Calgary newcomer wins $1M on lottery: 'We were trying to change our lives'

Ge Ann Bareng won $1,360,265 on Lightning Lotto. (WCLC)

A woman who just recently moved to Calgary has had her cross-country relocation made easier by a $1 million-plus lottery win.

Ge Ann Bareng won the money from a Lightning Lotto ticket.

"We had just moved to Calgary from Montreal and were looking to furnish a new apartment," she said in a Monday news release. "Now we will be looking at buying a house."

Bareng purchased her ticket from the Save-On Foods on 51 Street N.W.

She won by matching the five numbers selected in the July 16 draw: 7, 26, 28, 43 and 45.

In total, she takes home $1,360,265.70.

"We stopped at every gas station on the way to Calgary (from Montreal) to buy a lottery ticket," Bareng said.

"We were trying to change our lives with a move to Alberta, and here we are with a life-changing win after not even two full weeks in Calgary."

According to the Western Canada Lottery Corporation, Bareng is the first millionaire Lightning Lotto winner, and winner of the largest prize seen so far in Western Canada.

Bareng said she and her husband are most excited about what the win means for their kids.

"We now have the funds to send them to university in the future," Bareng said.

"We’re going to pay off our debt, buy a house and a car and put the rest away for our kids’ education."