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	(1970-11-16) 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

1. "Riding: Calgary-Klein". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
2. "2015 Provincial General Election Results". Elections Alberta. Archived from the original on 2017-07-30. Retrieved 2017-07-30.