# Calgary-Fish Creek

Calgary-Fish Creek is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 87 mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting.
The district is largely urban located in the south portion of the city of Calgary. It was named after Fish Creek Provincial Park and was created in the 1979 boundary redistribution from the south halves of the electoral districts of Calgary-Glenmore and Calgary-Egmont.
The district has been represented by only three MLA's since 1979. The first was Progressive Conservative William Payne who served here from 1979 to 1993 and the second is Heather Forsyth who has represented the district since 1993 was first elected under the Progressive Conservative banner but crossed the floor to the Wildrose Alliance in 2010. Forsyth was re-elected in the 2012 provincial election under the Wildrose banner. In 2015, Richard Gotfried was elected, as a Progressive Conservative.

## History

The electoral district of Calgary-Fisk Creek was created in the 1979 boundary redistribution from portions of old Calgary-Egmont and Calgary-Glenmore. The 2010 boundary redistribution moved the west boundary to 14th Street into Calgary-Lougheed to keep all of Canyon Meadows in a single district.

### Boundary history

9 Calgary-Fish Creek 2003 boundaries :
| Bordering districts ||||
| North | East | West | South |
| Calgary-Egmont and Calgary-Glenmore | Calgary-Hays | Calgary-Lougheed and Calgary-Shaw | Calgary-Shaw |
| riding map goes here | riding map goes here | | |
| Legal description from the Statutes of Alberta 2003, Electoral Divisions Act. ||||
| Starting at the intersection of Elbow Drive SW with Anderson Road SW; then 1. east along Anderson Road SW and Anderson Road SE to Deerfoot Trail SE; 2. east along Deerfoot Trail SE to the right bank of the Bow River; 3. south along the right bank of the Bow River to Fish Creek; 4. northwest along Fish Creek to the intersection with Macleod Trail S; 5. north along Macleod Trail S to Canyon Meadows Drive SW; 6. northwest along Canyon Meadows Drive SW to Elbow Drive SW; 7. north along Elbow Drive SW to the starting point. ||||
| Note: ||||
10 Calgary-Fish Creek 2010 boundaries :
| Bordering districts ||||
| North | East | West | South |
| Calgary-Acadia | Calgary-Hays | Calgary-Glenmore and Calgary-Lougheed | Calgary-Shaw |
| Legal description from the Statutes of Alberta 2010, Electoral Divisions Act. ||||
| Note: ||||

### Representation history

Members of the Legislative Assembly for Calgary-Fish Creek :
| Assembly | Years | Member | Party |
| See: Calgary-Egmont 1971-1979 and Calgary-Glenmore 1959-1979 |||||
| 19th | 1979–1982 | William Payne | Progressive Conservative |
| 20th | 1982–1986 | William Payne | Progressive Conservative |
| 21st | 1986–1989 | William Payne | Progressive Conservative |
| 22nd | 1989–1993 | William Payne | Progressive Conservative |
| 23rd | 1993–1997 | Heather Forsyth | Progressive Conservative |
| 24th | 1997–2001 | Heather Forsyth | Progressive Conservative |
| 25th | 2001–2004 | Heather Forsyth | Progressive Conservative |
| 26th | 2004–2008 | Heather Forsyth | Progressive Conservative |
| 27th | 2008–2010 | Heather Forsyth | Progressive Conservative |
| 27th | 2010–2012 | Heather Forsyth | Wildrose Alliance |
| 28th | 2012–2015 | Heather Forsyth | Wildrose |
| 29th | 2015–2017 | Richard Gotfried | Progressive Conservative |
| 29th | 2017–2019 | Richard Gotfried | United Conservative |
| 30th | 2019–2023 | Richard Gotfried | United Conservative |
| 31st | 2023– | Myles McDougall | United Conservative |
The electoral district was created in the 1979 boundary redistribution. The first election that year saw Progressive Conservative candidate William Payne win a landslide majority. Payne would almost double his popular vote in the 1982 general election, taking almost 80% of the total vote.
After the election Premier Peter Lougheed appointed Payne as a Minister without portfolio. Payne lost almost 10,000 votes running for his third term in office in the 1986 election. He still won the district with a landslide majority. After the election he was shuffled out of cabinet. He would run for his final election in 1989 and win his fourth term after facing a strong challenge from Liberal candidate Wayne Gillis. Payne retired at dissolution in 1993.
The second representative elected to the district was Heather Forsyth, who was elected in 1993 as Progressive Conservative candidate. She won a comfortable majority over Liberal candidate Marie Cameron to hold the seat for her party. Cameron and Forsyth would face each other in the 1997 general election with Forsyth winning a landslide. She would win her third term in 2001 with an even bigger landslide. After the election Premier Ralph Klein appointed Forsyth to the provincial cabinet as Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security.
Forsyth won her fourth term in the 2004 general election. After the election Klein shuffled her to the Children and Youth Services portfolio which she served until 2006. She won her fifth term in 2008. On January 4, 2010 Forsyth crossed the floor to the Wildrose Alliance. She was re-elected in the 2012 provincial election, and was one of only five Wildrose MLAs who chose not to cross the floor to the governing Progressive Conservatives along with Danielle Smith in 2014. She retired from politics in 2015.
In the 2015 election, Richard Gotfried picked up Calgary-Fish Creek for the Progressive Conservatives, despite a landslide defeat in the rest of the province. He subsequently joined the United Conservative Party when the two right-wing parties merged, and was re-elected in 2019.

