Alberta Independence Party candidate Bob Blayone poses for a photo in Redcliff on Oct. 19, 2022.-- News file photo
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An Independence Party of Alberta official who ran in Medicine Hat last fall will seek a seat in Camrose during the expected provincial election.
Bob Blayone entered the Brooks-Medicine Hat byelection to promote the party and challenge Premier Danielle Smith on issues such as climate change and the government’s and medical establishment’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ahead of a general election expected in May, Blayone has told the News he is seeking the party’s nomination to run in the central Alberta riding currently held by United Conservative MLA Jackie Lovely.
Blayone, who lives in the Peace River region, is the party’s vice president in charge of memberships.
There is no immediate schedule on the party’s website to select candidates for either Brooks-Medicine Hat or Cypress-Medicine Hat ridings, but Blayone said the process is underway.
In Medicine Hat last fall, the party only gained about 2 per cent of the vote in the November byelection. UCP Leader Smith won a majority of the vote share and collected about twice the number of ballots than her closest competitor.