New Democrat Leader Rachel Notley speaks to about 300 supporters at a downtown Medicine Hat election rally on Thursday. Brooks-Medicine Hat party candidate Gwendoline Dirk is seen rear centre.-- News Photo Collin Gallant
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Alberta New Democrat Leader Rachael Notley spent less time on a well-polished set of attacks on her main rival at a campaign stop Thursday in a riding where United Conservative Leader Danielle Smith is the incumbent candidate.
But for 25 minutes Notley outlined her party’s platform in opposition to what she called uncertainty and infighting from the UCP under Smith.
She stayed very close to main party campaign lines of a need to stabilize health care and education. She also boosted her goal of economic stability and continued an open appeal to progressive-minded conservatives to choose her party and potentially to put it over the top in a tight race for seats provincewide.
“No one is entitled to a person’s vote just because of a party’s colours,” she told a crowd of 300 supporters in a downtown restaurant.
“In this election I urge you to ask your friends and neighbours to vote on the values we share; the stable, sensible, moderate values that are reflected in our (NDP) party,” she said.
“It’s super radical, I know,” she added over top of loud applause, later adding, “You have a chance to stop Danielle Smith right here by sending Gwendoline Dirk to the legislature.”
It was Notley’s first appearance in Medicine Hat of the four-week election campaign.
She appeared with local candidates Cathy Hogg (Cypress-Medicine Hat), and Dirk (Brooks-Medicine Hat), while Smith appeared last week for a rally, campaigning and debates.
Fresh off announcing the party’s potential legislative priorities and heading into the final weekend of the election, Notley also pumped up an NDP promise to eliminate the tax rate on small businesses and farms earning less than $500,000 and support for industrial growth in southeast Alberta.
The UCP have hammered on the NDP’s record in government from 2015-2019 as an “economic disaster” and said a promised increase in the general corporate tax rate would cause investment to dry up.
Notley said large investors want a stable economic program to build on, support to reduce emissions in the oil and gas sector, while her party’s goal is to build a broader economy, specifically in petrochemical production, hydrogen and renewables,.
“This will not be the forgotten corner – it will be an economic hub that will drive growth across southern Alberta,” she told the crowd. “Medicine Hat has been hard hit by the boom-bust cycle. Let’s all get off that rollercoaster together. Let’s build an economy together that is strong and growing.”
Local candidates introduced Notley.
“This election is about who we trust with education and to rebuild our schools,” said Hogg, a rancher and school board trustee, in opening remarks. “I can tell you it’s not Danielle Smith.”
“I’m running to hire teachers and educational assistants in a government run by Rachel Notley.”
Dirk, a former college instructor, said in her mind, the NDP platform wins on all counts.
“You can count on a government to focus on what matters to you: growing our economy, fixing our health care; lowering the cost of living and – this is important to me – building new schools here in Medicine Hat,” said Dirk.
Later, Notley told the crowd her party would be committing new capital school spending in Medicine Hat, including an elementary school in the Hamptons and to continue an approved plan to modernize St. Mary’s Junior High, but also replace, as opposed to the proposed closure of, St. Francis Elementary School.
Advance voting continues today at special stations listed on the Elections Alberta website. The general election takes place Monday.
