The search for a replacement for Westlock—St. Paul MP Brian Storseth as the federal representative for the Westlock area has its first entrant.
First out of the gate in the race to win the Conservative nomination in the new Peace River—Westlock riding is Terry Hogan, 33, currently an assistant principal at Good Shepherd School in Peace River.
Hogan said he decided to seek the Conservative nomination in part because several acquaintances suggested he do it, and also because he believes in what the Conservatives stand for.
In particular, he said he supports the Conservatives’ income splitting for seniors, which is especially important in an area like Westlock where there is a large senior citizen population.
He also said it’s important to continue to extract Alberta’s oil and gas reserves, because not doing so would be akin to “leaving billions of dollars, literally, just sitting in the ground.”
In addition, Hogan is keen to see those oil and gas reserves shipped to wherever Canada can sell them.
In considering whether to run, Hogan said he put a lot of thought into the time commitment he would be forced to make if he were to be elected as the area’s new MP.
The new riding extends from south of Highway 18 all the way up to the Northwest Territories.
“This riding is huge, for one thing,” Hogan said. “Whoever gets elected is going to have to do a lot of travelling.
“I’m committed to that.”
Living in Peace River is something Hogan feels gives him a bit of an advantage over other potential candidates from other communities, arguing having an MP based out of Peace River is “a good thing just for the fact it’s fairly centrally located within the riding.”
However, he said the location doesn’t matter, so long as the chosen candidate is the right one, referring to a quote he attributed to Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sit John A. MacDonald.
“You need to hire people based on their ability, not geography,” Hogan said.
Hogan was born in Windsor, Ont. and moved to Alberta in 2007 to begin a teaching career, first in High Prairie and now in Peace River.
He had originally only planned to spend a year or two in Alberta, but he and his wife fell in love with the province and decided to stay, he said.
