Voters outside polling station on Friday (Derek Brade/CHATNewsToday)

By Tiffany Goodwein

Federal Election 2021: Local candidates vying for votes one week from Election Day

Sep 13, 2021 | 11:20 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB- With the Federal Election a week away, local candidates have been busy on the campaign trail.

“It’s busy. I mean we are running on all cylinders right now but it is going really well,” said PPC candidate Brodie Heidinger.

And despite the pandemic, some locals have been taking note.

“I’m starting to. I lost a lot of interest federally and provincially the last couple of years but slowly the news is starting to be more interesting,” one person said.

Conservative Party of Canada candidate Glen Motz says he is overwhelmingly hearing a dissatisfaction with the current prime minister.

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“Canadians are tired of it. They are tired of the facade, they see through the facade, and they are demanding change,” Motz said.

When it comes to key issues, for some voters in the city, fairness to western provinces is one of them.

“As we know things haven’t gone our way for some time. So yeah I think it is time for a change,” one man said.

The Maverick Party hopes to take advantage of some of those votes. Geoff Shoesmith is the local candidate, and he says the pledge to stand up for western interests is what drew him to the party,

“Just feeling abandoned by the Conservative Party of Canada. I’m a lifelong Conservative voter and with the leadership, and basically, Erin O’Toole rolling on everything from the carbon tax to resource quarters, everything that is meaningful to western Canada,” he said.

The Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner riding has been known to be a Conservative Party stronghold. In this election, there is no local candidate for the Liberal Party or NDP. Hannah Wilson is running for the Liberals from Calgary, while Jocelyn Stenger is running for the NDP from Edmonton. Diandra Bruised Head is the Green Party candidate; she lives on the Blood Reserve in the riding.

Still, Motz doesn’t exactly think he is a shoo-in just yet.

“We work like we are in last place. We approach everything like we are in last place, and we are working hard to earn the trust of the constituents,” Motz said.

But with two other parties also carrying conservative values, there is a concern about vote splitting. But some local candidates aren’t entirely concerned.

“What we are telling people is, the Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner riding is very Conservative. Mr. Motz has won the last two elections with 79.4 and 79.6 per cent of the vote. So even if we take that 80 per cent approximately and divide it by three, there is no chance for a Liberal, an NDP, or the Green Party to come up through the middle,” Heidinger said.

“It will be a conservative vote in this riding. It is just what conservative voice we want to send to Ottawa,” Heidinger added.

Election day is Sept. 20.