The United Conservative Party won the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills byelection in a landslide on Monday.
According to the unofficial results posted by Elections Alberta, UCP candidate Tara Sawyer earned 9,363 votes, or 61.1 per cent of the ballots cast. Alberta New Democrat Party candidate Beverly Toews was second with 3,061 votes, and the Republican Party of Alberta's Cam Davies won 2,705 votes. Bill Tufts of the Wildrose Coalition won 189 votes.
Sawyer was hand-selected by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to run in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills. Sawyer replaces former MLA Nathan Cooper, who was Speaker of the House in the Alberta Legislature before taking a job as the province's representative to the U.S.
"Congratulations to Tara Sawyer on her victory in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills," Smith said in a statement on X Monday night.
"Tara ran a focused, grassroots campaign and will be a strong voice for rural Alberta in the Legislature."
Sawyer is an Acme-area farmer and former Alberta Grains board chair.
Fourteen candidates were considered and Smith interviewed candidates who lived in the riding.
"Tara Sawyer just emerged as really a spectacular candidate for us," Smith said when Sawyer was nominated. "She is the former chair of Alberta Grains, and we do need to have some bench strength as we deal with some of the tariffs from China and the impact it's going to have on canola and other industries."
Sawyer is a wheat and barley farmer near Acme, about 30 km southwest of Three Hills and was Alberta Grain's first chair following the amalgamation of the Alberta Wheat and Barley commissions.
The NDP won the other two byelections in the province Monday. Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi won his seat in Edmonton-Strathcona with 7,952 votes. The UCP candidate in the riding, Carby Crouch, got 1,314 votes.
Albertans deserve better. And today, they chose better," said Nenshi in a statement on X.
"I’m deeply honoured by the opportunity to serve Edmonton-Strathcona and all Albertans as a Member of the Legislative Assembly. Thank you for putting your trust in me!"
In Edmonton-Ellerslie, Gurtej Singh Brar topped former PC MLA Naresh Bhardwaj. Brar earned 4,327 votes, Bhardwaj got 3,239.
Unofficial results are reported as they are received from voting places following the close of voting at 8 p.m. on Monday June 23, 2025. All vote counts will be verified during the official count process, with the announcement of official results expected Thursday July 3, 2025.
