The three declared candidates in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills election race have expressed their respective views on the importance of leadership at the provincial level.
Incumbent UCP MLA Nathan Cooper is facing off against NDP candidate Kyle Johnston and Alberta Party candidate Chase Brown. The campaign is set to end with the provincial vote on April 16.
Cooper says his party leader, Jason Kenney, has the necessary experience to make him the best choice to become Alberta’s next premier.
“Jason comes with many, many years of public service experience,” said Cooper. “He has proven that he is a strong, passionate advocate and fighter on behalf of Alberta. We need somebody who is going to be able to stand up to Justin Trudeau and the Ottawa Liberals.
“He has said that Albertans are generous and we are willing to be part of the solution, but we are not willing to be stepped on.”
Asked if he is concerned about the current controversy around the 2017 UCP leadership race, Cooper said no.
“Leadership races are rough and tumble occasions,” he said. “Often campaigns work closely together and that is what their (Kenney’s) leadership campaign did, but certainly they played no part in any of the issues around donations.”
The RCMP is reportedly investigating the 2017 UCP leadership race.
For his part, NDP candidate Johnston says Rachel Notley, and not Kenney, is the best choice to lead the province.
“I’m not going to lie, I think she is the best leader this province has ever seen,” said Johnston. “She is very strong and she is fighting for everyone when it comes to everything from labour rights to health care to education and diversifying our economy.”
Asked for his comments on the UCP leadership controversy, he said, “It is very clear that Jason Kenney cannot be trusted. We just cannot trust Jason Kenney to run our province.”
Chase Brown says Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel has the necessary experience to lead the province.
“I believe Stephen’s track record as mayor of Edmonton shows that he has the capability to be in the leadership position and have success in it,” said Brown. “I think that can transfer over well.”
Asked for his views on the UCP leadership controversy, he said, “I think you can see that there is some turmoil in the party, regardless of the actual truth of what happened in the leadership campaign.
“If you put that aside, you can say with 100 per cent certainty that there is some turmoil within their party and that he (Kenney) doesn’t have the full-fledged support of all of his members.”
The candidates also discussed their respective views on what should be done to address rural crime in the district.
Brown says if elected he would work with stakeholders to find solutions.
“Rural crime is rampant,” said Brown. “It’s one of those things that there is no cut and dry simple solution, but it’s something we’ve got to figure out. This is something that should be on the front burner. It is a real problem especially for the rural constituencies.
“We need enhanced safety through a community-based approach to rural crime. We will bring rural police services and rural crime watch organizations together to educate citizens about landowner rights, crime prevention and deterrence.”
Many things are contributing to rural crime, including the opioid crisis and poverty in Alberta’s cities, he said, noting that an Alberta Party government would increase police resources.
Johnston said the NDP government has done a good job in addressing rural crime and would continue to do so if re-elected.
“They took action to put money into the rural crime task force and we have seen the benefits of that,” said Johnston. “The RCMP has come out with numbers that show that rural crime is significantly down.
“Are we done yet? No, but we are on the right track. We are making inroads.”
Cooper said a UCP government would allocate more resources to fighting rural crime.
“Rural crime has been an issue that Conservatives have long been talking about,” said Cooper. “It took close to a year before the NDP even recognized it was an issue. We remain strong in our position that more must been done to fight the issue of rural crime.
“We need to ensure that the revolving door of the justice system is stopped. We see repeat offenders breaking the law, putting people at risk, being arrested, and then being released in just a short period of time. These are things we need to stop.”
March 29 is the final day for other parties to have candidates in place for the April 16 provincial election.
