2004 Candidates:
Rod Fong (PC)
Erin Matthews (Green Party)
Gaye Metz (NDP)
Bridget Pastoor (Liberal)
Darren Popik (Social Credit)
Brian Stewart (Alberta Alliance)

Maps from Elections Alberta will open in a new window.

Riding Profile:
Lethbridge-East comprises the east half of the city of Lethbridge. The municipal boundaries form the riding's border to the north, east and south. To the west this riding is separated from Lethbridge-West mostly by 13th Street. In the 2004 redistribution, voters living between 13th Street in the west, Mayor Magrath Drive in the east, the CPR line in the north and 10th Avenue in the south were shifted into Lethbridge-East.

With almost 18 per cent of this riding's population over the age of 65, Lethbridge-East has the second most seniors in Alberta. Among residents of working age, retail is the biggest employer, followed by health and social services. Incomes are about $53,000 for the average household, well below the Alberta average, and 11 per cent of residents are considered low income, which is slightly above average. More than 62 per cent were born in Alberta, while 13 per cent are immigrants.

Political History:
In the past three provincial elections, Lethbridge-East has gone Liberal, electing former party leader Ken Nicol. Nicol took office in 1993 after defeating Tory Pat Bunn by 1,022 votes. In 1997, he beat the PC's Leah Waters by 3,765 votes. His 2001 win over Tory Ron Carroll was by a 2,235-vote margin. Earlier this year, Nicol left provincial politics to run federally, and was beaten by the Conservative incumbent. Nicol's predecessor in the riding was Tory Dick Johnson, who served from 1975-93 and held a variety of cabinet positions, enjoying wide electoral margins.

In 2001, voter turnout was 53.1 per cent.