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

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada, that has been represented in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

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 two integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive buil ...

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 and Calgary South. 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. 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 businessman, writer, and retired politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. He also served as Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the ...

, 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 (), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed under that name from 2000 to 2003. The Canadian Alliance was the new name of the ...

. This riding lost territory to Calgary Signal Hill and gained territory from

Calgary East Calgary East is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1917 to 1953, 1979 to 1988, 1997 to 2015, and since 2025. It was a lower income urban riding in Calgary, with a sizabl ...

during the 2012 electoral redistribution.

Historical boundaries

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 in ...

, Beltline, Mission, Cliff Bungalow,

Mount Royal Mount Royal (, ) is a mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The city's name is derived from the mountain's name. The mountain is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentian M ...

, Elbow Park, Scarboro, Sunalta, Shaganappi, Killarney/Glengarry,

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

, 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 from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, to near Ardmore Avenu ...

, CFB - Lincoln Park, Altadore, North Glenmore Park,

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

, Elboya,

Windsor Park The National Football Stadium at Windsor Park (officially the Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park for sponsorship reasons), or the National Football Stadium, also known as Windsor Park is a association football, football stadium in B ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, Bel-Aire,

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

, Meadowlark Park, Inglewood,

Ramsay Ramsay may refer to: People * Ramsay (surname), people named Ramsay * Clan Ramsay, a Scottish clan * Ramsay brothers, Indian film makers * Richard Sorge (1895–1944), Soviet spy codenamed "Ramsay" Places Australia * Ramsay, Queensland, a lo ...

, Parkhill, Erlton, Rideau/Roxboro,

Eau Claire Eau Claire (French for "clear water", ''pl.'' ''eaux claires'') is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare". Place names (Canada) Communities *Eau Claire, Calgary, a n ...

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for 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, Asia, Africa, O ...

, Downtown East Village

Demographics

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 (CPC; , ), sometimes referred to as the Tories, is a Government of Canada, federal List of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main Right-wing ...

, was first 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 refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

, 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
{{Authority control Alberta federal electoral districts Politics of Calgary Joe Clark