 |
| | New Democratic | Holly Heffernan | 6,823 | 11.92 | +4.16 | $1,113 |
| | Liberal | Marlene Lamontagne | 4,121 | 7.20 | −2.11 | $14,171 |
| | Green | Kelly Christie | 2,991 | 5.23 | −3.75 | $4,879 |
| | Independent | Larry R. Heather | 303 | 0.53 | +0.04 | $495 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 57,236 | 99.69 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 177 | 0.31 | −0.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,413 | 60.42 | +2.02 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 95,026 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -1.00 |
| Note: Larry R. Heather's vote as an independent candidate is compared to his vote as a CHP candidate in 2008. |||||||
vte2008 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | Stephen Harper | 38,545 | 72.96 | +0.60 | $61,102 |
| | Liberal | Marlene Lamontagne | 4,918 | 9.31 | −2.10 | $14,071 |
| | Green | Kelly Christie | 4,743 | 8.98 | +1.30 | $1,250 |
| | New Democratic | Holly Heffernan | 4,102 | 7.76 | −0.30 | $1,719 |
| | Libertarian | Dennis Young | 265 | 0.48 | | $398 |
| | Christian Heritage | Larry R. Heather | 256 | 0.48 | −0.01 | $1,746 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 52,832 | 99.69 | – | $92,156 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 164 | 0.31 | +0.10 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,996 | 58.39 | -8.18 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 52,996 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | +1.35 |
2006 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | Stephen Harper | 41,549 | 72.36 | +4.01 | $67,115 |
| | Liberal | Michael Swanson | 6,553 | 11.41 | -6.99 | $15,691 |
| | New Democratic | Holly Heffernan | 4,628 | 8.06 | +2.48 | $5,177 |
| | Green | Kim Warnke | 4,407 | 7.68 | +1.46 | $1,800 |
| | Christian Heritage | Larry Heather | 279 | 0.49 | +0.04 | $1,370 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 57,416 | 99.79 | – | |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 120 | 0.21 | -0.08 | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 57,536 | 66.57 | +2.08 | – |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 86,426 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | +5.50 |
2004 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | Stephen Harper | 35,297 | 68.36 | -12.84 | $62,955 |
| | Liberal | Avalon Roberts | 9,501 | 18.40 | +3.49 | $55,529 |
| | Green | Darcy Kraus | 3,210 | 6.22 | | $521 |
| | New Democratic | Daria Fox | 2,884 | 5.59 | +1.70 | $3,648 |
| | Marijuana | Mark de Pelham | 516 | 1.00 | – | |
| | Christian Heritage | Larry Heather | 229 | 0.44 | | $1,630 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 51,637 | 99.71 | – | |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 149 | 0.29 | – | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 51,786 | 64.49 | | – |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 80,296 |
| | Conservative notional hold | Conservative notional hold | Swing | Swing | -8.16 |
Note: Change is compared to redistributed 2000 results. Conservative vote is compared to the combined Alliance and Progressive Conservative vote.
2000 federal election redistributed results :
| Party | Vote | % |
| Canadian Alliance | 31,756 | 64.96 |
| Progressive Conservative | 7,936 | 16.23 |
| Liberal | 7,290 | 14.91 |
| New Democratic | 1,901 | 3.89 |
vteCanadian federal by-election, May 13, 2002 Resignation of Preston Manning :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Alliance | Stephen Harper | 13,200 | 71.66 | +6.84 | $58,959.16 |
| | New Democratic | Bill Phipps | 3,813 | 20.70 | +16.73 | $34,789.77 |
| | Green | James S. Kohut | 660 | 3.58 | | $2,750.80 |
| | Independent | Gordon Barrett | 428 | 2.32 | | $3,329.34 |
| | Christian Heritage | Ron Gray | 320 | 1.74 | | $27,772.78 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 18,421 | 99.47 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 98 | 0.53 | +0.23 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 18,519 | 23.05 | -39.89 |
| Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | Electors on the lists | 80,360 |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | Swing | -4.94 |
2000 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Alliance | Preston Manning | 34,529 | 64.81 | +6.81 | $69,676 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Paul Monaghan | 8,679 | 16.29 | -1.61 | $8,592 |
| | Liberal | Barry J. Rust | 7,954 | 14.93 | -5.24 | $13,233 |
| | New Democratic | Jennifer Stewart | 2,113 | 3.97 | +1.22 | $720 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 53,275 | 99.70 | – | |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 158 | 0.30 | +0.07 | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 53,433 | 62.93 | -3.84 | – |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 84,905 |
| | Alliance notional hold | Alliance notional hold | Swing | Swing | +4.22 |
Note: Alliance vote is compared to the Reform vote in 1997.
1997 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Reform | Preston Manning | 27,912 | 57.99 | -3.23 | $62,515 |
| | Liberal | Paul Drager | 9,706 | 20.17 | +3.86 | $61,666 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jan Brown | 8,617 | 17.90 | -0.69 | $34,551 |
| | New Democratic | Mara Vogel | 1,322 | 2.75 | +1.13 | $1,064 |
| | Green | Sol Candel | 310 | 0.64 | +0.20 | |
| | Natural Law | Richard Shelford | 175 | 0.36 | -0.00 | |
| | Christian Heritage | Larry Heather | 89 | 0.18 | – | $176 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 48,131 | 99.78 | – | |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 107 | 0.22 | – | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,238 | 66.78 | | – |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 72,239 |
| | Reform hold | Reform hold | Swing | Swing | -3.54 |
vte1993 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Reform | Preston Manning | 41,630 | 61.22 | +47.80 | $59,445 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Bobbie Sparrow | 12,642 | 18.59 | -46.57 | $61,978 |
| | Liberal | Bill Richards | 11,087 | 16.30 | +4.77 | $60,511 |
| | New Democratic | Catherine Rose | 1,099 | 1.62 | -6.49 | $4,791 |
| | National | Lea Russell | 910 | 1.34 | | $2,580 |
| | Green | Sol Candel | 301 | 0.44 | | $6,216 |
| | Natural Law | Ida Bugmann | 249 | 0.37 | | $0 |
| | Independent | Miel S.R. Gabriel | 57 | 0.08 | | $218 |
| | Communist | Darrell Rankin | 28 | 0.04 | | $1,422 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 68,003 | 100.00 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 137 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 68,140 | 70.81 | |
| Electors on lists | Electors on lists | Electors on lists | 96,213 | | |
| | Reform gain from Progressive Conservative | Reform gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing | Swing | +47.19 |
| Source:Thirty-fifth General Election, 1993: Official Voting Results, Published by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. Financial figures taken from official contributions and expenses provided by Elections Canada. |||||||
1988 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Progressive Conservative | Bobbie Sparrow | 40,397 | 65.16 |
| | Reform | Janet Jessop | 8,316 | 13.41 |
| | Liberal | Percy Baker | 7,147 | 11.53 |
| | New Democratic | Vera Vogel | 5,024 | 8.10 |
| | Independent | Larry R. Heather | 669 | 1.08 |
| | Rhinoceros | Johnny Barretto | 372 | 0.60 |
| | Confederation of Regions | Bill Sinclair | 68 | 0.11 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 61,993 | 100.00 |