Alta. farmer Tara Sawyer wins seat in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills

Sawyer says she’s ready to get to work

Alberta’s ag community will have another advocate in the provincial legislature as Tara Sawyer won the byelection in Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills on June 24.

The wheat and barley farmer from Acme, Alta., and inaugural chair of Alberta Grains received 9,363 votes on election night, Alberta Elections data says.

“Thank you, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills,” Sawyer said on X. “I’m deeply honored by the trust you’ve placed in me to serve as your MLA. I’m grateful for your support and I’m ready to get to work and bring the fight to Ottawa.”

Bev Toews, the NDP candidate, came in second with 3,061 votes. And Cameron Davies, the leader of the Republican Party of Alberta, finished in third place with 2,705 votes.

It appears Sawyer will hit the ground running now that she’s an elected MLA.

Before the polls closed Tuesday, Premier Danielle Smith named Sawyer as part of her new Alberta Next panel.

This group of 15 individuals, which includes the premier, brings together people from different walks of life “to gather input, discuss solutions, and provide feedback to government on how Alberta can better protect its interests, defend its economy, and assert its place in Confederation,” a Government of Alberta description says.

The remaining Alberta Next panel members are:

• Alberta Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz
• Leduc-Beaumont MLA Brandon Lunty
• Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken
• Former FirstEnergy Capital managing director Andrew Judson
• Former Court of Appeal of Alberta justice Bruce McDonald
• Rancher and consultant Melody Garner-Skiba
• University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe
• Above and Beyond Care Services vice-president of business development Sumita Anand
• Business Council of Alberta president Adam Legge
• Family and ER physician Dr. Akin Osakuade
• Whitecap Resources CEO Grant Fagerheim
• Questerre Energy founding shareholder Michael Binnion
• Retired acupuncturist Dr. Benny Xu

This panel will hold in-person and virtual town halls to understand the priorities of Albertans. An online survey is also available.

Two other byelections occurred in Alberta on Tuesday.

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi earned a spot in the legislature after winning the seat in Edmonton-Strathcona.

And Gurtej Singh Brar won Edmonton-Ellerslie for the NDP.