Not only is Wildrose candidate Bruce Rowe confident that he can win the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding, he is also confident his party can gain a majority of the province's seats and sweep aside 41 years of consecutive PC party rule in Alberta once the votes are tallied on April 23.
“I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think we had a good shot at forming the next government. It's not just a matter of winning the riding here, there throughout the province, it's a matter of winning enough seats to form a majority government and I believe that's attainable. We're feeling good about our campaign, my chances, and we're hearing from a number of people that it's time for a change,” he said recently in an interview with the Gazette.
Rowe has been knocking on doors for some time prior to the writ being dropped, and he said people have been giving encouraging responses, although they are undecided, he said. Rowe said that since this is the first time in a long while the PCs have had a legitimate opposition, people are giving some thought to marking their ballot beside a Wildrose candidate's name.
Rowe sees the Wildrose as going back to true fiscal conservatism that takes the tough choices and eliminates what he calls the “waste in a number of areas.”
“We're back to true fiscal conservatism and I think the existing government has gotten away from that. What we can offer is what I would term as ‘true democracy.' Our MLAs will go to Edmonton and we'll vote the way our constituents want us to vote,” he said.
Rowe said he doesn't see any weaknesses in the party's policy or roster of candidates, saying that each person has abundant experience in a diverse range of areas. Rowe, for example, has 10 years experience in municipal government, while other candidates have experience in other industries, such as education, the oil and gas industry, health care, among others.
“There's a broad spectrum of experience that's just waiting to get to work to make the system better,” he said.
Rowe said he believes the Wildrose's election numbers of about 20 per cent of the popular vote it received in 2008 can be vastly improved. He is also encouraged by polls showing that it's virtually a dead heat with the PCs. Having said that, however, Rowe is taking nothing for granted and is running as though the party is 20 points behind in the polls. He is meeting as many people as he can and will be criss-crossing the riding over the next three weeks trying to spread the Wildrose message.
“We're approaching it … like we're 20 points behind, and we're going all out,” he said.
"We're feeling good about our campaign, my chances, and we're hearing from a number of people that it's time for a change."Bruce Rowe, Wildrose candidate, Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills
