‘A little bummed out’: MP-elect Corey Hogan hoped for more Liberals in Calgary

CALGARY – Corey Hogan was bleary-eyed and a little nervous the day after winning the only Liberal seat in Calgary.

Hogan, who was named a replacement candidate in Calgary Confederation a week into the campaign, said he has no idea what he’s supposed to do next as a new member of Parliament.

“I am the deer in the headlights,” Hogan joked Tuesday in an interview with The Canadian Press. “I refused to look up anything about the nuts and bolts of being an MP out of superstition, so last night I’m sitting there at 2 in the morning Googling ‘How do you get sworn in as an MP?’

“What’s the process? When am I supposed to go to Ottawa? Am I waiting for a phone call from somebody?”

Hogan was brought into Calgary Confederation after the previous candidate was removed from the ballot. Thomas Keeper was running for the Liberals, but his name was removed amid reports of an old domestic assault charge that was stayed but not disclosed to the party.

Hogan, 43, has been a lifelong Liberal and was once the executive director of the Alberta Liberal Party.

He was a deputy minister under former NDP premier Rachel Notley and former UCP premier Jason Kenney. Hogan is currently the vice-president of communications and outreach at the University of Calgary.

Hogan said he has an extensive background working in the oil and gas sector and that there wasn’t a major pipeline project in the past 15 years that he wasn’t involved in, such as Northern Gateway, Energy East, TMX and KXL to a lesser extent.

He said it’s disappointing that he was the only Liberal elected in Calgary, but added the popular vote for the party has increased up to 27 per cent, so he believes something is happening beneath the surface.

“I’m a little bummed out,” he said. “I was looking forward to having a few colleagues where we would share flights to Ottawa.

“On the other hand, more people voted for the Liberal party in Alberta this year than any year since 1968.”

Lori Williams, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, said Hogan brings a lot to the table and expects he could be offered a cabinet position by Prime Minister Mark Carney.

“He’s worked with Liberals and Conservatives and he’s an Albertan and he’s got a lot of strategic insights. I think he could be part of Carney’s outreach to Alberta,” she said.

“Even the folks here who voted Liberal, many of them want a stronger voice in the federal government and they want to be treated fairly and that’s just a reality that needs to be dealt with.”

In the end, 34 of the 37 Albertans elected to Parliament on Monday will wave the Conservative banner in Ottawa.

Among them is Calgary Centre MP Greg McLean, who eked out a victory over Liberal candidate Lindsay Luhnau. His riding had voted Liberal once before in 2015, ending a decades-long drought in Calgary for the Grits. McLean returned it to Conservative hands in 2019.

To date, no Liberal has ever been re-elected in Calgary. McLean said he believes there’s a reason for that.

“Every time Calgarians give an attempt at electing a Liberal, it quickly folds back over into, ‘Well, you’re not representing our interests so we’re throwing you out.’”

But McLean said he’s ready to work with the incoming government to further Alberta’s interests.

Hogan, meanwhile, said he’s not lobbying for cabinet.

“I’m focused right now on being the best MP for Calgary Confederation that I can be,” he said. “If the prime minister has an expanded role for me, that’s great.

“Put me in coach, but I’m not looking for anything else.”

— with files from Matthew Scace

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2025.