Photo: Madereugeneandrew · CC BY-SA 4.0Blaine Calkins (Conservative Party of Canada) holds Ponoka—Didsbury, the riding that includes Blackfalds
From Alberta come 37 MPs, 33 of them with the Conservative Party of Canada. In the census’s list of municipalities, Blackfalds is a town. Who leads Blackfalds’ council isn’t on an open record: there’s no open list of councils in Alberta. No provincial riding is named for Blackfalds: the only boundary file for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta forbids commercial reuse.
Three governments, and who does what
Blackfalds, a town in Alberta, shares the work with the province and Ottawa.
Local services, by-laws and property tax.
Schools, health care, highways, municipal law.
assembly.ab.ca ↗Passports, pensions, EI, defence, immigration.
ourcommons.ca ↗Who to ask
Green: municipal. Gold: provincial. Grey: federal.
Blackfalds has no upper-tier council: Division No. 8, its census division, exists for statistics only.
From the council table to Ottawa
Every elected tier that speaks for Blackfalds, from the most recent elections.
- 1Blackfalds councilTown
- 2Legislative Assembly of Alberta–
- 3House of CommonsPonoka—Didsbury
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own. MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, Statistics Canada
When Blackfalds votes
The last and next general elections at each level; a by-election can come in between.
| Election | Last | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Blackfalds council | 20 October 2025 | 15 October 2029 |
| Legislative Assembly of Alberta | 29 May 2023 | – |
| House of Commons | 28 April 2025 | – |
Parliament was last elected on 28 April 2025, and the Legislative Assembly of Alberta on 29 May 2023. Voters last chose Blackfalds council on 20 October 2025 and will again on 15 October 2029. It is the third Monday in October every four years, as the Local Authorities Election Act provides. The 2025 results are left out because elections.ca’s terms forbid commercial reproduction; the open catalogue’s latest is 2021.
Election dates: the legislatures, MMAH and MAMH
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta: riding not placed
Provinces and territories run schools, health care and municipal law; each riding elects one MLA.
Find your MLA on the legislature’s site
assembly.ab.ca ↗Legislatures: their own member pages
Blaine Calkins represents Ponoka—Didsbury in Ottawa
Each riding elects one MP to the House of Commons; the general election of 28 April 2025 chose the 45th Parliament.
Ponoka—Didsbury · Conservative Party of Canada · first elected 2006
en.wikipedia.org ↗- Conservative Party of Canada33
- Liberal Party of Canada3
- New Democratic Party1
As Wikidata records them.
The MP’s record
On today’s boundaries, the 2021 vote in Ponoka—Didsbury would have gone to the Conservative Party of Canada with 68%, and Blaine Calkins kept it for them in 2025. The current Parliament is Blaine Calkins’ 7th, counting from a first win in 2006.
MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, Statistics Canada · MPs’ records: Wikidata (CC0), positions held and party memberships, read 8 November 2026
Blaine Calkins kept Red Deer—Lacombe for the Conservative Party of Canada in 2021
Before the 2023 redistribution, Blackfalds voted in Red Deer—Lacombe; these are its 2019 and 2021 results, and Ponoka—Didsbury is its riding today.
Blaine Calkins (Conservative Party of Canada) took Red Deer—Lacombe in 2021 with 64% of the vote, 30,999 votes ahead of Tanya Heyden-Kaye (New Democratic Party). In 2019, Blaine Calkins had won the same riding with 80%. At 65%, more of Red Deer—Lacombe voted in 2021 than Canada as a whole (63%).
