Dr. Karina Pillay

Calgary-North is one of the fastest growing communities in the city, placing even greater pressure on an already overwhelmed healthcare system.

As our population continues to grow, so does the demand for emergency care, hospital services, and family physicians.

The need for a new hospital in Calgary-North and Airdrie has been well-known for years, yet progress remains slow with a band-aid solution being offered. Our community cannot afford more delays. We need decisive leadership to move this project from planning to construction and ensure residents have timely access to the healthcare they deserve.

Investing in a new hospital is an investment in healthier families, stronger communities, and a more resilient healthcare system.

It's time to stop talking about the need and get shovels in the ground.

Healthcare should be based on need, not on the ability to pay.

Alberta’s public health-care system is in crisis, and the expertise and voices of health-care professionals have too often been ignored.

Privatizing healthcare does not give you better care. It leaves people behind, weakens access, and delays wait times for all.

Calgary-North is home to many dedicated family doctors and healthcare professionals, but rapid population growth has placed additional pressure on the system. We need to strengthen public healthcare by expanding team-based care, improving access to primary care, ensuring vulnerable people and those with complex health-care needs receive the care they deserve, and supporting the well-being of the health-care providers who deliver that care.

A strong public health-care system starts by supporting both patients and the professionals who care for them.

I fully support the Alberta NDP’s robust Affordability Agenda, including raising the minimum wage, eliminating the reduced youth minimum wage, and lowering electricity bills.

For those struggling to meet their basic needs, focusing on their health can become an impossible challenge. When families are worried about keeping a roof over their heads, putting food on the table, or keeping the lights on, their health often becomes a secondary concern.

The conditions in which we live, work, learn, and raise our families have a profound impact on our health and well-being. How we support our most vulnerable residents is not only a reflection of our values, it is also a measure of the health of our communities.

We need policies that address the underlying factors that shape health: affordable housing, food security, good education, decent wages, accessible healthcare, and safe communities.

Supporting people before they reach a crisis is not only the compassionate thing to do; it is also essential to building a healthier, stronger and more resilient Alberta.

Calgary-North is one of the fastest-growing areas of our city but education infrastructure has not kept pace.

Growing enrollment, new communities, and more young families moving into the area have pushed schools beyond capacity, creating challenges for students, teachers, and families.

We need a proactive plan to ensure our schools grow alongside our communities. That means investing in additional middle school and high school capacity, expanding and modernizing existing schools, and building new schools where growth is happening.

But infrastructure is only part of the solution. Teachers, educational assistants, administrators, and support staff are facing larger classrooms, increasingly complex student needs, and growing demands on their time and resources. Overcrowded classrooms make it more difficult for teachers to provide individualized support, while shortages in specialized staff limit access to important services for students who need them most.

Calgary-North families deserve schools that have the space, staff, and resources to give every student the opportunity to succeed.

As the former Mayor of Slave Lake, I led a dedicated team through one of the largest wildfire disasters in Canadian history.

I learned that resilience does not just happen. It requires preparation, leadership, collaboration, and a commitment to supporting people through difficult times.

Today, Alberta faces challenges on many fronts: a strained health-care system in crisis, an education system struggling to meet the needs of students and teachers, and increasingly severe weather events driven by climate change. We are also seeing growing political division and separatist rhetoric that risks undermining the unity and sovereignty of Canada while creating uncertainty for Alberta’s economy and future investment.

Equally concerning is the erosion of public trust in government. Albertans deserve transparency, accountability, and responsible stewardship of public resources. Good government requires openness, answering difficult questions, and putting the public interest first.

We need leadership that is prepared to do the hard work of repairing relationships, rebuilding and restoring our public services, strengthening our economy, preparing for severe weather events, and working collaboratively with municipalities, the federal government, and First Nations.

Albertans have shown time and again that we can come together in the face of adversity. We need leadership that brings people together rather than driving them apart, that restores trust, strengthens our communities, and builds a resilient Alberta for the future.