Calgary Herald: What happened in Calgary McKnight? Liberal hopes dashed as George Chahal loses

George Chahal gives a speech at his campaign office in Calgary on Monday, April 28, 2025. Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia

Original Publication: Calgary Herald

April 29, 2025

By Noah Brennan

Liberal hopes of making history in Calgary were dashed Monday night in the newly formed riding of Calgary McKnight, where former MP George Chahal lost despite early projections favouring his re-election.

Chahal trailed Conservative candidate Dalwinder Gill by more than 1,000 votes with all of the riding’s 196 polls reporting as of Tuesday afternoon.

The scene at Chahal’s election night gathering reflected a sombre mood as the reality of a potential loss began to sink in. Supporters wiped away tears as the former MP addressed the crowd shortly after 11 p.m., thanking voters and reflecting on his time serving northeast Calgary.

“This election was much tighter than anticipated,” Chahal told supporters. “From my time as your city councillor to my time as a member of Parliament, my focus has always been the same: to fight for northeast Calgary, to grow our economy and to make life more affordable for families.”

The Conservative win marks dashed dreams for the Liberal camp in McKnight, as three large cakes sat untouched near a podium where Chahal had been scheduled to speak more than two hours earlier.

At least one of the cakes was decorated with red icing, stating: “First ever re-elected Calgary Liberal MP!” alongside a picture of Chahal shaking hands with Liberal Leader Mark Carney.

The former Calgary city councillor was positioned early to become the first Liberal MP from Calgary to serve two consecutive terms in Ottawa, but saw his early lead slowly slip away.

Calgary McKnight recorded the lowest voter turnout of any riding in the city, according to Elections Canada data, with all polls reporting as of Tuesday afternoon. Just 55.4 per cent of registered voters cast a ballot in McKnight, significantly trailing ridings such as Calgary Signal Hill (72.8 per cent) and Calgary Confederation (72.7 per cent).

Conservative win more about party than local candidates, suggests political scientist

Mount Royal University political science professor Lori Williams said in a race as close as McKnight, success often comes down to voter motivation and the effectiveness of a campaign ground game, but said it’s hard to know what made a difference.

“Nothing about McKnight surprised me. We knew that all of these races were in play. We knew all of them were going to be close,” she said.

“In close races, it really comes down to things like voter motivation,” she added. “It can also come down to the effectiveness of that get-out-the-vote machine . . . that’s very well established in Calgary (for Conservatives).

“The Conservative voter machine probably helped them to pull out a victory (in McKnight), but it was a pretty tight race.”

She suggested the Conservative win was less about the local candidate and more about the party.

“I don’t think that the Conservatives did well because of Dalwinder Gill,” she said. “I think the Conservatives did well because they support the party, its platform and perhaps its leader.”

For the Liberals, Chahal’s profile and popularity likely helped keep the race competitive in McKnight, Williams said.

“Probably, the Liberals did better than they might otherwise have done had they not had George Chahal,” she said. “He’s quite popular in that region.”

Muslim voting group endorsed Chahal

Chahal’s campaign received ground support from the Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council (CMPAC), which runs MuslimsVote.ca, an initiative aimed at boosting voter engagement among Muslim communities across the country. The organization endorsed Chahal in Calgary McKnight, identifying it as one of two key ridings in Alberta where the organization concentrated volunteer efforts, with about 40 volunteers mobilized in the city.

Calgary McKnight has a Muslim population of approximately 15,000, according to CMPAC.

Aseel Ayoub, CMPAC’s Calgary lead, was on the ground campaigning for Chahal in the final hours before polls closed. She said the group focused on supporting the candidate with door-knocking, phone banking and outreach efforts aimed at voters of all backgrounds.

“We’re helping them door-knock everyone, whether it’s Muslim, non-Muslim, everyone,” she said. “We’re just getting out there helping the candidate on the ground with whatever they ask us to do.”

She said a major focus of campaign efforts was phone banking in the riding and breaking down language barriers to better connect with voters.

“A lot of us are bilingual, so we can help kind of answer questions,” she said. “If there’s a language barrier, we’re able to bridge that gap.”

She said the initiative aims to boost voter engagement among Muslim community members.

“We want our community to come out and vote because, historically, we have lower voting engagement . . . from our communities.”

She said the group endorses candidates who “respect human rights, oppose oppression and defend civil liberties at home and abroad.”

“In the past, Muslim voters were often told to vote strategically or pick the lesser evil, but this time we’re voting with principle, with unity and with clarity.”

On what’s next for Chahal, Williams speculated “there are lots of possibilities.”

“He may continue to work within the party as a campaigner . . . as many others have done,” she said. “He’s got a lot of skill and knowledge that I think a number of people might want to draw on.

“He might even run again in that municipal election, who knows?”

Despite the loss in McKnight, Williams said the Liberal party can take away “some hope” from the results in Alberta as something to build on in future elections.

“The fact that . . . about 28 per cent of people in Alberta voted Liberal, that’s considerably better than they did in the last election. They’re up 11 or 12 per cent, and . . . have gotten more of the vote than they have in about 60 years.”

New McKnight riding largely composed of former Skyview territory

Chahal had been favoured to win by political analysts and in polling projections, with updated figures from 338Canada on election day giving him a 92 per cent chance of victory in the riding. Calgary McKnight was seen as one of the Liberals’ strongest chances to expand its ground in Alberta.

Chahal did not concede during his remarks on Monday night, and said he would make a formal statement once all polls are in.

Chahal previously represented the adjacent Calgary Skyview riding in the last Parliament and served as a Calgary city councillor for Ward 5 before entering federal politics.

Earlier Monday, Chahal issued a statement thanking voters.

“I am deeply grateful to Calgarians for their trust, and I’m committed to continuing to build a stronger future for our city and our country,” Chahal said in a news release. “From my time as a city councillor to serving as your member of Parliament, I have fought every day for the families of northeast Calgary — to grow our economy, make life more affordable, and deliver results.”

Created during the most recent electoral boundary redistribution, Calgary McKnight is largely composed of former Skyview territory, the only patch on the city’s political map that went Liberal red in 2021.

“Most of my old riding is in here,” Chahal previously told Postmedia. “And some of the new communities, I grew up in them.”

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