All 7 candidates in Red Deer—Lacombe, 2021
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blaine Calkins | Conservative Party of Canada | 39,805 | 64.2% |
| Tanya Heyden-Kaye | New Democratic Party | 8,806 | 14.2% |
| Megan Lim | People's Party of Canada | 7,893 | 12.7% |
| David Ondieki | Liberal Party of Canada | 3,704 | 6.0% |
| Harry Joujan | Maverick Party | 986 | 1.6% |
| Joan Barnes | Independent | 573 | 0.9% |
| Matthew Watson | Libertarian Party of Canada | 212 | 0.3% |
Federal results: Elections Canada, 43rd and 44th general elections and the 44th’s transposition to the 2023 ridings, via open.canada.ca. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada
Blackfalds council spends less per resident than most
The 2024 financial return: spending by service and revenue by source, per resident, compared only with Alberta’s municipalities.
Spending per resident by service, 2024
What pays for it
Shares of revenue, town and province.
Recreation and culture takes the biggest share, 29%, or $728 per resident. The return counts 82 full-time positions, 6.7 for every thousand residents. In 2024 the median among Alberta’s municipalities was $3,457 a resident; Blackfalds council spent $2,520. Blackfalds council’s borrowing is on the heavy side: $18.1M long term, $1,479 a resident where the median is $745. Property taxes and payments in lieu brought in 37% of revenue, against 44% across the province’s returns.
Spending per resident nearby
Every service line, 2024
| Service | 2024 | Per resident | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recreation and culture | $8.9M | $728 | 29% |
| Water, sewers and waste | $7.3M | $591 | 23% |
| Roads and transit | $5.6M | $457 | 18% |
| General government | $4.1M | $331 | 13% |
| Police, fire and protection | $3.6M | $297 | 12% |
| Planning and development | $929K | $76 | 3% |
| Social services and child care | $468K | $38 | 2% |
| Social housing | $6K | $0 | 0% |
Money: municipal financial and statistical data 2024, Alberta Municipal Affairs. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Alberta. Residents: Statistics Canada, 2025 estimate.
Having a say in how Blackfalds is run
Check or update the federal list.
elections.ca ↗Every MP lists an office.
ourcommons.ca ↗Ridings, registration and voting dates.
elections.ab.ca ↗What this data can and can’t tell you
- Council money. Alberta’s 2024 municipal financial returns, per resident with Statistics Canada’s 2025 population estimate.
- Election results. Official counts for 2019 and 2021 are by the 2013 ridings; Elections Canada also re-counted the 2021 ballots onto the 2023 ridings by polling division, and that estimate is what “today’s boundaries” means here.
- Who holds each seat. MPs come from Wikidata’s records of the 45th Parliament, which can lag a resignation or a by-election by some days.
- Not on this page. No party tally for the council, which the open lists don’t record, and no band councils.
- Which riding. A place belongs to the riding where most of its 2021 Census residents live, plus any other with 5% or more.
Questions about how Blackfalds is run
Who is the MP for Blackfalds?
Blaine Calkins of the Conservative Party of Canada is the MP for Ponoka—Didsbury, which includes Blackfalds.
Which party won Blackfalds in the 2021 federal election?
Blaine Calkins (Conservative Party of Canada) took Red Deer—Lacombe in 2021, and still holds the seat, now Ponoka—Didsbury.
Who is the MLA for Blackfalds?
Find the riding for Blackfalds on the Legislative Assembly of Alberta’s site, which names the MLA for each.
Who heads the council in Blackfalds?
Blackfalds is a town; its own website or the province’s municipal directory names the head of council.
How much does Blackfalds council spend?
In 2024, Blackfalds council spent $30.9M in all, for some 12,258 residents, of which $8.9M went on recreation and culture, the biggest line.
Sources: MPs: Wikidata (CC0), 45th Parliament statements, read 7 November 2026; ridings: 2023 Representation Order, Statistics Canada · Money: municipal financial and statistical data 2024, Alberta Municipal Affairs. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Alberta. Residents: Statistics Canada, 2025 estimate. · Next municipal election: the province’s municipal election act · Municipality types: Statistics Canada census subdivisions · Federal results: Elections Canada, 43rd and 44th general elections and the 44th’s transposition to the 2023 ridings, via open.canada.ca. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada · MPs’ records: Wikidata (CC0), positions held and party memberships, read 8 November 2026. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).