Trudeau and Ambrose campaign in Calgary as byelection race heats up

The prime minister and the leader of the federal Conservatives campaigned in Calgary on Wednesday, rallying their respective troops for two upcoming byelections.

Appearing with candidates Haley Brown (Calgary Midnapore) and Scott Forsyth (Calgary Heritage) to take questions from reporters in the afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the fact his government was able to get pipelines approved should weigh in their favour when voters go to the pollsin the April 3 byelections.

"We have done the right things over the past year for Calgary, and Alberta and Canada," he said.

"And we did one thing the previous government, for all its chest thumping about being pro-Alberta, was unable to do we actually got pipelines approved. And the way we did that was by showing leadership and responsibility on the environment."

The two open seats won't shift the balance of power in the House of Commons, but have strong symbolic significance.

Calgary Heritage was former prime minister Stephen Harper's riding and has been a conservative stronghold for decades. In Calgary Midnapore, another conservative bastion, the race is to fill the void left by former cabinet minister and current provincial PC leadership hopeful, Jason Kenney.

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Speaking at a campaign-stylerally at the BMO Centre later in the day, Trudeau continued on the theme of accusing the Conservatives of taking ridings in Calgary and Alberta for granted.

"Fundamentally, the Conservatives here in Alberta want you to thinkthis is good enough, that you can't get better than that," he told an audience of several hundred. "Well I'm sorry my friends, this is Calgary, and in Calgary, better is always possible."

If either riding were to fall to the Liberals, or any other party, on April 3 it would represent a significant psychological scar for the Conservatives on their home turf.

Trudeau's Calgary hopes

Trudeau is clearly interested in making inroads in Calgary, this being is sixth appearances in the city since taking office, including a cabinet retreat in January.

"I think the Liberals have a better opportunity than they have in years past," said Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt.

"They had an inroad in 2015 for the first time since the '60s. Trudeau has spent an awful lot of time in Calgary both speaking and campaigning, both previously and since becoming prime minister. He did approve two pipelines. Those are all the things the Liberals are banking on."

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The Liberals picked up two seats in Calgary in 2015, their first in the city since 1968.

Bratt, however, said these particular ridings will be difficult for the Liberals to win. He said areas like Calgary Confederation, which the party narrowly lost in 2015 and contains the University of Calgary, would hold out much more hope.

Ambrose defending turf

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Ambrose isn't just sitting back hoping to capitalize on those long odds, showing up in Calgary at the same time as the prime minister.

Speaking at the headquarters for Stephanie Kusie, the Conservative candidate in Calgary Midnapore, Ambrose focused almost exclusively on her party's disdain for the federal carbon tax.

"The message we need to send to Justin Trudeau is 'No to the carbon tax,'" she said, repeating her opposition to the tax in response to almost every question posed by reporters.

Ambrose cited U.S. President Donald Trump's planned deregulation of the oil and gas industry as just one reason the tax should be scrapped.

"We are a sovereign country, but we are also an integrated economy," she said.

Ambrose also brushed off any concern about the Liberals gaining ground in these byelections.

"I have a lot of confidence that they will be successful," she said of Kusie and Calgary Heritage candidate Bob Benzen.

Candidates

Also running in Calgary Heritage are Khalis Ahmed of the NDP, Taryn Knorren of the Green Party, Libertarian Darcy Gerow and Jeff Willerton with the Christian Heritage Party.

In Calgary Midnapore, Brown and Kusie will compete with Ryan Zedic of the Green Party, Holly Heffernan of the NDP, and Larry Heather from the Christian Heritage Party.

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