Conservative candidate Chris Warkentin is running for re-election at Grande Prairie-Mackenzie

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Chris Warkentin is running as a Conservative Party candidate for Grande Prairie-Mackenzie for the sixth time.

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This time, he hopes the Conservative Party can use what he says is Canada’s discontent with a pandemic election to displace the Liberal Party in government.

“I think the general theme has been for Canadians to recognize that Justin Trudeau called this election only for his own personal and partisan reasons,” Warkentin said, “there was no other reason than his desire to have a majority government.”

According to Warkentin, the Conservative Party of Canada (CCP) has a series of proposals that will help the people of Grande Prairie.

“First, we need a government that recognizes the importance of Alberta’s energy sector,” Warkentin said.

Warkentin believes that liberals are working to phase out Canada’s energy sector at the same time that other energy-producing countries are expanding into different markets.

“I believe that a federal government, led by a conservative team, would proudly go around the world to sell the energy that we produce here in the province of Alberta,” Warkentin said.

Warkentin also says that the CPC will work to find new markets for products produced in the La Paz Region, such as forest and agricultural products, through international trade agreements.

“I was proud to be part of a government that was aggressive in signing trade agreements and expanding our reach around the world,” Warkentin said, “we recognized that we couldn’t just depend on the US market.”

Warkentin believes that a CPC government would work hard to promote Canadian products as “premium products” in other countries in order to obtain a higher price.

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“I think the world will pay more than the prices we get today in the markets we sell,” Warkentin said, “The only way we can do that is if we expand our market reach and ensure the world understands that the products we produce they are a premium product. “

However, Warkentin believes that the economy will be the main focus of his party should they form a government.

“We have to have a government that focuses first and foremost on the economy and rebuilding the economy. We have to have a government that is not going to just continue to print money at an unlimited rate, ”Warkentin said.

When asked about how the CCP plans to differentiate itself from the other two right-wing political options for conservative voters, Warkentin says that the Conservative Party is the only party that can replace Justin Trudeau’s government.

“I don’t think anybody expects the other parties to create government, obviously the Maverick Party doesn’t put up enough candidates to have the possibility of that,” Warkentin said.

“The choice for Peace Country residents is whether they want Justin Trudeau in the prime minister’s office or whether they want to replace his government with a conservative government,” Warkentin said.

When asked if the proliferation of new right-wing parties is as much an indictment against his party as the Liberal Party, Warkentin said the message he is hearing is a desire for liberals to step down from office.

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“When I hear about other parties at the door, what I hear is a concern of splitting the vote, resulting in more liberals being elected,” Warkentin said, “and that’s unpleasant to the vast majority of people who ‘am talking “.

Warkentin also said that his reasons for running this time are different than in previous elections, this time he says the election is more personal for him.

When Warkentin first ran for office, he was a small business owner, concerned about federal policy affecting businesses. He is now a concerned father concerned about his children’s future financial prospects.

“I think our best years may be ahead of us, but we have to change course, and I think we have to change governments to make those changes,” Warkentin said.

Federal Election Day is Monday, September 20. Candidates for Grande Prairie-Mackenzie are Chris Warkentin (CPC), Dan Campbell (Liberal), Ambrose Ralph (Maverick Party), Jennifer Villebrun (NDP), Shawn McLean (PPC) and Donovan Eckstrom (Rhino Party).