With Bashaw now part of a new provincial riding, a recently selected party candidate made a stop in town last week.
United Conservative Party (UCP) candidate Jackie Lovely hopes to represent the Camrose constituency following the next provincial election. She held a meet and greet session Nov. 29 at the Bashaw Community Centre.
Lovely won the party nomination on Nov. 24 and has made a concerted effort to get to know the residents in the redistributed riding, which was created following the approval last year of recommendations from a boundary commission review. That review saw seven east-central ridings amalgamated into six.
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“We had a fantastic turnout. I was pleasantly surprised,” Lovely stated in a phone interview Nov. 30.
Not only was the meeting about getting to know area residents, but further ensure the voices of rural Albertans continue to be heard.
“Rural communities matter to Jason Kenney and he’s interested in preserving that way of life,” Lovely stated.
“Having grown up in rural Saskatchewan, the issues in smaller communities are just as important and if I lived there, I would want my voice heard and to know that my concerns are being addressed.”
Lovely won what was a hotly contested nomination, against four others, leaving her job several months ago to campaign full time.
“I wanted to ensure I gained a clear understanding of what is important to everyone,” she noted.
“I basically practiced kitchen table politics — going to every town, door knocking then sitting down with people to ask them what issues were important to them.”
Along the way, she learned that a lot of people in the Bashaw and Meeting Creek areas stated they would be supporting the UCP.
Of course, the main topic of conversation was the carbon tax, something Lovely explained is hitting everyone.
“Repealing the carbon tax was the number one issue, especially for seniors who are mostly on fixed incomes,” she noted.
Another issue in the constituency is what is being dubbed ‘the lost generation’ in rural Alberta.
“I was among that ‘missing’ generation that left Saskatchewan to find work and have not returned. My concern is that something similar is beginning to occur in Alberta as young people are not able to find adequate jobs,” she said, noting her adult children that have graduated university are either under employed or not working right now.
“There are 128,000 young people looking and those are the ones that can be tracked. But, how many can’t be tracked, such as those living at home because there are no opportunities out there. Those are the people we need to be fighting for.”
Lovely added people can expect to see more of her before the election campaign even begins, as she plans to continue knocking on doors and connecting directly with constituents.
“We have key people established in various communities and I will be working with them as I visit the communities once again. I also want to make certain I get to our seniors to ensure their voices are heard.”
jordie.dwyer@ponokanews.com
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