Brooks mayor Martin Shields selected over Rob Anders in Bow River Tory nomination

Martin Shields addresses the crowd after he was declared the Conservative nominee in the new riding of Bow River

The Conservative nominee in the new federal riding of Bow River, which includes the region east of Calgary and north of Lethbridge, is Martin Shields, as the Brooks mayor was chosen from a field of four candidates.

Shields defeated former Rocky View County reeve Rolly Ashdown, MRU economics professor Gerard Lucyshyn, and Calgary West MP Rob Anders.

Anders, deemed a ‘drop-in’ candidate by his opponents, was unsuccessful in his second 2014 bid to represent the Conservatives in the 2015 federal election. Earlier this year, Anders lost a heated nomination race to Ron Liepert in Calgary Signal Hill, which replaces a large section of Calgary West, the riding Anders represented for 17 years.

Martin Shields has served as the mayor of the City of Brooks since 2007.

"We've met such tremendous people over the last few months," said Shields in his victory speech. "It's been a phenomenal opportunity to meet people in rural areas, learn about the people that live in our area and the things and challenges they face."

The riding of Bow River is primarily rural and includes the communities of Strathmore, Brooks, Taber and Vauxhall.