Riding Profile:
This northwest Calgary riding is bordered on the north by John Laurie
Boulevard, on the east by 19th Street, on the south mostly by 16th Avenue
and the Bow River, and on the west mostly by Sarcee Trail. In the 2004
redistribution the riding lost voters to Calgary-North Hill and gained
from Calgary-Foothills.
With almost 72 per cent of adult residents holding post-secondary degrees,
this is Alberta's best-educated riding. It's also the fourth oldest,
with more than 15 per cent of residents over 65, and has the second-least
number of aboriginal residents, with 0.9 per cent. Almost 23 per cent
of residents here are immigrants, while 44.5 per cent were born in Alberta.
One in 12 residents identifies their origin as Chinese. Educational
and professional services are the biggest employers. Household incomes
are $74,105 a year, and the percentage of low-income residents, at 11.9,
is slightly above the provincial average.
Political History:
Since Calgary-Varsity's creation in 1993, elections here have been a
tale of two politicians: three-term Conservative incumbent Murray Smith
and perpetual Liberal challenger Carrol Jaques. In their first contest,
in 1993, Smith defeated Jaques by 1,660 votes. He rebuffed her again
four years later by 1,818 votes. Then, in 2001, Smith doubled Jaques'
total, 8,173 to 3,938. Smith isn't running in this election.
In 2001, voter turnout was 59.4 per cent.
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