Image from JocelynStengerNDP/Facebook

By Chris Brown

Grew up in Medicine Hat, now in Edmonton

NDP candidate says other parties catching up to what her party has been pushing

Sep 2, 2021 | 5:11 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner NDP candidate says she’s pleased with what she’s seen at the national level in the first half of the campaign.

“I’m really happy to see that all of the leaders are talking about working people and the cost of living and things like that because it’s something New Democrats have been talking about for a very long time,” says Jocelyn Stenger. “It’s nice to see the other parties catching up to the fact that workers and working people are at the heart of the economy.”

She says the country needs to look at the role of workers and our communities and integrate them, adding “we can’t separate the health of communities and the economy, they’re not separate.”

She’s pleased to also see the role of government in people’s lives, child care, employment insurance and retraining workers being talked about in the campaign.

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Closer to home, Stenger says the region should lean into its strengths such as agriculture and agrifood.

“We do have a young, educated and growing workforce locally that needs to be able to have things to look forward to when they’re finished their education or if they’re entering into a trade and so we have to make sure those jobs are there,” she says.

Stenger was born in Oyen and grew up in Medicine Hat before leaving for university and her career took her to Edmonton.

She has a network of family and friends helping

She adds she’ll travel here to campaign herself as much as possible until election day.

And if she’s successful? She says she’d move in a heartbeat.

“The same night or the same morning I would be packing my bags, absolutely,” she says. “That’s my home, that’s where my heart is. I love Medicine Hat, I’m excited about how much it’s growing and I really want more families to be able to establish there and have a legacy there.”

NDP candidate Elizabeth Thomson finished second in the 2019 election with 8.7 per cent of the vote.

Election day is Sept. 20.