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Ms. Crockatt seems well-placed to serve the constituency — which comprises a diverse mix of affluent Calgary communities and transient renters who would be expected vote for a more left leaning candidate if this were anywhere but Alberta.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Saskatchewan and also says she studied at the London School of Economics.

In the ‘90s, she worked for the Edmonton Journal and then the Calgary Herald, where she came to head the editorial page. Before long, she was promoted to managing editor, a position that would make her a lightning rod for the antipathy of fellow staff members during one of the most contentious newspaper strikes in Canadian history.

“One of the reasons for her success is that Joan has a tendency or habit, or a style — none of those is the right word, in my opinion — of attaching herself to a senior person in an organization and really reflecting their views strongly. Then she becomes almost a mirror of that person,” said David Climenhaga, who worked under Ms. Crockatt at the Calgary Herald. Mr. Climenhaga is now a progressive blogger who works with the United Nurses of Alberta.

“She’s going to go to Ottawa and do the same thing with Harper and he’s going to put her in the cabinet. You just watch.”

If you think Rob Anders is a disaster as an MP, consider having someone who’s twice as smart, twice as pretty and, I suspect, will be just as incompetent

Catherine Ford, a retired columnist and editor at the paper, has declared herself one of Ms. Crockatt’s more implacable foes.

“I do not think she is qualified either to be the Conservative candidate for Calgary Centre, or an MP for Calgary Centre. She certainly does not represent me or my feelings about it, and having worked with her and for her, I would not trust her. I think she’s the worst kind of bully,” Ms. Ford said.