Julia Hayter

Julia Hayter is an Edmonton-born Canadian politician from the Alberta New Democratic Party who was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-Edgemont in the 2023 Alberta general election.^[3] She was the 964th Member to be sworn into the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. She serves as the Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Status of Women.

Julia Hayter MLA
Hayter in 2023
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-Edgemont
Incumbent
Assumed office May 29, 2023
Preceded by	Prasad Panda
Personal details
Born	(1974-11-28) November 28, 1974 (age 50)[1] Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Political party	NDP
Education	College of New Caledonia
Occupation	Education assistant[2]

Life and career

Hayter received a developmental disability certificate from the College of New Caledonia in Prince George, British Columbia. She has worked for various non-profit organizations dedicated to supporting and empowering individuals with disabilities. Hayter assisted people to live their best lives at work, at home, and in the community.  Prior to being elected- Hayter worked as an educational assistant with the Calgary Board of Education. With Hayter’s passion for public education and service to her community she served as chair and vice-chair on her children’s school council from 2017 to 2019. 

Hayter has worked extensively on election campaigns around the Calgary area, as well as having worked as a constituency assistant for a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.^[4]

Work in the community

It is very important for MLA Hayter to know the issues of the Calgary-Edgemont riding. She attends events within the communities and regularly canvasses the riding, knocking on doors asking constituents how they are doing and if there are any concerns with provincial government services that are impacting them.

MLA Hayter has an ongoing period poverty drive raising awareness for menstrual inequality. “Access to period products is a basic necessity and should not be considered a luxury. Eliminating the stigmas around menstruation and ensuring that everyone has equitable access to menstrual products will ensure a more equitable future for the menstruating population of Alberta.”^[5]

Her office collects donations of pads, tampons, period underwear and menstrual cups. As well, baby formula and diapers are collected to support those struggling in the community. These resources are given to local organizations and constituents within the Calgary-Edgemont riding.

Provincial politics

During the Fall sitting of the 31st legislative session, Hayter sponsored Motion 503, which addressed universal access to free prescription contraception. It was defeated on division by the UCP government.  This motion would have benefitted millions of Albertans throughout their lifetime, all the way from high school to perimenopause. This motion could save women up to $10,000 in their lifetime.^[6] It empowers people to make their own decisions based on health not price, this gives women control over their lives and futures. Throughout Canada, many provinces have had free contraception proposed or even accepted. British Columbia and Manitoba^[7] have announced free prescription contraceptives for residents. Similar motions have been presented in Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan,^[8] and Ontario.^[9] The federal government passed a bill that covers the costs of contraception. ⁶

Hayter introduced Bill 208, The Psycho-Educational Assessment Act^[10]  The bill is intended to address issues relating to access to psycho-educational assessments by creating a school psychological services committee. Psycho-educational assessments are a kind of psychological testing that children who display signs of ADHD, learning disabilities, autism, or giftedness can undergo to receive diagnoses and become familiar with their specific learning styles/needs. In 2019, over 114,000 students in Alberta schools were coded with special learning needs codes. However, experts estimate thousands more students have learning challenges that are going undiagnosed. Bill 208 ensures that children who need psych-eds will get them, but it goes a step further - ensuring teacher training and funding for complex classrooms are also addressed. Learning differences can present in many ways and teachers are not thoroughly taught how to recognize these signs, which often leads to only the most disruptive students getting flagged. This disproportionally affects girls as they often mask their challenges more than their male counterparts.^[11] Right now, in Alberta, children who need vital psycho-educational assessments are struggling to access them. This is because school board-funded psych ed assessments are limited, and private psych ed assessments are costly, ranging from ~$1000-$4000^[12] and for some families, this fee is not covered by insurance. Bill 208 takes a critical step to ensure students, teachers, and staff have the support they need to ensure Alberta education stays world-class.

She is currently a member of the Standing Committee on Private Bills.

Electoral history

v t e 2023 Alberta general election: Calgary-Edgemont
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	New Democratic	Julia Hayter	11,681	49.30	+15.27
	United Conservative	Prasad Panda	11,397	48.10	-4.75
	Alberta Party	Allen Schultz	488	2.06	-8.82
	Wildrose Loyalty Coalition	Nan Barron	66	0.28	–
	Solidarity Movement	Miles Williams	64	0.27	–
Total			23,696	99.23	–
Rejected and declined			184	0.77
Turnout			23,880	65.75
Eligible voters			36,322
	New Democratic gain from United Conservative		Swing		+10.01
Source(s) Source: Elections Alberta[13]

v t e 2019 Alberta general election: Calgary-Edgemont
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	United Conservative	Prasad Panda	13,308	52.84	-3.19	$60,021
	New Democratic	Julia Hayter	8,570	34.03	+0.53	$40,725
	Alberta Party	Joanne Gui	2,740	10.88	+9.12	$39,339
	Liberal	Graeme Maitland	305	1.21	-5.15	$500
	Green	Carl Svoboda	155	0.62	-1.57	$500
	Alberta Independence	Tomasz Kochanowicz	106	0.42	–	$852
Total			25,184	98.83	–
Rejected, spoiled and declined			299	1.17
Turnout			25,483	70.11
Eligible voters			36,346
	United Conservative notional hold		Swing		-1.86
Source(s) Source: Elections Alberta[14][15][16] Note: Expenses is the sum of "Election Expenses", "Other Expenses" and "Transfers Issued". The Elections Act limits "Election Expenses" to $50,000.