Photo: Brett Snyder ( 1brettsnyder at en.wikipedia ) · CC BY 1.0Bow River, which takes in Newell County, is held by David Bexte (Conservative Party of Canada)
Of the 37 Commons seats from Alberta, the Conservative Party of Canada holds 33. Newell County is a municipal district by Statistics Canada’s count of municipalities. Who leads Newell County’s council isn’t on an open record: there’s no open list of councils in Alberta. No provincial riding is named for Newell County: the only boundary file for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta forbids commercial reuse.
Three governments, and who does what
Newell County, a municipal district 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.
The census places Newell County in Division No. 2, a division that governs nothing; no county council sits above the town’s.
From the council table to Ottawa
Every elected tier that speaks for Newell County, from the most recent elections.
- 1Newell County councilMunicipal district
- 2Legislative Assembly of Alberta–
- 3House of CommonsBow River
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 Newell County votes
The last and next general elections at each level; a by-election can come in between.
| Election | Last | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Newell County council | 20 October 2025 | 15 October 2029 |
| Legislative Assembly of Alberta | 29 May 2023 | – |
| House of Commons | 28 April 2025 | – |
Voters last chose the Legislative Assembly of Alberta on 29 May 2023 and the House of Commons on 28 April 2025. Elected on 20 October 2025, Newell County council is up again on 15 October 2029. The Local Authorities Election Act fixes that date: the third Monday in October every four years. There are no 2025 counts here: Elections Canada’s terms bar their commercial reuse, so 2021 is the latest open result.
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
David Bexte represents Bow River in Ottawa
Each riding elects one MP to the House of Commons; the general election of 28 April 2025 chose the 45th Parliament.
Bow River · Conservative Party of Canada
en.wikipedia.org ↗- Conservative Party of Canada33
- Liberal Party of Canada3
- New Democratic Party1
As Wikidata records them.
The MP’s record
David Bexte is new to Parliament, first elected in the April 2025 vote. Mapped onto today’s Bow River, the 2021 vote gives the Conservative Party of Canada 70%; in 2025 David Bexte kept the seat in the same hands.
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
Martin Shields kept Bow River for the Conservative Party of Canada in 2021
Bow River as it stood from 2013: the 2019 and 2021 counts, before the riding was redrawn for 2025.
Across Canada’s 338 ridings, only 3 were won more comfortably. 30,568 votes separated Martin Shields (Conservative Party of Canada) from Jonathan Bridges (People's Party of Canada) in Bow River in 2021, when the winner took 70%. Martin Shields was the sitting MP, elected there in 2019 with 84%.
All 6 candidates in Bow River, 2021
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Shields | Conservative Party of Canada | 35,676 | 69.8% |
| Jonathan Bridges | People's Party of Canada | 5,108 | 10.0% |
| Michael MacLean | New Democratic Party | 4,726 | 9.2% |
| Getu Shawile | Liberal Party of Canada | 3,869 | 7.6% |
| Orrin Bliss | Maverick Party | 1,368 | 2.7% |
| Tom Lipp | Christian Heritage Party of Canada | 391 | 0.8% |
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
Newell County council spends more 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.
At $367 per resident, Newell County council’s $2.9M of long-term debt is less than the $745 median. Local taxpayers carry a bigger share than elsewhere: 62% of revenue, where the province’s returns show 44%. More goes to roads and transit than to anything else: $1,727 a resident, 42% of all spending. At $4,159 for every resident in 2024, Newell County council sits above the $3,457 median of Alberta’s municipalities. Full-time staff number 67, about 8.5 to every thousand residents.
Spending per resident nearby
Every service line, 2024
| Service | 2024 | Per resident | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roads and transit | $13.5M | $1,727 | 42% |
| General government | $5.3M | $680 | 16% |
| Police, fire and protection | $4M | $506 | 12% |
| Water, sewers and waste | $3.7M | $474 | 11% |
| Planning and development | $2.9M | $373 | 9% |
| Recreation and culture | $2.3M | $299 | 7% |
| Other | $723K | $92 | 2% |
| Social services and child care | $69K | $9 | 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 Newell County 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. Elections Canada redrew the ridings in 2023 and re-tallied the 2021 ballots onto the new map from polling divisions; that estimate, and the official 2019 and 2021 counts on the old map, are what you see.
- Who holds each seat. The members named here are Wikidata’s, kept up by volunteers; a by-election or a floor crossing may take a few days to show.
- Which riding. The 2021 Census homes of a place’s residents fix its ridings, and one is shown once it holds 5% of them.
- Not on this page. Party control (most Canadian councils sit without parties, and the open lists record none) and band councils.
Questions about how Newell County is run
Who is the MP for Newell County?
David Bexte of the Conservative Party of Canada is the MP for Bow River, which includes Newell County.
Which party won Newell County in the 2021 federal election?
Martin Shields won Bow River for the Conservative Party of Canada in 2021; the riding is now Bow River, held by David Bexte.
Who is the MLA for Newell County?
Newell County’s riding isn’t placed on this page; the Legislative Assembly of Alberta’s members page lists every MLA by riding.
Who heads the council in Newell County?
Newell County, a municipal district, lists its council on its own pages; no open list names the head here.
How much does Newell County council spend?
Newell County council spent $32.6M in 2024 for about 7,846 residents; its largest service line was roads and transit, at $13.5M.
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).