With the nomination deadline of Jan. 16 looming for the Wildrose Party’s Banff-Cochrane riding, local candidate Scott Wagner appears to be the only candidate in the running so far.
Despite the waves that rippled through the Wildrose Party only weeks ago — when former party leader Danielle Smith shocked the party by crossing the floor to the PCs, along with eight other Wildrose MLAs — Wagner said he is looking forward to the challenge of working for the people and earning back the trust of the constituency.
The Wildrose Party remains the official opposition party.
“Prentice has made a whole lot of campaign promises and now he wants to raise taxes,” said Wagner. “Albertans need a fiscally responsible government.”
Balanced budgets will be at the top of Wagner’s campaign, as will integrity and fighting for the Alberta tax advantage, referring to the PC government as one of the ‘largest bureaucracies in Canada’ and a clear example of ‘government mismanagement’.
Wagner, a husband and father of two, resides south of Hwy 1, along Hwy 22.
A retired businessman with strong rural roots, Wagner has a passion for providing a voice for landowners who often go unheard, as well as for working with youth.
He was heavily involved with the ‘Don’t Dam Springbank’ movement, which drew a lot of controversy from Bragg Creek and Redwood Meadows residents — who maintain that building a SR1 Dam downstream of their communities does absolutely nothing to help the prevalent flooding issues in these communities.
The alternative to build a dam at McLean Creek was not chosen — something that Wagner finds very frustrating for area residents, who continue to be left with little flood mitigation and prevention solutions.
Wagner said he has long enjoyed working with younger generations, and was an active recruiter of passionate youth over the duration of his business career.
“We’re a very young province and we need to get young people engaged.”
He also mentioned addressing Cochrane and area infrastructure (roads) issues — and getting the Hwy 1A and Hwy 22 intersection issue back on the books, as well as environmental concerns in areas such Ghost-Waiparous and McLean Creek, remarking that a balance needs to be struck between environmental preservation and recreational users.
With respect to newly-elected interim leader Heather Forsyth, Wagner said there was a strong energy in the room when the Wildrose executive, candidates and caucus met for an all-day session at the Sheridan Hotel in northeast Calgary Jan. 10.
“Heather Forsyth started the day with a great message that ‘there is work to be done and we need to move forward’,” he said, adding that it will be up to the remaining party members to show Albertans that actions speak louder than words.
