File Photo: Mike Allen (far left), Don Scott (second from left), Health Minister Fred Horne (far right) at the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre
Both Don Scott, MLA for Fort McMurray – Conklin, and Mike Allen, MLA for Fort McMurray – Wood Buffalo will seek the Progressive Conservative (PC) nomination for their respective riding.
The Alberta PC’s are currently fast tracking their candidate nominations and plan to have 35 candidates in place for Feb. 21, 2015.
A source told the Canadian Press that the plan is to have all candidates in place for mid-March.
By law the next election needs to be held in the Spring of 2016, but the move by the Tories has ramped up speculation that Albertans could be heading to the polls as soon as this spring.
“I’d say until the election is called it’s a rumour, it’s pure speculation, I can confirm that it’s not a discussion that the Premier [Jim Prentice] has had with caucus,” said Allen. “The nominations for Fort McMurray – Wood Buffalo have not been called yet, but at this point and time I am planning on maintaining and seeking the nomination of the riding,”
Allen is not sure if there will be a challenge to the nomination, but says that he’s open to it, and that it’s good for the democratic process.
Allen says he still has a number of things on the go. “We’ve had a very active term so far, everything from Highway 63 to accessing land for development. So we’re going to continue to focus on priorities such as health, focus on our new schools that need to get built and the infrastructure to link everything.”
The nomination for Fort McMurray – Wood Buffalo has to be done in 2015, the association has to form a nomination committee then apply to the party to find an appropriate nomination date.
The Fort McMurray – Conklin PC association has called theirs for Feb. 21, 2015.
“The nomination process is going to begin shortly, and I’ve indicated that I am going to be running again, I want to continue the positive work that we’ve been able to achieve for the prrovince and I’m looking forward to continuing that work,” said Scott. “I’m still very focused on the economy, I’m having a lot of meetings that relate to the economy, my entire focus is on the economy.”
Scott met with representatives from Suncor last week to discuss what the oil company is experiencing on the business end, and said that talks were “sobering”.
MLA’s will return for the spring session of the legislature on Mar. 10, 2015, the session is scheduled to run for ten weeks, ending on Jun. 4, 2015.
