Two Conservative MPs won't be stepping on each other's toes in the next federal election even though both have a home in one of Alberta's new ridings.
Blake Richards, the MP for the current Wild Rose electoral district, announced to friends and supporters on Feb. 8 that he plans to seek the Conservative Party's nomination in the new Banff-Airdrie riding for the 2015 election.
Four days later, Earl Dreeshen, the MP for the current Red Deer riding, announced he will run in the new Red Deer-Mountain View riding, which includes Red Deer and Mountain View counties.
Last summer, in the wake of the Electoral Boundaries Commission for Alberta filing a final report on proposed new electoral boundaries in the province, the MPs were faced with tough choices about what new riding they would run in should they seek reelection in 2015 as their current, bordering constituencies were being carved up.
Richards had a choice in the matter as he has a home in Airdrie and a farm in Olds but Dreeshen's home is near Pine Lake, which is east of Innisfail and falls within the new Red Deer-Mountain View riding.
Although Dreeshen, who was first elected in the Red Deer electoral district in 2008 and won his seat again in 2011 with more than 73 per cent of the vote, had publically announced last year that he would run in Red Deer-Mountain View, he said he waited to officially declare his intentions until Richards announced his plans.
"And I was pleased that he was still going to be basically in the community,î Dreeshen said.
While he wouldn't say whether he and Richards had a conversation about their respective intentions prior to their announcements last week, Dreeshen indicated that Richards was aware that, because Dreeshen lives in the new riding, he would run in Red Deer-Mountain View.
He added he and Richards were free to make their decisions without any involvement from other Conservatives.
"The party didn't really have a lot of say in that,î he said.
Richards, who beat his closest rival by more than 30,000 votes in the 2011 election, was out of the province last week and not available for comment.
In a media release dated Feb. 11, however, Richards stated he would continue to "treasure the friendships I have built in my time representing all the communities I'm fortunate to serve.î
Ultimately, Dreeshen said, the decision to run in Red Deer-Mountain View came down to his history in the riding.
"I have a lot of people that I know and organizations that I've been part of that are part of Mountain View as well, so I thought that this would be the best place for me to be able to put my skills to work,î he said.
Dreeshen was a teacher in Central Alberta for 34 years and was also involved in community volunteering prior to his election to a federal seat.
The main reason for the electoral boundary changes is to reflect Alberta's growing population and the commission argued an increased number of ridings would allow for better representation in Parliament.
The current Wild Rose riding has a population of more than 138,000 people and includes Airdrie and Cochrane in the south, Canmore and Banff in the west, Big Horn in the north and Olds and Didsbury in the east.
The current Red Deer riding extends to Sylvan Lake and Red Deer in the north, Bowden in the south and includes Delburne in the east and Gleniffer Lake in the west.
Under the proposed boundary changes, the new Red Deer-Mountain View riding would include Red Deer in the north and extend southwards to include Carstairs and west to include Sundre.
Its population is 108,465 people.
The new Banff-Airdrie riding would include Airdrie, Crossfield, Cochrane, Banff, Canmore, as well as parts of Rocky View County, the municipal district of Bighorn and the Stoney Nakoda First Nation.
Its population is 105,442.
"The party didn't really have a lot of say in that."Earl DreeshenConservative MP
