Albertans will cast their ballots in three byelections Monday. The three races are in Edmonton-Ellerslie, Edmonton-Strathcona and Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills; the only seat up for grabs outside the capital region. Located in rural central Alberta, it’s where the separatist Republican Party of Alberta is aiming to capitalize on discontent with Ottawa. Republican leader, Cameron Davies has been campaigning in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills against the UCP’s Tara Sawyer, the NDP’s Bev Toews and Bill Tuft of the Wildrose Loyalty Coalition. The seat became vacant after former legislature speaker and long-time UCP member of the legislature Nathan Cooper resigned to take a post as Alberta’s representative in Washington, D.C. Experts say while the Republican Party is expected to take some votes from UCP, the chance of them winning the seat is low. “That’s a strong conservative riding, I don’t see them taking that seat, but they are driving conversation,” says Tom Vernon, senior consultant at Crestview Strategy. “How does the broader conservative coalition handle that conversation, what does it mean not necessarily in this byelection but in the next general election as well. Are they going to build up a base of support big enough to take votes away from the UCP to cause them trouble on the right,” adds Vernon. Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi is running in Edmonton-Strathcona, where his predecessor Rachel Notley last won 80 per cent of the vote. Also vying for the Edmonton-Strathcona seat are UCP candidate Darby Crouch, Republican Ravina Chand, Samuel Petrov of the Alberta Party, Liberal Don Slater and Wildrose Loyalty Coalition candidate Jesse Stretch. Further south in Edmonton-Ellerslie, NDP candidate Gurtej Singh Brar could solidify the opposition party’s hold on the city, but United Conservative Party candidate Naresh Bhardwaj is hoping to make an inroad. Candidates in Edmonton-Ellerslie include Caroline Currie of the Alberta Party, Pamela Henson from the Wildrose Loyalty Coalition, Fred Munn of the Republican Party and Liberal Manpreet Tiwana. The south-Edmonton riding had been represented by Rod Loyola under the NDP banner until he resigned to run in the federal election. Polls open Monday at 9 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Voters can find polling information at Elections.ab.ca. Advance voter turnout In Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills, 5,014 people or 13 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot in advance. That’s the highest turnout out of the three ridings. In Edmonton-Ellerslie, 3,524 or 10.3 per cent of eligible people voted in advance. Finally, 3,030 or 10.2 per cent of eligible voters went to the polls in advance in Edmonton-Strathcona. Election night results Unofficial election results will be released Monday night, according to Elections Alberta. “The count of ballots will commence once voting closes at 8 p.m. and unofficial results will be shared at results.elections.ab.ca as they become available," a news release said. Official results will be announced July 3. With files from The Canadian Press
