Grant Abraham Abraham is the leader of the United Party of Canada. He is also a lawyer, author, and columnist. He ran for leader of the
Conservative Party of Canada in
2022, but was disqualified. He was a candidate in
Ponoka—Didsbury in the
2025 federal election receiving 2,129 votes (3.1%). He also got 238 votes (0.7%) in the
2024 Durham federal by-election. He was also an unsuccessful candidate in the
2019 United Kingdom general election in the constituency of
Strangford, where he stood for the
Northern Ireland Conservatives. Abraham lives in
Calgary. He attended high school in
Abbotsford, British Columbia, before completing bachelor's degree in business and English at
Trinity Western University. He completed a law degree at
Queen's University Belfast.
Jonathan Bridges Bridges was the candidate for the
People's Party of Canada, and is a heavy equipment mechanic who lives in
Linden, Alberta. Bridges ran in the
2021 federal election as the PPC candidate in
Bow River. After the
2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution, his community of Linden was moved to Battle River—Crowfoot, and ran there in the
2025 federal election. He received 5,108 votes (10%) and 1,022 votes (1.5%) in those elections, respectively. Bridges said that he believes that Canada's major parties have drifted away from the values of Canadians, which he described as Judeo-Christian values.
Maxime Bernier, the leader of the PPC, campaigned with Bridges,
Bonnie Critchley Critchley ran as a "centrist independent" and deployed to
Afghanistan in 2011. Critchley lives in
Tofield, Alberta. She is a recipient of the
General Campaign Star (South-West Asia) and the
Canadian Forces' Decoration. She is in favour of electoral reform, particularly in light of the 'Longest Ballot Committee', is opposed to Albertan Independence, and says that a focus of hers is on tackling the 'increasing cost of living". She had been described as the "most visible threat to Poilievre’s [re-election] prospects".
Michael Harris Michael Harris is a
political sciences student who ran for the
Libertarian Party to push forward a
referendum on Albertan independence. Harris said he is running on a "platform focused on individual liberty, Alberta autonomy, and ending federal programs like equalization and supply management." Harris criticized Poilievre for using the riding as a "stepping stone to national ambitions". Kirk endorsed fellow candidate Bonnie Critchley, and encouraged people to vote for her despite being on the candidate list himself.
Ashley MacDonald MacDonald was the candidate for the
Green Party of Canada. He lives in
Red Deer, Alberta and works as a mental health worker. MacDonald previously ran for the Green Party in
Red Deer in the
2025 federal election, receiving 618 votes (1.0%). He also has been involved with the
Green Party of Alberta, previously serving as party president, and ran provincially in
Red Deer-South in
2023, getting 274 votes (1.1%). Douglas Gook was originally announced as the candidate for the party. However, he never registered with Elections Canada; thus, he was replaced. Gook ran in the 2025 general election in Battle River—Crowfoot, receiving 474 votes (0.74%).
Pierre Poilievre Poilievre worked for
Canadian Alliance leader
Stockwell Day. He was first elected in the
2004 federal election, initially representing the riding of
Nepean—Carleton before it was redistributed as
Carleton. Poilievre became the
leader of the Conservative Party. He also served as
leader of the Official Opposition from 2022 to 2025. In the
2025 Canadian federal election, Poilievre
lost his seat of Carleton to Liberal candidate
Bruce Fanjoy.
Darcy Spady Spady was the candidate of the
Liberal Party of Canada, and is a
professional engineer in the energy sector who manages a carbon emissions reduction company. She has worked in childcare, security, and social services.
Katherine Swampy Swampy, a
band councillor for the
Samson Cree Nation and Indigenous advocate, was announced as the candidate for the
New Democratic Party for the by-election on July 8, 2025. Swampy previously ran for the party in
Leduc—Wetaskiwin in the 2025 federal election, placing third with 3,927 votes (6.1%), and ran in the
Edmonton Centre and Battle River—Crowfoot ridings in 2019 and 2015 respectively. She has also run provincially for the
Alberta NDP in 2023 in
Maskwacis-Wetaskiwin and in 2015 in
Drayton Valley-Devon.
Jeff Willerton Willerton was the candidate for the
Christian Heritage Party of Canada. He is an author,
Canadian Armed Forces veteran, and formerly worked for the
Canadian Taxpayers Federation. He considers himself to be a social and fiscal conservative. He resides in
Airdrie. He has run for seats in various provincial and federal elections in Alberta since 1997. His highest vote shares were 15.8% in the provincial riding of
Airdrie-Chestermere in 2008 as a
Wildrose Party candidate and 1.4% in the
2017 Calgary Heritage federal by-election as a Christian Heritage candidate.
Longest Ballot Committee candidates The
Longest Ballot Committee announced in May that they were targeting the by-election as part of its campaign protesting the
first-past-the-post electoral system and would aim to have as many as 200 candidates placed on the ballot. The committee previously targeted Poilievre's former electoral district of
Carleton in the
2025 federal election and claimed responsibility for adding 85 names to the ballot in that vote. All of the declared independents except Colquhoun, Critchley, and Spanier are LBC candidates, a total of 201, far surpassing their previous record set earlier in 2025, and reaching their goal of 200 names. The grand total of 214 candidates on the ballot also more than doubles the previous all-time record of 91 set during the 2025 Carleton election and the
2024 LaSalle—Émard—Verdun federal by-election, both attributed to the LBC's efforts. == Debates ==