WESTLOCK – It appears that even Alberta Premier Danielle Smith knows how awesome the annual Westlock and District Agricultural Society parade is and will be taking part.
Smith will join Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken aboard a float in the Aug. 18 ‘rural life’ themed parade that kicks off the 107th-annual three-day fair, then will spend the next few hours meeting with municipal politicians from across the constituency at the Canadian Tractor Museum. She’ll finish her stay with a tour of that facility mid-afternoon, then head to another event in Whitecourt.
In an Aug. 12 interview, van Dijken said that throughout the summer Smith has been touring the province and asked him when she could not only visit the constituency but have a roundtable with area politicians. van Dijken said they’ve invited and have confirmations of attendance from municipal reps from Swan Hills to St. Paul and all points in between.
“This is probably the biggest fair within the constituency and it just worked out for her schedule. So far, we have a little over 40 elected representatives attending and the only ones who aren’t able to make it are from Big Lakes County, so it looks like we have a good group coming. It’s essentially for them to have an opportunity to have some one-on-one time and a quick Q&A with the premier,” said van Dijken.
van Dijken said the central location of Westlock played a factor in getting so many reps to attend in the middle of the summer.
“Westlock is central within the constituency and I really think that’s a good part of why we’ve been able to attract so many representatives. I was surprised at how good the participation we are getting from right across the constituency,” he added.
