North Alberta's local Members of Parliament will be returning to Ottawa as members of the Official Opposition, with the Liberal Party of Canada being projected to form a minority government.
MPs Arnold Viersen and Shannon Stubbs are no strangers to the position, both having been elected to their ridings in 2015, and will face another term trying to implement change and have the voices of their constituents heard from the sidelines.
Before the election, Viersen spoke heavily about the importance of forming a Conservative government, pointing to the previous three terms of Liberal government and calling the country broken.
“After nine years of the Liberals being in power the country is broke, and we need to make a change,” said Viersen in an April 9 interview.
The jury is still out on whether or not Carney will be the change Viersen is looking to see in the country, but the Peace River – Westlock MP said bail reform, fixing the budget, and axing the carbon tax were all things he wanted to happen.
“It wasn’t always like this. There was a significant change in 2017 when the Liberals brought in Bill C-75, and that’s when the door got flung open on the whole bail system,” he said.
Viersen committed to representing the areas key industries, including forestry and agriculture as American tariffs continue to impact constituents.
“We’ve got to ensure that we work on a level playing field — Conservatives are supportive of no tariffs and we’ll pursue that agenda.”
As of 9 p.m. Monday, the Liberals are projected to win 159 seats, 13 short of the 172 needed to form a majority government. The Conservatives are projected to land in the low 140s, and the Bloc Quebecois is set for a third place finish with 24 seats. The New Democratic Party is projected to win 10 ridings.
Viersen sits at 76.6 per cent of the vote with 60 voting stations counted, and Stubbs sits at 80 per cent with five stations counted.
