ATHABASCA — Two of the nine people vying for the UCP leadership position were in Athabasca last week.
Hopeful Travis Toews, MLA for Grande Prairie-Wapiti, arrived Aug. 10 and was introduced by Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken who did the same the next day for Calgary-Shaw MLA Rebecca Schulz.
Toews said he was never overly political before the NDP swept into power in 2015 so he got engaged in the unity effort and Schulz worked in Saskatchewan, where she was born and raised, for Premier Brad Wall.
“All of a sudden, I was concerned that the opportunities of prosperity and the freedoms that we'd enjoy, that we've been afforded, may not be there for the next generation,” he said.
Eleven days after being sworn in Premier Jason Kenney appointed him as Finance Minister and President of the Treasury Board.
“I have to say that appointment was a little bit surprising as a brand-new MLA and a person brand new to politics,” Toews said. “And we inherited a fiscal train wreck. We were spending $10 billion dollars more on a per capita basis than comparator provinces.”
Toews said Alberta now has a balanced budget based on cuts to other departments and services.
“Healthcare funding was increased by about 2 per cent per year during those years and because healthcare is over 40 per cent of our budget, that meant some other departments had to take some very significant reductions,” he said. “But that was what was required.”
The two themes both candidates had were unity and leadership style; both claimed to be more collaborative than the current Premier.
“We need a leader who can unite our party and who can in fact, go toe to toe with Rachel Notley and the NDP in 2023,” said Schulz. “And I know what you're thinking, there are seven people that are all saying the exact same thing; that I am the leader who can take on Rachel Notley and the NDP in 2023 and keep our party united. So, the next question is why me? I believe that largely, it's because I know, it's not just about me, it is about our team.”
Towes said ‘big tent’ and Schulz said ‘diversity' when referring to the UCP make up, both rely on teamwork to offer ideas and opinions, both spoke about Alberta’s constitutional rights, and both are prepared to take on Ottawa, namely Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“If you want someone that is going to create chaos and drive investment, drives people out of the province, then I am not your candidate,” said Schulz. "There are things we need to fight but I think how we fight matters.”
Schulz and Toews would both like to see changes to the Equalization formula, which was last updated while Kenney was a federal cabinet minister under Stephen Harper, and partnerships with other provinces.
“Maybe the federal government brings in an excess profits tax on our energy industry that's completely indefensible,” Toews said. “Well, then maybe Alberta implements a levy of 20 per cent on every Quebec contractor bidding on a project in Alberta."
Schulz was the minister of children’s services and negotiated the deal to bring $4 billion to Alberta to lower childcare expenses.
“I was not willing to leave that in Ottawa,” she said. “We did fight to get a fair deal, a unique deal for us right here at home.”
Other than Danielle Smith who is scheduled to be in Athabasca at the end of August, none of the other candidates, Leela Aheer, Todd Loewen, Rajan Sawhney, or Brian Jean, have announced a local stop.
