Riding Profile:

This central Calgary riding is bordered on the north by 17th Avenue, on the east mostly by the Elbow River, on the west by Glasgow Drive, and on the south, in part, by 50th Avenue. The 2004 redistribution shifted some former Calgary-Currie voters to Calgary-Bow and Calgary-Buffalo.

Professional services and retail are the biggest employers here. The average income is $64,362 - just above the Alberta average. The percentage of low-income residents, 13.3 per cent, is also just above average. Seventeen per cent of residents are immigrants and 41.9 per cent were born in Alberta.

 

Political History:

This riding has been a Conservative stronghold since it was created in 1971. Incumbent Jon Lord won office in 2001, receiving 6,922 votes to Liberal Pat Murray's 2,667. Prior to that the seat was held by Jocelyn Burgener, who was elected in 1993 over Liberal Maira Matheson. Burgener beat Matheson again in 1997. Tory Dennis Anderson reigned in Calgary-Currie from 1979-93, serving in a variety of ministerial positions.

In 2001, voter turnout was 48.3 per cent.