Ten candidates vying to represent Battle River-Crowfoot in the House of Commons are to debate tonight in the riding’s largest municipality.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s press secretary Sarah Fischer says he will be attending the event hosted by the Camrose and District Chamber of Commerce ahead of the Aug. 18 byelection.
Poilievre is looking to win in the sprawling eastern Alberta riding after he lost his long-held Ottawa seat of Carleton in the April general election.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is seen during a news conference in Ottawa on Monday, July 14, 2025.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The writ was dropped last month after Conservative Damien Kurek, who handily won the seat in the April vote, stepped down so Poilievre could run.
About 210 candidates were registered to run as of Monday on Elections Canada’s website, including Liberal candidate Darcy Spady, the NDP’s Katherine Swampy, Independent Bonnie Critchley and dozens of others sponsored by the Longest Ballot Committee protest group.
Independent candidate Bonnie Critchley campaigns in the riding of Battle River-Crowfoot, where Pierre Poilievre is attempting to earn a seat in Camrose, Alta., on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
Amber Bracken/ The Canadian Press
Elections Canada says adapted ballots requiring electors to write out the name of their preferred pick will be available at polls given the unusually long list of candidates.