Q&A with John Barlow; the Foothills Member of Parliament
Conservative incumbent, John Barlow, was declared the winner in the Foothills riding in the federal election on Sept. 20 with 69% of the vote. Barlow had 44,356 votes; NDP’s Michelle Traxel, 7,116 votes; People’s Party of Canada’s Dan Hunter, 5,111; Liberal Paula Shimp, 4,441; Maverick Party’s Josh Wylie, 2,289; and Green Party’s Brett Rogers, 802.
Despite the win for Barlow, the conservatives are once again the Opposition, similar to the previous government. The Liberals now have 158 seats with 32.5% of the vote, while conservatives have 119 seats with 33.8% of the vote. In 2019, the Liberals won a minority government with 157 seats while the Conservatives took 121.
Barlow responded to some questions from High Country News following his victory:
HCN: What does it feel like to be elected as a member of parliament for the fourth time?
Barlow: It is an honour to have the support, confidence and trust of the constituents of Foothills. We work hard every day to earn their votes. I love this job and I am privileged to represent the hardworking families and business owners in southwest Alberta.
HCN: What are your thoughts on the election results?
Barlow: The overall results are disappointing obviously. I believe we had a chance to win this election. Canadians were not pleased Justin Trudeau called an unnecessary election that cost the taxpayers $600 million and they would not give him a majority. However, as Conservatives, our leadership needs to assess what went wrong in the campaign, we need to unite our movement and we need to show Canadians what we stand for on policy, on principle and on critical issues.
HCN: What are your priorities going forward?
Barlow: Moving forward I will focus on rural connectivity. Although we were able to get Bragg Creek access to broadband, much of my riding still does not have access to high speed internet. Also, fiscal responsibility is key because we need to go from a credit card economy to a paycheque economy. To start we need to get Canadians back to work and our small businesses back up on firm footing. Agriculture and Energy will also play important roles in the post-pandemic economic recovery.
HCN: How have your priorities changed from your previous term?
Barlow: There are always new issues which arise – I certainly did not see COVID coming and roles in Ottawa change but my focus is always ensuring I speak for the constituents of Foothills first.
HCN: How do the election results impact the potential progress of those priorities?
Barlow: In Opposition it can be more difficult to get issues addressed, but I believe I have shown I can work across party lines to get things done. For example I was able to get unanimous support for my Private Members Bill C-205, funding for key projects in Foothills and raising important issues at committee and in the House of Commons.
Masha Scheele, HCN Staff
media@highcountrynews.ca
