The Premier of Alberta spoke to members of the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday ahead of a yet-to-be called byelection.
The Chamber hosted the premier for a keynote speech and question period on Wednesday.
“We opened it up to the crowed, knowing what some of the people want to say and how they want to say it from their own heart — that is how advocacy really works,” said Cyndi Crane, CEO of the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce.
Those in attendance were able to engage directly with the premier and Lethbridge-West UCP candidate and current city councillor, John Middleton-Hope.
“I can get up there and I can talk about the long list of policies that we’re going after, but when you actually have the boots on the ground, the person dealing with the situation, getting up and being able to use their voice, there’s a special power to that,” said Crane.
For the Chamber of Commerce, several recent interactions with the government, including the Team Lethbridge trip to the Legislature, have yielded positive results.
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“Their ears are open and when we talk about mid-size cities and being able to run test pilot areas and things like that, they listen because they know, OK, we could go in, we could test that out and we could get our data.”
For the United Conservative Party, this event offered a chance to campaign for the looming byelection.
“One of the most important things for the citizens of Lethbridge is to have strong, effective advocacy,” said Middleton-Hope. “That’s what I intend to bring to the table when I’m elected in Lethbridge-West. I think it’s critical that our citizens have those types of voices in the Legislature.”
Smith hopes to call the byelection soon, but feels time is running out.
“As I’ve said before, I’m actually quite surprised that the leader of the official Opposition has shown no interest in seeking a seat in the Legislature,” said Smith. “I understand he didn’t want to run in Lethbridge-West, but he had 37 other seats and it’s normally convention, when somebody becomes leader, that one of their colleagues steps aside for them so that they can get into the Legislature.
“So, I was genuinely waiting to see if anyone would do that. They have a few more days to be able to make that decision, and if they do, we’ll call them both at the same time.”
Meanwhile, the NDP candidate for Lethbridge-West, Rob Miyashiro, says his party is ready to get the byelection underway.
“While we welcome Premier Danielle Smith in Lethbridge, and are glad she had a chance to campaign with John Middleton-Hope, we are ready, and continue to call on the Premier to call this by-election in Lethbridge-West right now,” said Miyashiro in a statement to Global News.
The election must be called no later than Jan. 1, 2025, per Elections Alberta.
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