## Legislative election results
### 2023

vte2023 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | United Conservative | Myles McDougall | 13,743 | 53.77 | -7.76 |
| | New Democratic | Rebecca Bounsall | 11,254 | 44.03 | +15.24 |
| | Liberal | Charlie Heater | 378 | 1.48 | +0.10 |
| | Solidarity Movement | Dave Hughes | 186 | 0.73 | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 25,561 | 99.24 | – |
| Rejected and declined | Rejected and declined | Rejected and declined | 195 | 0.76 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,756 | 69.48 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 37,067 |
| | United Conservative hold | United Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -11.50 |
| Source(s) Source: Elections Alberta |||||||

### 2019

vte2019 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | United Conservative | Richard Gotfried | 15,975 | 61.52 | -1.64 | $64,738 |
| | New Democratic | Rebecca Bounsall | 7,476 | 28.79 | -1.85 | $46,721 |
| | Alberta Party | Robert Tremblay | 1,699 | 6.54 | +2.16 | $1,077 |
| | Liberal | John Roggeveen | 359 | 1.38 | +0.11 | $500 |
| | Green | Taylor Stasila | 231 | 0.89 | – | $500 |
| | Alberta Independence | Tomas Manasek | 226 | 0.87 | – | $937 |
| Total | Total | Total | 25,966 | 99.58 | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 109 | 0.42 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,075 | 72.11 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 36,158 |
| | United Conservative notional hold | United Conservative notional hold | Swing | Swing | +0.11 |
| 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. |||||||

### 2015

vte2015 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Richard Gotfried | 6,198 | 32.91% | -10.81% |
| | New Democratic | Jill Moreton | 6,069 | 32.23% | 27.11% |
| | Wildrose | Blaine Maller | 5,568 | 29.57% | -14.57% |
| | Alberta Party | Allison Wemyss | 850 | 4.51% | – |
| | Social Credit | Martin Owen | 148 | 0.79% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 18,833 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 36 | 27 | 6 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 30,931 | 61.02% | -0.05% |
| | Progressive Conservative gain from Wildrose Alliance | Progressive Conservative gain from Wildrose Alliance | Swing | Swing | 0.23% |
| Source(s) Source: "10 - Calgary-Fish Creek, 2015 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Chief Electoral Officer (2016). 2015 General Election. A Report of the Chief Electoral Officer (PDF) (Report). Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. |||||||
2015 Alberta general election redistributed results :
| Party | Party | Votes | % |
| | Progressive Conservative | 7,683 | 32.82 |
| | New Democratic | 7,173 | 30.64 |
| | Wildrose | 7,103 | 30.34 |
| | Alberta Party | 1,027 | 4.39 |
| | Liberal | 297 | 1.27 |
| | Social Credit | 127 | 0.54 |
| Source(s) Source: Ridingbuilder ||||

### 2012

vte2012 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Wildrose Alliance | Heather Forsyth | 7,672 | 43.94% | 34.36% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Wendelin Fraser | 7,634 | 43.72% | -8.58% |
| | Liberal | Nazir Rahemtulla | 1,260 | 7.22% | -23.46% |
| | New Democratic | Eric Leavitt | 894 | 5.12% | 1.91% |
| Total | Total | Total | 17,460 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 47 | 73 | 2 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 28,668 | 61.08% | 14.31% |
| | Wildrose Alliance gain from Progressive Conservative | Wildrose Alliance gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing | Swing | -10.70% |
| Source(s) Source: "10 - Calgary-Fish Creek, 2012 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Chief Electoral Officer (2012). The Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 2011 Provincial Enumeration and Monday, April 23, 2012 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-eighth Legislative Assembly (PDF) (Report). Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021. |||||||

