The Globe is visiting communities across the country to hear from Canadians about the issues affecting their lives, their futures and their votes in this federal election.

If the people that live in the quaint Southwest Calgary neighbourhood surrounding Henry Wise Wood High School by some miracle forget to remind you, yearbooks from the 1990s certainly will: This is the old stomping grounds of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

On a sunny April afternoon with her baby in a stroller, Michelle Lombardo is one of many who casually mentions the hometown hero from Eagle Ridge with whom she shares two alma maters. Both graduated from the local high school and the University of Calgary.

But it’s not just some piece of town trivia to her; she’s proud to have been raised in the same community as the man she deems, in every way, and especially now, the best choice to govern her country.

“After 10 years of terrible policies from the Liberals, it’s time for a change,” says Ms. Lombardo, as her dog, Enzo, pulls up for a little cuddle. “It’s time for Pierre Poilievre.”

Mr. Poilievre left the Prairies more than two decades ago after getting a job as a cabinet minister’s assistant on Parliament Hill. Since 2004, he’s been an Ottawa-area MP after winning his first electoral campaign at just 25. His upbringing in Calgary, however, has found its way into almost every speech at his famously big rallies over the past several months.

These meandering suburban streets are what shaped the 45-year-old career politician hoping to become Canada’s next prime minister.

It is this quieter, richer quadrant of the country’s fourth-biggest city where a young Mr. Poilievre spent most of his time in high school as a competitive wrestler. He eventually joined the debate team and business investment club. His yearbooks have memorialized his slicked-back middle-parted hairstyle as a junior, and the shorter, spikier buzzcut he donned as a senior.

The teenager wearing a 1997 graduation robe, giving the photographer a thumbs up with a giant smirk – under the headline Pointed in the Right Direction – hasn’t visited the halls of Henry Wise Wood in years, though the school still joyously calls him one of their own.

“We certainly are appreciative of being able to prepare our students into the future leaders they become,” says Aileen Smyth, the current principal.

Compared with other regions in an increasingly diversifying Calgary, which is quickly gaining a reputation as a launching pad for immigrants, the Southwest has maintained its higher proportion of white residents, the vast majority of whom earn a higher average income than the rest of the municipality.

The mostly residential community, save for the ample strip malls that surround it, holds several large green spaces and scenic parks, including the touristy village of heritage sites around Gasoline Alley Museum and the Canmore Opera House, next to the Glenmore Reservoir on the Elbow River. Eagle Ridge, Kingsland, Kelvin Grove and Chinook Park are a short drive away from the bustle of downtown, making the affluent cluster of cul-de-sacs a desirable choice for families and retirees who crave spacious houses with bigger backyards but still prefer urban living.

The area is also home to Rockyview General, the kind of hospital where some mothers – like Ms. Lombardo – say they loved their delivery experience so much that they’d give birth all over again if it meant doing it back in that maternity ward.

“We like how our things are here. It’s the peace and calm we enjoy,” she says on her way to drop off some items for the district’s community centre.

People who live here rarely move away, setting down deep roots. Despite Calgary’s description as one of the fastest-growing cities by Statistics Canada, with an 18-per-cent rise in its population over the past five years to reach more than 1.6 million people today, the Southwest – last recorded in 2011 to have 136,011 residents – has kept its occupancy at a relative standstill.

In the area, residents recall more Liberal volunteers knocking on doors than Conservatives this year. But that may change Friday, when Mr. Poilievre is expected to be in Calgary for one of his final rallies before Monday’s election.

Dawn Messer, who lives a stone’s throw away from Henry Wise Wood, says locals often joke that if any of them was found bruised, they’re likely to bleed Tory blue. The Southwest is historically a Conservative stronghold, led by the likes of former prime minister Stephen Harper. Now split into Calgary Heritage and Calgary Midnapore, both ridings are still represented by members of the Conservative Party. “We have strong Conservative values in these parts. We all know that if we voted for the Liberal Leader Mark Carney, we’d find ourselves seeing the same mistakes that we saw with Justin Trudeau,” says Ms. Messer, vice-president of Gnu Distillery and Spirits, whose husband works in the oil industry.

It is a source of incredible frustration for Ms. Messer to hear the fears of young people like her son, who voted for the first time this election. He is perturbed about the taxes he would face with a federal Liberal government and how unaffordable life in Canada has become. At the same time, Ms. Messer and her husband are concerned about Mr. Carney blocking the expansion of oil and gas pipelines “at every corner possible,” which she believes is a big possibility given his party’s track record.

“To have people suddenly forgetting everything about the problems that Trudeau caused, all because of Donald Trump and his possible tariffs, which seems to be the only thing people care about now? I guess all I can say is that the Liberals were smart with their marketing to compare Poilievre to Trump and keep repeating that they’re better to handle that stuff with the U.S.,” she added.

Standing on her porch, Ms. Messer says: “It would be hypocritical for anybody in Alberta right now to vote for the Liberals when they have shown that they don’t care about this province.” But looking a short distance away, she acknowledges that she worries about seeing more Liberal signs on her neighbours’ front lawns than ever before.

Michael Nelson and Jerry Cramm, a couple who have lived in the Southwest for decades, have one of those homes displaying the Liberal campaign posters. They remember when Mr. Poilievre, adopted by parents Marlene and Donald, moved into the area. They also remember the Poilievres separating when he was quite young, and when Donald, now a friend of theirs, came out as a gay man shortly after. “We know the Liberals have not necessarily been the party of choice in Western Canada, certainly not here in Alberta. But they’ve only ever been the right choice for my partner and me,” Mr. Nelson says.

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