Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called an election for Sept. 20, prompting a 36-day campaign period– the minimum length of a campaign in Canada. This election comes less than two years since the last election in October 2019 and less than a month before Alberta’s municipal election on October 18.
The New Democratic Party and the Conservative Party both condemned Trudeau for calling an election while the country is still reeling from the impact of COVID-19 and the wildfires in BC.
“While Canadians are focused on their health, their children getting back into school, getting back to work or trying to get their business back up and running, Justin Trudeau is taking advantage of the pandemic to try and secure a majority,” said John Barlow, incumbent conservative candidate.
Liberal candidate Paula Shimp said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted nearly every part of our lives and Canadians deserve a say on the kind of leadership they want as we look towards recovery.”
Currently there are four candidates in the Foothills riding including; John Barlow, the incumbent candidate for the Conservatives; Paula Shimp from the Liberal Party; Josh Wylie from the Maverick party; and Daniel Hunter from the People Party of Canada (PPC).
Maverick candidate, Josh Wylie, moved into the Foothills riding about two and a half years ago from Calgary. His wife’s family has lived in the riding for more than three generations. Prior to taking on politics, Wylie worked in the oil and gas sector since 2007. He has a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Calgary with a major in petroleum land management.
Wylie got involved with the Maverick Party in March 2021 when he learned about their policy platform and mandate to represent western Canada.
“I think the conservative party has turned their backs on Albertans in favour of the Ontario and Quebec vote and I think we need a viable alternative here in the West. We need regional representation here in the west and that’s what the Maverick Party is offering,” Wylie said.
Wylie’s top priority is scrapping the existing equalization formula, increasing autonomy for the Western provinces, and market access for energy exploration. Greater provincial autonomy includes areas such as taxation, pensions, immigration, and policing.
“Once voters come across the federal Maverick party and see what we have to offer of only running candidates in western Canada and advocating for constitutional change that’s really going to resonate with them,” Wyllie said.
Liberal candidate, Paula Shimp, and her family have called the Foothills riding home for five generations. She grew up listening to stories about her great- grandmother surviving Alberta’s harsh winters in a two-room sod house west of Nanton, her grandmother riding in a horse and buggy to a small rural school, and her grandfather’s passage as a child in the steerage of a ship bound for Canada from Scotland.
Shimp has degrees from the University of Calgary in political science and social work and first entered politics in December 1985 as a political pollster and campaign office manager for Sheldon Chumir in Calgary Buffalo. Later, in the 2004 provincial election she was recruited as the Liberal candidate for Cardston-Taber-Warner.
Shimp’s top priority in this election is safeguarding water and air from coal mining developments and operations.
“[I] believe the environment – our water and our air – is our responsibility,” she wrote.
Having first-hand experience with a poorly understood medical condition, Shimp is committed to highlighting the challenges in accessing effective and responsive disability programs and services.
Conservative candidate, John Barlow, moved to High River in 1996 and remained in the area ever since. His award- winning career as a journalist spanned almost 25 years, starting with hockey publications in Calgary and ending with 17 years at the Okotoks Western Wheel.
“Working as a journalist in community newspapers provided an excellent training ground for politics as I knew the issues, I know the communities, I listened to people’s stories, their concerns and the important issues, I know how to ask questions and research and I believe my work as a community journalist and community advocate earned the trust and confidence of my constituents,” he said.
Barlow first entered politics through a 2014 by-election. He was re-elected in 2015 in the Foothills riding and again in 2019.
His priority after the election is economic recovery, including access to high speed internet for all rural communities, a competitive tax and regulatory regime for farmers, ranchers, and agriculture- businesses, and access to markets for the energy sector. If elected, he wants to push his Private Members Bill C-205 across the finish line, which is an amendment to the Health of Animals Act to protect biosecurity on farms and processing plants and help address the mental health crisis in agriculture. He also hopes to see the development of a national strategy to address the mental health and addiction crisis within Canada.
PPC’s candidate, Daniel Hunter, has been in the riding for 53 years. He worked as a successful entrepreneur for 35 years, including 18 years in the movie theatre business and 10 years in construction. He holds a BA in Political Science and an MBA from University of Calgary. Currently, he is a consultant and involved in a green hydrogen startup.
As a lifelong conservative, Hunter has never held nor run for office but worked as a campaign and Get out the vote (GOTV) manager in the past. He stepped into the candidate position when he realized he wanted to vote for Maxine Bernier, the leader of the PPC, and found there was
no candidate for Foothills.
“When I saw Pastor Artur being dragged away by police on Deerfoot Trail I was mortified. My top priority is to re-establish the primacy of our protected Charter Rights and Freedoms. In my opinion, Maxime Bernier is the only leader committed to these principles,” Hunter said.
Masha Scheele, HCN Staff
media@highcountrynews.ca
