Incumbent Arnold Viersen is the first candidate to officially announce he is running to represent the Peace River-Westlock constituency in the Sept. 20 federal election.
On Aug. 18, Viersen announced that he was officially launching his campaign as the Conservative Party of Canada candidate for Peace River-Westlock and that he was opening a campaign office at 6111 47 Street in Barrhead.
Viersen has served as the Member of Parliament for this constituency for two terms, starting with his first election in 2015 and his re-election in 2019.
A release from Viersen states that during his time as MP, he has served on the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Committee, introduced multiple bills, successfully passed a motion on online exploitation and launched the All-Party Parliamentary Group to End Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.
Viersen said that only the Conservative Party of Canada will fight for the forestry, farming and oil and gas sectors that are the heartbeat of rural communities.
“Justin Trudeau’s treatment of Alberta and the rest of Western Canada has created a national unity crisis,” said Viersen, adding that Trudeau can only be unseat by voting for the Conservatives.
“I will also continue to fight for our way of life and for the freedoms that we enjoy in Canada,” Viersen said, listing firearm ownership and freedom of speech, thought, religion and conscience as among those freedoms.
He called attention to the Conservative Party’s campaign platform released two days earlier, which calls for recovering one million jobs lost during the pandemic, enacting a new anti-corruption law, delivering a Canadian Mental Health Action Plan, building capacity to handle future pandemics and crises, and balancing the budget over the next decade.
"This is a plan for all Canadians. It’s one that puts working Canadians at the front of the recovery,” Viersen said.
Five-man race
While the official Elections Canada website currently lists no official candidates for the Peace River-Westlock riding — the deadline to file nomination papers is Aug. 30, so there is still time to do so — the websites for Canada's other political parties reveals that four other candidates are challenging Viersen’s re-election bid.
The Liberal Party of Canada’s website states that retiring Town of Barrhead councillor Leslie Penny is running to represent the Liberals in this election.
Penny, who first came to Barrhead in 1972 to work as a registered nurse at the local hospital, has lived in the community for most of her life and worked in a variety of health care positions.
She has also served two terms totalling eight years on the town of Barrhead council and previously represented the Liberal Party in the 2019 federal election.
The federal New Democratic Party (NDP) official website lists Gail Ungstad as their candidate for this riding. However, the website does not list any further biographical information about Ungstad or carry a picture.
The People’s Party of Canada (PPC) is represented by Darryl Boisson, who lives in High Prairie.
The PPC website states that Boisson is a fourth-generation farmer and the owner of a trapping business. As well, he has been married for 40 years and has two children and four grandchildren.
Finally, the Maverick Party is represented by Colin Krieger, who lives in Valleyview with his wife and four children.
The Maverick Party’s website states that Krieger has travelled internationally doing volunteer work in Africa and Russia, and both he and his wife have foster children in their care.
It states he is running because the voice of Albertans and western Canadians is being increasingly ignored in federal politics, and the current parties are unable or unwilling to address the west’s concerns.