### 2008

vte2008 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Heather Forsyth | 6,884 | 52.30% | -5.53% |
| | Liberal | Laura Shutiak | 4,038 | 30.68% | 6.59% |
| | Wildrose Alliance | Jamie Buchan | 1,261 | 9.58% | 2.97% |
| | Green | Kerry T. Fraser | 556 | 4.22% | -0.53% |
| | New Democratic | Eric Leavitt | 423 | 3.21% | -3.50% |
| Total | Total | Total | 13,162 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 26 | 13 | 2 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 28,203 | 46.77% | 1.50% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -6.06% |
| Source(s) Source: "09 - Calgary-Fish Creek, 2008 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Chief Electoral Officer (2008). The Report on the March 3, 2008 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-Seventh Legislative Assembly (Report). Edmonton, Alta.: Elections Alberta. pp. 202–205. Retrieved April 7, 2021. |||||||

### 2004

vte2004 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Heather Forsyth | 6,829 | 57.83% | -16.71% |
| | Liberal | Tore Badenduck | 2,845 | 24.09% | 2.20% |
| | New Democratic | Eric Leavitt | 793 | 6.72% | 3.15% |
| | Alberta Alliance | Mike Kuipers | 781 | 6.61% | – |
| | Green | Chris Sealy | 561 | 4.75% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 11,809 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 37 | 12 | 3 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 26,174 | 45.27% | -12.64% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -9.46% |
| Source(s) Source: "00 - Calgary-Fish Creek, 2004 Alberta general election". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2005). Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the General Enumeration and General Election of the Twenty-sixth Legislative Assembly (Report). Edmonton: Alberta Legislative Assembly, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer. |||||||

### 2001

vte2001 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Heather Forsyth | 9,716 | 74.54% | 7.93% |
| | Liberal | Marc Doll | 2,853 | 21.89% | -2.43% |
| | New Democratic | Ryan Todd | 465 | 3.57% | 0.77% |
| Total | Total | Total | 13,034 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 24 | 23 | 3 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 22,554 | 57.91% | 3.07% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 5.18% |
| Source(s) Source: "Calgary-Fish Creek Official Results 2001 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (2001). The report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 2000 provincial confirmation process and Monday, March 12, 2001, Provincial General Election of the twenty-fifth Legislative Assembly. Edmonton: Alberta Legislative Assembly, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer. |||||||

### 1997

vte1997 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Heather Forsyth | 8,274 | 66.62% | 11.97% |
| | Liberal | Marie Cameron | 3,020 | 24.32% | -12.88% |
| | Social Credit | Jeff Willerton | 778 | 6.26% | – |
| | New Democratic | Muriel Turner-Wilkinson | 348 | 2.80% | -1.08% |
| Total | Total | Total | 12,420 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 27 | 5 | 0 |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 22,697 | 54.84% | -9.27% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 12.42% |
| Source(s) Source: "Calgary-Fish Creek Official Results 1997 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. Alberta. Chief Electoral Officer (1997). Report of the Chief Electoral Officer, November, 1996 general enumeration and Tuesday, March 11, 1997 general election Twenty-fourth Legislative Assembly. Edmonton: Alberta Legislative Assembly, Office of the Chief Electoral Officer. |||||||

### 1993

vte1993 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Heather Forsyth | 7,855 | 54.65% | 6.68% |
| | Liberal | Marie Cameron | 5,346 | 37.19% | -0.63% |
| | New Democratic | Kerin Spaargaren | 558 | 3.88% | -10.32% |
| | Independent | Roy Carey | 544 | 3.78% | – |
| | Natural Law | Darlene Holt | 70 | 0.49% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 14,373 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 18 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 22,447 | 64.11% | 16.69% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 3.66% |
| Source(s) Source: "Calgary-Fish Creek Official Results 1993 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1989

