A total of five candidates have now stepped forward to represent the new Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock riding in Alberta’s 30 general election, which will be held Tuesday, April 16.
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.
Representing the United Conservative Party (UCP) is Glenn van Dijken, who has represented the Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock riding for the past four years.
Though he started with the Wildrose Party, he was among those who supported the merger of the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties in 2017.
Former Town of Smoky Lake Coun. Therese Taschuk has also entered the fray on behalf of the NDP, hoping to fill the space left by NDP MLA Colin Piquette.
Piquette won the 2015 election in the Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater riding, but decided last month not to run again.
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 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 beforehand 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. 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.
In Barrhead, the advanced poll, as well as the election day polling station, will be at the Barrhead Senior Drop-In Centre. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Barrhead area voters will also have a chance to question the candidates on Wednesday, April 3 at an all-candidates forum at the Charles Godberson Rotary Room at the Barrhead Agrena starting at 7 p.m.
New boundaries
This election will mark Barrhead’s first as part of the new Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock riding.
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.
Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland too is another new riding, having consolidated most of Whitecourt-Ste. Anne with parts of three other constituencies.
The current agriculture and forestry minister Oneil Carlier is running for the NDP in Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland, 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.
