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Last updateFri, 18 Jul 2025 4pm

UCP Tara Sawyer wins Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills seat

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The riding Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills now has Tara Sawyer as their MLA as the United Conservative Party retains a seat in the riding.
A byelection was held on June 23 to fill the vacancy left as former MLA and Speaker of the House Nathan Cooper resigned to take on a role in Washington for the Alberta government.
Four candidates vied for the seat, and in the end, Sawyer won the election handily with about 61 percent of the popular vote. While this was down compared to Cooper’s most recent victory, where he garnered 75 percent of the vote, it was still a lopsided victory.
“I’m deeply honoured by the trust you’ve placed in me to serve as your MLA. I’m grateful for your support, and I’m ready to get to work and bring the fight to Ottawa,” she said upon capturing the seat.
She is hitting the ground running. Just a day after being elected, she has been appointed to the newly formed Alberta Next Panel. Chaired by Premier Danielle Smith, this panel will consult with Albertans on how “Alberta can better protect its interests, defend its economy, and assert its place in Confederation,” according to a release.
The NDP improved its standing in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills byelection. Beverley Toews, who has worked in education for more than 25 years, came in second place, capturing 20 percent of the popular vote.
“While this wasn’t the outcome we hoped for, I’m incredibly proud of what our team built. People have long written off this riding, but we saw real progress and a willingness to talk about a better future for rural Alberta,” she said.
Making the election interesting, Cameron Davies of the Alberta Republican party captured over 17 percent of the popular vote in the truncated campaign.
“We had our expectation from the outset that if we could get something close to the 2008 result of the Wildrose Party in the riding,” said Davies. “They were a party with about a year of runway, and we came at it with a couple of months. Our feeling from the outset was that anything close to that 20 percent range was a positive thing.”
Coming in a distant fourth place was Bill Tufts of the Wildrose Loyalty Coalition, who captured 189 votes.
This was one of three by-elections.
In Edmonton-Ellerslie, NDP candidate Gurtej Singh Brar retained the seat for the party. His seat was vacated by Rod Loyola, who resigned his seat to run in the last Federal Election under the Liberal Party banner.
NDP Party Leader Naheed Nenshi won a seat in the Edmonton-Strathcona Riding. The seat was left vacant when former Party Leader Rachel Notley resigned on December 30 of last year.

Students name new Town float

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Students in Grade 6 at Greentree School and St. Anthony’s School recently had the opportunity to participate in a mock referendum vote to name the new Town of Drumheller events float, all part of their Social Studies curriculum.
The results of the student’s referendum were announced on Tuesday, July 1, during the Town’s Canada Day celebration event.
“I was surprised by the political engagement of the average 12-year-old in Drumheller,” says Mr. Visser. “The students were engaged both in the voting process and in their questions they had for the Mayor. I am excited by the contributions to our democracy that these bright students will bring in the coming decade.”
Drumheller Mayor Heather Colberg, Town of Drumheller Returning Officer Mitchell Visser, and Substitute Returning Officer Angela Keibel gave students a hands-on learning experience in the classroom. Students learned about municipal governance and the role Mayor and Council play in local decision-making, and learned about the democratic process of the upcoming 2025 Municipal Election. They also learned about referendums and how they are used as a democratic tool at multiple levels of government.
Mr. Visser says while Grade 6 students have been given tours of Town Hall annually during their democracy unit, this is a brand new initiative. Given the success of the event, Mr. Visser shares that this is something the Town would be “open to exploring more practical learning opportunities.”
He adds students had a lot of questions for Mayor Colberg about Town operations and major initiatives.
Following the lesson, students held their own mock referendum to decide the name of the Town’s new events float. A ballot with a shortlist of potential names for the float was given to the Grade 6 students, with names like Badlands Buggy, Cretaceous Cruiser, Dino Drifter, Dino Valley Vroomer, and Hoodoo Hauler.
A total of 88 students cast their votes. During the Town’s Canada Day celebrations, the results of the vote were announced, with the events float being officially dubbed the Dino Drifter with 34 votes. Cretaceous Cruiser came in second with 25 votes, Badlands Buggy came in third with 14 votes, and Dino Valley Vroomer and Hoodoo Hauler each received seven votes.

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Emergency Services respond to collision

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Drumheller Emergency Services, including the Drumheller Fire Department, RCMP and AHS EMS, responded to a collision at the intersection of Highway 9 and 5th Street shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 2. Traffic was rerouted as the scene was cleared. There is no report on injuries.

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