It’s official now.
UCP Leadership candidate Doug Schweitzer (centre) talks to two gentleman at a campaign stop in Peace River. (Photo/Peace River Broadcasting)
All three candidates running for the United Conservative Party (UCP) Leadership have made their way to the Peace Country.
This past weekend, it was Doug Schweitzer, who paid a visit to La Crete and Peace River on Friday, October 13, 2017, and to Grande Prairie the very next day.
The Trending 55 Newsroom caught up to him in Peace River. One thing he keeps hearing at the forums and on the doorstep is local investment, particularly in the Peace Country.
“It’s consistently coming up in smaller and medium size centres right across rural Alberta,” said Schweitzer. “People want to have more local decision-making authority, especially for health care and for infrastructure. They also include concerns around roads and bridges. All in all, they just want to make sure that their tax dollars are reinvested within each of those communities.”
The 38-year-old, being the youngest person in the race, also discussed what sets him apart from his better known opponents, Brian Jean and Jason Kenney.
“One major thing that I bring to the table is that I’ve got a lot of private sector experience,” he said. “I’m currently a partner at my law firm called Dentons Canada LLP, a big business law firm in Alberta, as well as internationally. So, again, what I bring here is a little bit of experience from the private sector side that my opponents simply don’t have.”
Schweitzer posing with Grande Prairie-Wapiti MLA Wayne Drysdale, who’s supporting him in this leadership contest. (Photo/Twitter)
During his talk with the assembled party members, he discussed how his parents used to own a home-building business back in the late 1970s to early 1980s, before the economic downturn of that time period forced them to shut it down, which also cost them their home.
While it did take many years to do so, Schweitzer said his parents worked tireless to recover in the face of punitive economic policies, like the National Energy Program.
One of the reasons he said he’s running is that he doesn’t want to see that situation happen to somebody else.
“I want to make sure that my daughters’ view this province as a place to get ahead, no matter where you come from,” he said. “They want to be confident about their futures here in the province, and they don’t want to see their friends leave just so they can find work elsewhere. It’s time that we regain the Alberta Advantage for all Albertans.”
During his speech, he also talked about his roots in the Peace Country.
“My grandparents came over and homesteaded in the area after World War One,” said Schweitzer. “While my dad moved away from the area early on in his adult life, I’ve still got aunts and uncles who still farm in the region, in areas ranging from Beaverlodge all the way to Slave Lake. When I was younger, I spent a lot of vacations visiting my relatives living in the Grande Prairie and Beaverlodge areas.”
Schweitzer says he has lots in common with his two opponents in terms of economic issues, mainly wanting to repeal the Alberta Carbon Tax if he should ever become premier, as well as giving tax breaks to businesses to help stimulate growth.
But on social issues, he’s more along the centre of the spectrum, adding that he supports Gay-Straight Alliances in schools, and supports increasing funding to existing Drug Treatment Courts in Calgary and Edmonton, and to expand them to other communities in order to help battle opioid addictions.
We also asked him if he’d still run for a seat in the legislature if he loses the leadership race.
“Of course,” Schweitzer said. “I’m in this for the long haul. I want this party to succeed, even if it means somebody other than me becoming leader. I truly believe that this party is the party of the future.”
– Posted by BET
