Calgary Centre (french: Calgary-Centre; formerly known as Calgary South Centre) is a federal

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada, that has been represented in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

since 1968. The riding consists of many young adults who have a relatively high average household income and education level. As the riding encompasses the

downtown core The Downtown Core is the historical and downtown centre of the city-state of Singapore and the main commercial area in Singapore excluding reclaimed lands with many integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive build ...

and large swaths of apartment blocks in the communities west and south of downtown, Calgary Centre has a low home ownership rate compared to the rest of Canada.

History

The original Calgary Centre was created in 1966 from parts of the former electoral districts of

Calgary North Calgary North was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1953 to 1997. This riding was created in 1952 from parts of the Bow River, Calgary West and East Calgary ridings. The e ...

and

Calgary South Calgary South was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1953 to 1988. This riding was created in 1952 from parts of Bow River, Calgary West and Calgary East ridings. It was a ...

. This riding was abolished in the 2003 Representation Order when parts of it went to the neighbouring electoral districts of Calgary North Centre and

Calgary West Calgary West was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1953, and from 1979 to 2015. It was in the western part of the City of Calgary. The electoral district was or ...

and to Calgary South Centre. The latter was renamed Calgary Centre in 2004. When it was created in 2003 (as Calgary South Centre), it included 70,972 people from the abolished district of Calgary Centre, 38,889 people from

and 7,578 from

Calgary Southwest Calgary Southwest was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015. The district was in the southwest part of the City of Calgary, south of Glenmore Trail and west of th ...

. The riding was notable at the 2000 federal election when residents elected former Prime Minister

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...

, representing the Progressive Conservatives, making the riding one of the few areas in Alberta that did not elect a candidate from the

Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed u ...

. This riding lost territory to

Calgary Signal Hill Calgary Signal Hill is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. Calgary Signal Hill was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was leg ...

and gained territory from

Calgary East Calgary East was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1953, 1979 to 1988, from 1997 to 2015. It was a lower income urban riding in Calgary, with a sizable visible min ...

during the 2012 electoral redistribution.

Geography

The riding contains the neighbourhoods of

Downtown Calgary Downtown Calgary is a dense urban district in central Calgary, Alberta. It contains the second largest concentration of head offices in Canada, despite only being the country's fourth largest city in terms of population. The downtown is divided i ...

Beltline The Atlanta BeltLine (also Beltline or Belt Line) is a open and planned loop of multi-use trail and light rail transit system on a former railway corridor around the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta BeltLine is designed to reconnect neig ...

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

Cliff Bungalow Cliff Bungalow is an inner city residential neighbourhood in the southwest quadrant of Calgary, Alberta. Centered along 5 Street SW, it is bordered by Elbow River to the south, by Uptown 17th Avenue to the north and by Fourth Street to the east ...

Mount Royal Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the hi ...

Elbow Park Elbow Park is an affluent residential neighbourhood in the southwest quadrant of Calgary, Alberta. It is one of the oldest and wealthiest communities in the city. It is bordered to the south and east by Elbow River, to the east by Elbow Drive, to ...

, Scarboro,

Sunalta Sunalta is a residential neighbourhood in the southwest quadrant of Calgary, Alberta. It is located in the inner city, southwest of downtown Calgary, south of the Bow River, and both east and north of the community of Scarboro. It contains a ba ...

, Shaganappi,

Killarney/Glengarry Killarney, also known as Killarney/Glengarry, is a residential neighbourhood in the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is bounded by 17th Avenue S.W. on the north, 37th Street S.W. on the west, Richmond Road S.W. on the south, and 25A Street S ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, Bankview, South Calgary, Rutland Park, CFB - Currie,

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

, CFB - Lincoln Park, Altadore,

North Glenmore Park North Glenmore Park is a residential neighbourhood in the southwest quadrant of Calgary, Alberta. It is bounded by 50 Avenue SW to the north, Glenmore Athletic Park, Lakeview Golf Course and Earl Grey Golf Club to the east, Earl Grey Golf Club to ...

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great ...

, Elboya,

Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual rent ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, Bel-Aire,

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

, Meadowlark Park, Inglewood, Ramsay, Parkhill, Erlton, Rideau/Roxboro, Eau Claire,

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

Downtown East Village Downtown East Village more commonly known as simply East Village, is a mixed-use neighbourhood within the eastern portions of downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is contained within the city's Rivers District. Containing the earliest-settled l ...

Demographics

Ethnic groups (2006): 78.80% White, 5.89% Chinese, 2.76% Black, 2.44% Aboriginal, 2.29% South Asian, 2.05% Filipino, 1.21% Latin American, 1.09% Arab
Languages (2011): 73.19% English, 4.13% Chinese, 2.09% French, 2.04% Spanish, 1.76% Tagalog, 1.21% Arabic, 1.21% Korean
Religions (2001): 32.63% Protestant, 24.52% Catholic, 2.23% Christian Orthodox, 4.88% Other Christian, 2.60% Muslim, 1.09% Jewish, 1.04% Buddhist, 30.14% No religion
Median income (2005): $30,729

Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following members of the

Current Member of Parliament

This seat is held by Greg McLean. McLean, a member of the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...

, was elected in the 2019 federal election.

Election results

Calgary Centre, 2006–present

, -

Calgary South Centre, 2004–2005

Results based on redistributed results. Conservative Party change is compared to a combination of Progressive Conservative Party and Canadian Alliance totals.

Calgary Centre, 1966–2003

, align="left" colspan=2, Progressive Conservative gain from

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

, align="right", Swing , align="right", -14.5 , align="right",

Notes

References

* * * *
2011 results from Elections Canada

Canadian Census, 2001 profile of Calgary Centre

Canadian Census, 2001 profile of Calgary South Centre

Expenditures - 2008

Expenditures - 2004

Expenditures - 2000

Expenditures - 1997

SI/2003-154: Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act: Proclamation Declaring the Representation Order to be in Force Effective on the First Dissolution of Parliament that Occurs after August 25, 2004
Canada Gazette Part II, Vol. 137, No. 6 Extra, 29 August 2003
2003 Representation Order Transposition of Population

External links

Calgary Centre Riding All Candidate Debate (Video and Transcript) for Canadian 2008 Election
{{Ridings in the Prairies Alberta federal electoral districts Politics of Calgary