Riding Profiles

CALGARY-VARSITY (23)

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 but gained others 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-fewest aboriginal residents — 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:

In 2004, Liberal Harry B. Chase won this seat when he garnered 6,336 votes to Liberal Michael W. Smyth's 5,597. Before Chase's election, the seat was long-held by three-term Tory Murray Smith. Since Calgary-Varsity's creation in 1993, elections here had been a tale of two politicians: 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, from 8,173 to 3,938. Smith didn't run in the 2004 race.

In 2004, voter turnout was 54.2 per cent.