The NDP has nominated its candidate in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills constituency for the upcoming provincial election.
Kyle Johnston, 31, will face off against United Conservative Party incumbent Nathan Cooper and Alberta Party candidate Chase Brown in the election, which had not been called at press time Monday.
Johnston, a Red Deer resident, is seeking public office for the first time. He works in telecommunications.
In a Gazette interview, Johnston says if elected he would concentrate his efforts on several key areas.
“At the end of the day I think the three most important areas that I would focus on would be diversifying our economy further, health care, and education,” said Johnston.
“I think those are the priorities for Albertans and those are the priorities for me.”
Specific to the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding, Johnston says promoting and supporting higher education would be one of his goals.
“I like to see such a great asset as Olds College and all the good things they do for the community,” he said. “The Notley government has invested $7.8 million in Olds College to fix critical infrastructure that was in need of upgrading and they also froze tuition for post-secondary students. That works for all post- secondary institutions.”
Supporting education has local benefits, he said.
“When you support the education system, it allows people of the community to stay close to their roots and not have to move away and incur more costs than are expected,” he said.
Johnston said the NDP has Albertans’ best interest at heart.
“At the end of the day people are much better represented by people who care about maintaining spending on health care and infrastructure and education, rather than cuts,” he said.
Cutting taxes at the expense of funding for health care and education is not something he would support, he said.
The Liberals had not nominated a candidate in the riding as of Monday.
