By Olivia Thorington

Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner

Meet the Candidate – Elizabeth Thomson (NDP)

Sep 18, 2019 | 5:34 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Elizabeth Thomson says she wants voters to know there is another option if they are frustrated with the current direction of government.

Thomson is running for the federal NDP in the Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner riding in the federal election.

“There’s lots of progressive people in Medicine Hat, and there are lots of people that are frustrated with the constant back and forth, Conservative government, Liberal government, and the ndp are the third way, and we are the ones that are running for the people,” she said.

While Thomson is a first time candidate, she is not a newcomer to politics. She is currently the local constituency association president for the provincial NDP.

She says jobs and the economy are the biggest issues this election.

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“Everyone’s very concerned about jobs, that was the headline of the entire provincial election, and I think that’s continue into the federal election,” Thomson said. “Jobs are obviously important. People need jobs, but we don’t necessarily need to be continuing down the exact same path we’ve continually done to pursue those jobs.”

She adds, “I think we need to definitely look at diversifying our economy, because there are jobs to be had in a more diverse economy. I think we just need to be realistic about our future.”

At present, Thomson is running against Glen Motz (Conservative Party of Canada), Andrew Nelson (People’s Party of Canada) and Shannon Hawthorne (Green Party of Canada).

Thomson says she knows it’s an uphill battle in the riding, which has historically been a safe Conservative seat. At present, she is the ideal candidate for centrist voters.

“For this federal election, we have a candidate for the Conservative Party and a party for the People’s Party. So you’ve already got the right divide that’s happening, which led to in the provincial election in 2015, us having a NDP MLA,” she said. “So, we’ve got a divide of conservative voters, and were also facing the fact that there is no Liberal party. So anyone who is more centre, I am the more centre candidate. The Conservatives have positioned themselves as a very right wing party. As an NDP, but an NDP in Alberta, I am more centre than perhaps my colleagues in other provinces might be.”

Thomson can be reached by email at Elizabeth.Thomson@ndp.ca.