Calgary-Foothills candidates debate the issues ahead of September byelection

Candidates in the Calgary-Foothills riding debated the issues at the Foothills Alliance Church in the city's northwest Monday night.

Topics ranged from government accountability to the need for royalty reviews, but the biggest issue seemed to be how to get Alberta's economy back on track.

The vote will be held on Sept. 3, and this will be the thirdtime people living in the riding will have to cast a ballot sincelast October.

The seatbelonged toformer premierJim Prenticebefore he resignedin May right afterthe NDPwon the Alberta election.Prentice was firstelected to the Alberta Legislaturein the riding in abyelectioninthe fall of 2014.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley called thebyelectionin early August, setting the stage for the firstreferendum of sortson her new governmentalbeit with a very small sample size.

• Calgary-Foothills byelection will be a test for Alberta NDP

Candidates in the byelection include Bob Hawkesworthfor the NDP,Wildrose candidate Prasad Panda,AliBinZahid for the Liberals,PC candidateBlair Houston, Alberta Green Party Leader Janet Keepingand the Alberta Party's Mark Taylor.

Followthislive blogfor tweets from the event.