Craig Coolahan
Craig Thomas Coolahan (born November 16, 1970) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2015 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of Calgary-Klein.[1]
Craig Coolahan | |
|---|---|
 Coolahan in 2015 | |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-Klein | |
| In office May 5, 2015 – April 16, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Kyle Fawcett |
| Succeeded by | Jeremy Nixon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 16, 1970 Toronto, Ontario |
| Political party | Alberta New Democratic Party |
| Residence | Calgary, Alberta |
| Occupation | Union Representative |
Coolahan was born in Toronto to parents Thomas and Suzanne and grew up in the suburb of Scarborough. He has one brother, Christopher, and they both attended Hunter's Glen Public School, Charles Gordon Junior High, and David and Mary Thomson High School.
After high school he worked at an insurance company in Toronto for a few years and returned to school in 1993. He attended Okanagan University College (now UBC Okanagan) and achieved an Bachelor of Arts degree in English from UBC in conjunction with OUC. In 2001 he completed a Bachelor of Journalism Degree from University College of the Cariboo in Kamloops (now Thompson Rivers University).
Coolahan spent several years as a writer and editor in many capacities, including 10 years as a technical writer. He also wrote for newspapers, magazines and co-wrote two vocational how-to books.
In 2012, Coolahan left writing and editing and became a Business Agent for the United Utilities Workers' Association.
After moving to Calgary in 2003, he became politically active on issues such as health care, education and housing.
He ran for the Alberta NDP in the 2012 provincial general election in the riding of Calgary-Elbow, losing to the would-be Premier Alison Redford.
He ran again in 2015, winning the seat for Calgary-Klein, when the provincial NDP swept to a majority.
Coolahan married Sarah Somasundaram in 2010 and they have two children: Mehna Grace (b.2011) and Kieran Shanta Thomas (b.2014). They live in Calgary in the neighbourhood of Capitol Hill.
Electoral record
| 2019 Alberta general election: Calgary-Klein | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| United Conservative | Jeremy Nixon | 10,471 | ||||||
| New Democratic | Craig Coolahan | 8,784 | ||||||
| Alberta Party | Kara Levis | 1,841 | ||||||
| Liberal | Michael J. Macdonald | 396 | ||||||
| Green | Janine St. Jean | 294 | ||||||
| Independence | CW Alexander | 214 | ||||||
| Total valid votes | ||||||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | ||||||||
| Registered electors | ||||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| 2015 Alberta general election: Calgary-Klein | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| New Democratic | Craig Coolahan | 8,098 | 44.3 | |||||
| Progressive Conservative | Kyle Fawcett | 4,878 | 26.7 | |||||
| Wildrose | Jeremy Nixon | 4,206 | 23.0 | |||||
| Liberal | David Gamble | 1,104 | 6.0 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 18,286 | 100.0 | ||||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 260 | |||||||
| Turnout | 18,546 | 53.4 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 34,702 | |||||||
| Source: Elections Alberta[2] | ||||||||
| 2012 Alberta general election: Calgary-Elbow | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Alison Redford | 11,198 | 58.09 | +16.01 | ||||
| Wildrose | James Cole | 5,509 | 28.58 | +21.97 | ||||
| Liberal | Beena Ashar | 1,067 | 5.53 | −33.67 | ||||
| New Democratic | Craig Coolahan | 761 | 3.95 | +1.96 | ||||
| Alberta Party | Greg Clark | 518 | 2.69 | – | ||||
| Evergreen | William Hamilton | 225 | 1.17 | −2.44 | ||||
| Total valid votes | 19,278 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 257 | – | – | |||||
| Turnout | 19,535 | 58.44 | +12.60 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 33,430 | – | – | |||||
References
- "Riding: Calgary-Klein". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- "2015 Provincial General Election Results". Elections Alberta. Archived from the original on 2017-07-30. Retrieved 2017-07-30.