Prasad Panda is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in a 2015 by-election, replacing former Alberta Premier Jim Prentice, and the 2019 Alberta general elections to represent the electoral district of Calgary-Foothills. He is a member of the United Conservative Party. With his party forming majority government Panda joined the Executive Council of Alberta as the Minister of Infrastructure beginning on April 30, 2019.
In the by-election to the 29th Alberta Legislature, Panda was a member of the Wildrose Party and defeated former Calgary city councillor and Alberta NDP MLA Bob Hawkesworth by 1598 votes, winning 38.3% of all votes cast. In 2017, joined the United Conservative Party and became the party's energy critic. Panda introduced Motion 505, a resolution calling on the federal government to ban the import of oil from countries with a poor human rights or environmental record, and to facilitate pipelines within Canada to ensure better prices for Alberta oil.
Electoral history
| 2019 Alberta general election: Calgary-Edgemont |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|
| United Conservative | Prasad Panda | 13,308 | 52.8% | -3.17% |
| New Democratic | Julia Hayter | 8,570 | 34% | +0.44% |
| Alberta Party | Joanne Gui | 2,740 | 10.9% | +6.4% |
| Liberal | Graeme Maitland | 305 | 1.2% | -5.16 |
| Green | Carlos Svoboda | 155 | 0.6% | |
| Independence | Tomasz Kochanowicz | 106 | 0.4% | |
| Total valid votes | 25,184 |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 299 |
| Eligible voters | 37,566 |
| Turnout | 67.6% |
Calgary-Foothills
Alberta provincial by-election, September 3, 2015: Calgary-Foothills
Voiding of general election results due to Jim Prentice disclaiming his seat |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|
| Wildrose | Prasad Panda | 4,877 | 38.35 | +20.24 |
| New Democratic | Bob Hawkesworth | 3,270 | 25.71 | -6.65 |
| Progressive Conservative | Blair Houston | 2,746 | 21.59 | -18.74 |
| Liberal | Ali Bin Zahid | 791 | 6.22 | -0.94 |
| Alberta Party | Mark Taylor | 610 | 4.80 | +4.80 |
| Green | Janet Keeping | 377 | 2.96 | +0.92 |
| Independent | Antoni Grochowski | 46 | 0.36 | – |
| Total valid votes | 12,717 |
| Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots | |
| Turnout | | 39.48 |
| Eligible voters | 32,212 |
| Wildrose gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing | +19.49 |
|
Calgary-Northern Hills
| 2015 Alberta general election: Calgary-Northern Hills |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|
| New Democratic | Jamie Kleinsteuber | 6,641 | 38.2 |
| Progressive Conservative | Teresa Woo-Paw | 5,343 | 30.7 |
| Wildrose | Prasad Panda | 4,392 | 25.3 |
| Liberal | Harry Lin | 1,000 | 5.8 |
| Total valid votes | 17,376 | 100.0 |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 160 |
| Turnout | 17,536 | 46.1 |
| Eligible voters | 38,004 |
| Source: Elections Alberta |
| 2012 Alberta general election: Calgary-Northern Hills |
|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|
| Progressive Conservative | Teresa Woo-Paw | 6,144 | 49.02% |
| Wildrose | Prasad Panda | 4,637 | 37.00% |
| Liberal | Kirstin Morrell | 1,058 | 8.44% |
| New Democratic | Stephanie Westlund | 694 | 5.54% |
| Alberta Provincial Government of Jason Kenney |
| Cabinet post (1) |
|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
|---|
| Sandra Jansen | Minister of Infrastructure
April 30, 2019– | Incumbent |
