The Political Record · Federal electoral districts
Bow River
Federal riding · AB · No. 48003 · 2023 representation order
- Member
- David Bexte Conservative
- 2025 result
- Conservative hold by 35,043 votes
- Turnout
- 66.5% of 85,571 electors
- Population
- 112,770 2021 census
- Area
- 21,494 km²
- Figures as of
- 2026-09-25
Distinctions · ranked against all 343 ridings
- Widest margin in CanadaWon by 62.0 points (35,043 votes) · 10th of 343
- Area, largest first21,494 km² · 47th of 343 in Canada
- Turnout, lowest first66.5% of 85,571 electors voted · 102nd of 343 in Canada
In brief
- David Bexte held the seat for the Conservatives by 35,043 votes (+62.0 points).
- The riding shrank in 2023: it keeps 87% of the old Bow River.
- Election-day and advance voters agreed on the winner; 55.1% of votes were cast on the day.
- Share with French as a mother tongue is the 61st lowest of 343 ridings.
Illustration after: © House of Commons
Member of Parliament
David Bexte
- Member: Environment and Sustainable Development
IDid this riding change?
Yes — it shrank. All of today's Bow River comes from the old Bow River, but it is only 87% of that riding. The rest went elsewhere.
Share of today's areaFormer riding
99.5%Bow River 87% of it kept
0.4%Banff—Airdrie 1% of it kept
How this is measured. Share of the current riding's area that came from each former riding, by intersecting the 2013 and 2023 boundary files. It is area, not population. Elections Canada counts 48 of 343 ridings as entirely unchanged.
IIThe 2025 result
Conservative hold
Elected
David Bexte
Conservative
44,605
78.9% of valid votes
Margin
35,043
votes · +62.0 pts
Runner-up
Bentley Barnes
Liberal
9,562
16.9% of valid votes
Conservative 78.9% · Liberal 16.9% · New Democratic 3.0%
Turnout66.5% of 85,571 electors
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | 2021 | ± |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Bexte | Conservative | 44,605 | 78.9% | 69.2% | +9.7 |
| Bentley Barnes | Liberal | 9,562 | 16.9% | 7.8% | +9.1 |
| Louisa Gwin | New Democratic | 1,689 | 3.0% | 9.3% | −6.3 |
2 further candidates, each under 1% of the vote
| Tom Lipp | Other | 402 | 0.7% |
| Aaron Patton | Other | 296 | 0.5% |
The 2021 column is Elections Canada's official transposition of the 2021 result onto these 2023 boundaries. ± is the change in each party's share. It is not "swing": with four or more competitive parties there is no single pair to swing between.
IIIHow close was it, really
Swing needed to flip
31.0 pts
Half the margin: the share that would have had to move from first to second.
Third place vs. the margin
1,689 votes
New Democratic took fewer than the 35,043-vote margin.
Election-day polls won by others
2 of 182
1 poll ended in an exact tie.
Flip the seatHypothetical
It would have taken 17,522 voters switching from Conservative to Liberal — 31.0% of the 56,554 valid votes, 31.0 points — to change the result. No ballot was cast this way; this only moves votes between the top two.
Conservative44,605
Liberal9,562
Still Conservative by 35,043 votes. Actual margin: 35,043.
IVElection day versus advance
Only 55.1% of this riding's votes were cast at election-day polls. The rest were advance or special ballots.
Election dayAdvance & specialGap
Conservative78.4%79.5%+1.1
Liberal16.9%17.0%+0.1
New Democratic3.2%2.7%−0.5
Other1.6%0.8%−0.8
An association, not a cause. Voters who cast ballots before election day differed from those who turned out on the day. It does not say why. There is no poll-level turnout figure on this page: the elector count on a polling division includes people who voted in advance and were counted elsewhere.
VWhat kind of place this is
- Median total household income is $98,000 — about 1.2 times the median riding's $84,000.highestlowest76th highest of 343
- Median age is 38.0 — a little lower than the median riding's 41.6.highestlowest66th lowest of 343
- Share aged 25-64 with a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.5% — about 62 percent of the median riding's 28.2%.highestlowest62nd lowest of 343
- Share who are immigrants is 19.1% — a little higher than the median riding's 17.3%.highestlowest166th highest of 343
- Share of households that own their home is 78.6% — a little higher than the median riding's 71.4%.highestlowest72nd highest of 343
- Share with French as a mother tongue is 0.8% — about 50 percent of the median riding's 1.6%.highestlowest61st lowest of 343
2021 Census, keyed to the 2023 representation order. Comparisons are against the median riding, not Canada as a whole. Each rule places this riding among all 343.
VIWhere it is
loading basemap…
The card
No. 48003AB · 2025
Bow River
David Bexte
- Result
- Conservative hold by 35,043
- Turnout
- 66.5%
- Population
- 112,770
- Area
- 21,494 km²
Widest margin in CanadaArea, largest firstTurnout, lowest first
One of 343The Political Record
A card exists for every one of the 343 ridings.
Every figure on it is the figure on this page: the 2025 result and margin, turnout, the 2021 census population, the area, and the distinctions ranked against all 343 ridings. The portrait is an illustration after the official House of Commons photograph.
Open a neighbour to collect the next one.