Federal NDP candidate for Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner, Jocelyn Johnson, a Hat native, says her top priority as MP would be to build trust.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner’s New Democratic Party candidate says that, above all, she hopes to be a representative that will earn and keep her constituents’ trust.
Jocelyn Johnson previously ran as the federal NDP candidate in the 2021 election, and is seeking the seat again for many of the same reasons.
“This is a strange election during a strange time,” said Johnson. “But it’s one that a lot of people are paying attention to. I think, right now, what people want is a builder. They want real strong leadership, and strong leadership, in their mind, is building, not dividing.”
Johnson was born in Oyen and raised in Medicine Hat. Currently working in communications with the Canadian Union of Public Employees and previously having worked as the Alberta Representative at the Canadian Labour Congress, Johnson says she hopes to be a strong voice not just for the city, but for all of the communities that call the riding home.
She stressed the idea that what needs to happen is for the government to listen to municipalities as they are the most familiar with the needs of their residents, and what the federal government can do to bring the province to the table on vital topics.
“The No. 1 thing I actually hear about is health care. Especially recently, there’s been some closures of clinics,” said Johnson.
While delivery of services such as health care and education is more in the “provincial lane,” she says the federal government can and should ensure a strong and predictable funding model and make meaningful investments to help facilitate said services reaching Canadians where they need them most, to both attract and retain people living in the area.
Johnson challenged the idea of fiscal conservatism, saying she has observed conservative governments make investments that “don’t pay dividends,” and that the party spends just as much money as other governments.
She says New Democrats are always searching for where their investments will have the most impact and best return, even if that return may be a decade down the road.
Johnson added she is a New Democrat not just for the fact that the party is “not willing to leave anybody behind in society,” but also for its ability to invest in local economies and, historically, balance budgets.
“Sometimes we need to make it possible for a large corporation to settle in a community and to build and to create jobs. That is often an appropriate use of public dollars, but also where we need to invest is in people and their livelihoods,” said Johnson. “When people are struggling to make ends meet, because the cost of living is becoming too difficult to manage, they’re not putting their kids in as many sports or coaching their local team. They aren’t investing back into their community in the ways that really affect quality of life.”
Johnson says she’s well known not to be a shrinking violet, and that residents can expect her to ensure they are paid attention to as their member of parliament.
“I’m a pretty strong voice in whatever room I’m in and that would certainly be something that I would bring to Ottawa when I made trips to parliament on behalf of this community,” said Johnson. “I punch above my weight and above our weight in terms of our size to make sure we’re heard.”
