Candidates in the Brooks-Medicine Hat byelection speak at a forum on education in this Nov. 2 file photo. Three of those candidates - UCP Leader and MLA Danielle Smith, New Democrat Gwendoline Dirk and Alberta Party Leader Barry Morishita - are on the ballot again and will take part in local forums next week.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
The eyes of Alberta will again be on Medicine Hat next week as UCP leader Danielle Smith takes part in her first unscripted event of her re-election campaign as premier.
A televised debate from Edmonton next week will put her side-by-side with Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley, but days before that happens, United Conservative Leader Danielle Smith will face local competition on the forum stage in the Brooks-Medicine Hat riding on May 16 and 17.
It will also provide Alberta Party Leader and local candidate Barry Morishita a chance to debate Smith head-to-head after his party was left out of the televised debate format.
Smith’s campaign, hampered this week by the ongoing state of emergency, has been full of platform announcements.
It began with a promise of lowered personal tax rates, money for public safety and women’s shelters and a scathing criticism of net-zero electricity timelines supported by the New Democrats.
It began May 1 with media outlets complaining about a lack of press availability from Smith on the re-election campaign trail.
Her local campaign manager Michaela Frey confirmed to the News that Smith would be part of local forums, and said the UCP leader is looking forward to engaging with constituents.
“Of course she’s had to divide her time, but we’ve been meeting with her often, and our volunteers have made sure we have a strong presence in the community,” said Frey, who won the seat in 2019 before retiring last fall.
“She’s very much a part of the (local) campaign, even though she’s focused on these devastating fires up north.”
The Medicine Hat Chamber of Commerce will host Brooks-Medicine Hat candidates on May 17 – the eve of the provincial debate – and after a May 16 Chamber forum in Brooks.
The three top finishers in the byelection, Smith, New Democrat Gwendoline Dirk and Morishita, are the only announced candidates in the current general election.
“Heath care is the dominant issue still, trust, for sure, and affordability,” said Morishita, a former mayor of Brooks who finished third when Smith won the seat last fall. “It hasn’t changed much since November, but a light has been shone on some of the ways the UCP in particular are going about it. We can’t spend our way out of these problems. We need better solutions.”
The Palliser Friends of Medicare was set to host candidates on Wednesday night.
Dirk’s campaign told the News they had not received final confirmation from the chamber about next week’s event and would withhold comment.
Forum questions are developed by the chamber and typically focus on economics or business, but also expand out to social issues and services.
Smith and NDP Leader Rachel Notley will debate May 17 in Edmonton is a televised debate, the same night the local chamber will host candidates in the Cypress-Medicine Hat riding.
The leader’s debate rules exclude parties that did not have a seat in the legislature when the writ was issued, like the Alberta Party as well as several parties begun this year to push harder for provincial autonomy, lowering environmental ambitions and taxes, or outright separating from Canada.
“I understand the rules to a degree,” said Morishita on Wednesday. “It’s disappointing to not be involved in a debate that allows some ideas to be exchanged, but it is what it is.
“It has a dual purpose in that we get to sit and debate a premier. There are provincial issues that resonate locally. It’s a chance to put our platform against theirs.”
The ballots in the May 29 election will be finalized after the official nomination period ends Thursday at 2 p.m.
As of Wednesday afternoon, only two candidates appeared registered on the Alberta Elections Website – Smith and Dirk in Brooks-Medicine Hat and Cathy Hogg (NDP) and Justin Wright (UCP) in Cypress-Medicine Hat.
Morishita told the News his paperwork was turned in and accepted on Wednesday afternoon.
