Todd Loewen says a lot of Albertans who were “frustrated with the direction of the government” was what convinced him to run for the UCP leadership.
The MLA for Central Peace-Notley says he’s heard a lot from people while campaigning about concerns on the province’s relationship with the federal government.
“We talk tough and we send strongly worded letters, but we don’t actually do anything. Albertans I know are talking now that they want to see some action. A lot of people think that we use things like our own pension plan and collecting our own income tax and employment insurance and those things as leverage with the federal government, but we don’t use and actually do any of those things, then they’re just all talk.”
Loewen says other concerns he’s heard from people are around health care in rural areas and trust in government and leadership.
On the point about trust, Loewen says if he’s successful in the leadership race, one of the first things he’ll do is “start doing what we say.”
“We’ve seen governments in the past, particularly the last leadership in the province, that talk a lot about things and kick the can down the road. Have blue ribbon panels, have committees sent across Alberta to talk to Albertans, I think that’s one of the biggest things that we can do to build trust within government is when we talk about something and we discuss it, we have to have action at the end of it. That’s what’s been lacking and that’s what will help build trust.”
You can hear our full interview with Loewen below.
– Kyle Moore, Trending 55 Newsroom
