BARRHEAD-WESTLOCK - It wasn't the result Arnold Viersen was hoping for.
Going into the election day, the 38-year-old Neerlandia native who won his fourth election, taking roughly 75 per cent of the vote for CPC in the Peace River-Westlock riding, projected that the result would be 159 to 153. He wasn't sure if the larger number would be for the Canadian Conservative Party (CPC) or the Liberal Party.
Unfortunately for Viersen and the CPC, the Liberals were on the top end.
Viersen called the election the most frustrating of his political career, which started when he was first elected to Parliament in 2015 to the newly formed Peace River-Westlock constituency.
"I want to thank the good people of Peace River-Westlock for electing me and sending me to Ottawa to represent northern Alberta once again. It is an honour and a privilege, and it's not something one ever gets used to," he said during his acceptance speech. "Despite the election results, we live in the best country in the world. We are richly blessed, and I look forward to contributing in my small way."
Viersen added that while he understood and shared the audience's disappointment of not achieving government, he said the conservatives and the CPC had much to be proud of.
"We spent nine years battling and got the carbon tax repealed," he said, adding when the CPC first decided to oppose the tax, it wasn't necessarily the most politically expedient decision.
Viesen added that CPC MPs debated at multiple caucus meetings whether or not the party should support putting a price on carbon.
"The Liberals [won the 2015 election] running on the carbon tax, and under the leadership of Rona Ambrose, we came out and opposed the carbon tax. At the time, it was [thought of as] backwards and un-Canadian. We got called many things, but I am pleased to have battled against the carbon tax so that even the Liberals have turned their back on it."
He added another concession CPC MPs won was on the energy file, specifically regarding the pipelines and energy corridors.
In the summer of 2018, the Justin Trudeau-led Liberal government purchased the Trans Mountain Pipeline at $4.5 billion to ensure its completion.
"[During the election campaign] Carney said he's in favour of those things too," Viersen said.
However, perhaps the most significant win, Viersen said, might be the Liberal's change of position on the lowering of inter-provincial trade barriers.
"We have been talking about it for years, and in [the Liberal's platform], they said by Canada Day, there would be free trade across the country," he said. "Not all is lost. Regardless of who the winner is tomorrow, Parliament will have a clear mandate to do the things we've been arguing for a very long time."
Afterwards, Viersen said he and his colleagues are also willing to work with the other parties in what looks like would be a minority government, suggesting the Bloc Quebecois Party would be the most likely partner to move Conservative Party agenda items forward.
"If they're willing to dance. We would be willing to give it a go. We've generally been more respectful than the Liberals about provincial jurisdictions, which they appreciate, so perhaps we could find things we could work on together that we both agree on."
He also added while he was sure there would be questions about the campaign from inside and outside the party, he said much of what happened during the campaign was beyond the party's control, specifically referring to the actions and subsequent reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump.
He also noted it would have been difficult to predict the complete collapse of the NDP vote starting in the weeks before the campaign.
"Before the election, if we were told we would get 40 percent of the vote, most conservatives would have been happy with it," Viersen said.
During his acceptance speech, Viersen also noted that his campaign attempted to help the Conservative campaign in the Terra Nova-The Peninsulas Newfoundland riding through financial donations.
He added that he helped campaign for about 10 ridings in Ontario and Edmonton, noting the CPC support was always in the 40 percent range.
"Next time, we should be looking for 50 per cent."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
