Alberta’s 30th general election will take place April 16 and five candidates have now stepped forward in the new Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock riding.
Premier Rachel Notley called the provincial election March 19, the day after the Throne Speech was delivered, giving candidates 28 days to spread their messages.
As of March 24, there are five candidates vying to represent the riding in the Legislature.
Glenn van Dijken won his first election for the Wildrose Party in 2015 in the Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock riding.
He now represents the United Conservative Party, which was formed by blending the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties in 2017.
Former Town of Smoky Lake Coun. Therese Taschuk has also entered the fray, hoping to fill the space left by NDP MLA Colin Piquette, who won the 2015 election in the Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater riding, but decided last month not to run.
R.F. Staples School principal Wayne Rufiange will fly the Alberta Party banner in the new riding after he was unable to secure a nomination in the new Morinville-St. Albert riding.
Rochester’s Buster Malcolm is running under the Alberta Independence Party, while Athabasca’s Brad Giroux, a maintenance manager for Syncrude in Fort McMurray, will also run as an independent candidate (see more in the print edition) after the Alberta Freedom Alliance was unable to achieve party status in time for the election.
Any Canadian citizen over the age of 18 and is a resident of Alberta is eligible to vote.
Voters are encouraged to register with Elections Alberta, but can register on the day they vote with a driver’s licence, or provincial identification card. If neither is available, voters can use any number of identification cards which can be found, along with a lot of other information at www.elections.ab.ca
Advance polls will be open April 9-13, but the locations are yet to be determined.
New to this election is the ability to vote in advance at any polling station in the province, which will be handy for travellers and post-secondary students hoping to participate in the democratic process in their home riding even though they are away.
New boundaries
The Electoral Boundaries Commission recommended consolidating four electoral districts into three in 2017, placing most of Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock and Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater, along with a piece of Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills, into the new district.
The commission had originally recommended naming the riding Athabasca-Barrhead, but it was decided that Westlock would remain in the name by the time the final report was released.
The riding stretches from the Big Lakes County line in the west, to Township Road 582 in the south.
St. Vincent marks the easternmost part of the riding, while Chisholm and Deep Creek lie at the northern boundary.
With the drawing of a new riding, one notable change is that the Hamlet of Busby is now separated from its former riding and included in the Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland riding.
It too is in another new riding, having consolidated most of Whitecourt-Ste. Anne with parts of Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock, Spruce Grove-St. Albert and Stony Plain.
Current agriculture and forestry minister Oneil Carlier is running for the NDP, while Shane Getson is representing the UCP. The Alberta Party’s hopes rely on Donald McCargar, while independent candidate Gordon McMillan has also let his name stand.