1989 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | William Edward Payne | 6,996 | 47.97% | -21.60% |
| | Liberal | Wayne Gillis | 5,517 | 37.83% | 24.07% |
| | New Democratic | Tom Polmear | 2,071 | 14.20% | -2.47% |
| Total | Total | Total | 14,584 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 35 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / Turnout | Eligible electors / Turnout | Eligible electors / Turnout | 30,831 | 47.42% | 5.54% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -21.38% |
| Source(s) Source: "Calgary-Fish Creek Official Results 1989 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1986

1986 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | William Edward Payne | 7,852 | 69.57% | -10.18% |
| | New Democratic | Kerin Spaargaren | 1,882 | 16.67% | 9.78% |
| | Liberal | Lea Russell | 1,553 | 13.76% | 10.73% |
| Total | Total | Total | 11,287 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 26 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / Turnout | Eligible electors / Turnout | Eligible electors / Turnout | 27,018 | 41.87% | -23.62% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -8.26% |
| Source(s) Source: "Calgary-Fish Creek Official Results 1986 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1982

1982 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | William Edward Payne | 17,376 | 79.75% | 3.72% |
| | Western Canada Concept | Byron L. Chenger | 2252 | 10.34% | – |
| | New Democratic | Tom Polmear | 1501 | 6.89% | 2.91% |
| | Liberal | Alan D.J. Sopczak | 659 | 3.02% | -7.11% |
| Total | Total | Total | 21,788 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 34 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / Turnout | Eligible electors / Turnout | Eligible electors / Turnout | 33,321 | 65.49% | 5.43% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 1.76% |
| Source(s) Source: "Calgary-Fish Creek Official Results 1982 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

### 1979

1979 Alberta general election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | William Edward Payne | 9,187 | 76.03% | – |
| | Liberal | Jerry Sykes | 1,225 | 10.14% | – |
| | Social Credit | Al Green | 1,190 | 9.85% | – |
| | New Democratic | Margaret Young | 481 | 3.98% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 12,083 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 15 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / Turnout | Eligible electors / Turnout | Eligible electors / Turnout | 20,144 | 60.06% | – |
| | Progressive Conservative pickup new district. | Progressive Conservative pickup new district. | Progressive Conservative pickup new district. | Progressive Conservative pickup new district. | Progressive Conservative pickup new district. | Progressive Conservative pickup new district. | Progressive Conservative pickup new district. |
| Source(s) Source: "Calgary-Fish Creek Official Results 1979 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||

## Senate nominee election results
### 2004

| 2004 Senate Nominee Election results: Calgary-Fish Creek | 2004 Senate Nominee Election results: Calgary-Fish Creek | 2004 Senate Nominee Election results: Calgary-Fish Creek | 2004 Senate Nominee Election results: Calgary-Fish Creek | 2004 Senate Nominee Election results: Calgary-Fish Creek | Turnout 45.30% | Turnout 45.30% |
| | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % votes | % ballots | Rank |
| | Progressive Conservative | Bert Brown | 5,485 | 18.13% | 55.46% | 1 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jim Silye | 4,647 | 15.36% | 46.98% | 5 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Betty Unger | 4,210 | 13.92% | 42.56% | 2 |
| | Independent | Link Byfield | 2,944 | 9.73% | 29.76% | 4 |
| | Progressive Conservative | David Usherwood | 2,924 | 9.67% | 29.56% | 6 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Cliff Breitkreuz | 2,864 | 9.47% | 28.95% | 3 |
| | Independent | Tom Sindlinger | 1,994 | 6.59% | 20.16% | 9 |
| | Alberta Alliance | Vance Gough | 1,886 | 6.24% | 19.06% | 8 |
| | Alberta Alliance | Michael Roth | 1,728 | 5.71% | 17.47% | 7 |
| | Alberta Alliance | Gary Horan | 1,565 | 5.18% | 15.82% | 10 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 30,247 | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Total ballots | Total ballots | Total ballots | 9,891 | 3.06 votes per ballot | 3.06 votes per ballot | 3.06 votes per ballot |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 1,966 | 1,966 | 1,966 | 1,966 |
| 26,174 eligible electors |||||||
Voters had the option of selecting four candidates on the ballot

### 2012
## Student vote results
### 2012

2012 Student Vote Canada results for Alberta :
| | Affiliation | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Wildrose | Heather Forsyth | 80 | 33.76% |
| | Liberal | Nazir Rahemtulla | 54 | 22.78% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Wendelin Fraser | 53 | 22.36% |
| | NDP | Eric Leavitt | 50 | 21.10% |
| Total | Total | Total | 237 | 100% |