There’s less than a month left until members of the Alberta Liberal party pick their next leader.
And one of the two candidates running hails from the Peace Country.
42-year-old Kerry Cundal, an immigration lawyer based in the Calgary area, was originally from the Fort St. John area, and also lived for a time in Grande Prairie.
Kerry Cundal addresses the Grande Prairie Rotary Club during a campaign stop there a week ago. (Photo/Kerry Cundal for ALP)
“I have lots of good memories on the Mighty Peace,” said Cundal. “I still have lots of family and friends living in the region on both sides of the Alberta-B.C. border.”
She also recently took a trip home to campaign up in the Grande Prairie area.
Cundal says one big issue residents wanted to talk about was jobs and the economy.
“Fort St. John was known as the natural gas area, and Peace River is endowed with natural resources as well,” she said. “And so, the downturn has impacted (the province) up in the north as well.”
Another issue Cundal heard about was concerns about rural health-care delivery.
“Recently, there was concern about EMS Ambulance services,” she said. “When you’re up there, and somebody is need of health care or treatment, especially on an emergency basis, we need the resources and the support to get to the hospital, whether in Grande Prairie or even in Edmonton.”
Cundal says if elected leader, she hopes to discuss ways to find sensible solutions to the problems currently facing the province.
“What most people are telling me is that they’re looking for honest, hardworking leaders,” she said. “They want to see practical, common-sense solutions, while at the same time, still be compassionate to others. And with respect to the NDP, we know we need fiscal responsibility and management, and most people don’t want to see more deficit spending.
“We also know that over 60 percent of Albertans don’t support what the NDP is doing with the carbon tax,” she continued. “This is another area I can see the party distinguishing themselves on.”
Cundal’s first foray into politics was in 2015, when she ran as the Federal Liberal candidate in the Calgary-Signal Hill constituency, but lost to former provincial Tory finance minister Ron Liepert. She did manage to finish with 30 percent of the vote, more than double the support the party received there in 2011.
Unite the Centre
Cundal has also declared her support for efforts to unite the centre.
“We see an incumbent NDP government on the left right now,” said Cundal. “Then we see a unite-the-right movement with Jason Kenney and Brian Jean, and then nothing in the middle. And most Albertans aren’t left or right, but right in the middle.”
She says there’s currently lots of room for growth for a centrist option in 2019.
“I’m directly reaching out to people who left the Progressive Conservatives because they don’t support Jason Kenney,” said Cundal. “I’m also reaching out to members of the Alberta Party, and also people who have never been involved in a political party.”
Cundal says if you end up in a two-party system, you only have to look south of the border to see that nothing gets done.
“We need people who can make evidence-based decisions,” she said. “They need to be not hyper-partisan, and know who elected them and who they are responsible to.”
Cundal is asking anyone interested who hasn’t purchased a membership to do so soon, as membership cut-off is on Monday, May 15, 2017.
Mail-in ballots will then be cast from May 27 to June 3, with the winner to be announced on June 4.
– Posted by BET
