Conservative Party candidate Glen Motz speaks to supporters at a public campaign event on April 3, 2025. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

By Eli J. Ridder

CANADA'S CHOICE 2025

Conservative support up over affordability issue, Motz says

Apr 4, 2025 | 3:08 AM

Conservative candidate and incumbent MP Glen Motz says support for his 2025 campaign is higher than in his three previous campaigns as the issue of affordability continues to dominate the federal election.

“I can tell you that, even months before the campaign even began, we had people calling my office and just saying, ‘hey, when the campaign starts, we want to help,’” Motz said.

“We’ve had probably more volunteers so far total than we had in ’19 and ’21 combined. And we have more people than we have jobs for them to do.”

Mark Carney, who won the Liberal leadership race to replace Justin Trudeau, triggered a federal election on March 23.

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Conservative leader Pierre Poilevre, his main competitor, aims to upend a decade of Liberal rule and bring in a fresh government.

As he goes door-to-door across the huge Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner riding, Motz said he’s heard voters echo Poilevre.

“I’m thrilled with the response at the doors. We have a lot of people saying the same thing and they don’t trust the Liberals,” he said.

“They don’t want four more years of the same thing,” he added.

“They believe that four more years will absolutely finish off our country. And they don’t believe that Carney is best to deal with Trump. They don’t believe a lot of that.”

Motz was speaking from inside his campaign office Thursday evening, where supporters filtered in and out to dine on meat sandwiches, collect signs.

Dan Hein, a supporter who said he voted for Motz in all three previous elections and plans to do so again on April 28, argued the MP was frugal long before he was in politics.

“He’s very fundamentally wired to think about value, and tracking, and paying attention to the bottom line, and not letting things run away with themselves,” Hein said.

Dan Hein says he agrees with Conservative candidate Glen Motz’s values. Eli Ridder/CHAT News

“And that is very much what has happened in our country over the last decade.”

While he acknowledged his vote isn’t likely to influence the national outcome, Hein said it was still important to elect someone like Motz.

“We need forces in the game like Glen to arrest that downward spiral, put us back on a better footing,” he said.

The Canada388 poll aggregator has the Liberals winning a majority with 198 seats as of April 3. That’s a stunning turnaround from January when the Conservatives had a similar lead.

As he cut a cake for his supporters, Motz reiterated what he’s said before about the surveys.

“I’m very optimistic about our chances. I’m not a poll watcher like how my friends are, but I’m not discouraged by what I see in the polls at all,” he told supporters.

Federal Conservative candidate Glen Motz, who says there needs to be change in Ottawa, speaks to supporters at a campaign event on April 3, 2025. Eli J. Ridder/CHAT News

“We’ll be in good shape across the country. It’s not going to be easy but I believe that the Canadian public are seeing through the inconsistencies…of the other leaders.”

Many supporters at Thursday’s campaign event were motivated to vote Conservative because of what they see as unfair treatment towards Alberta from Ottawa.

One of Motz’s MP predecessors, Lavar Payne, is part of a group pushing for a referendum on Alberta separation and independence from Canada.

Motz would not say he was for or against the question of putting independence on a ballot but questioned the amount of Medicine Hat-area support there is.

“I have received a significant amount of pushback from the former MP and the position he’s taken. And I won’t get into some of those comments,” he said.

Motz is one of at least five candidates running for the southeast Alberta riding.

Edmonton-based Jocelyn Johnson has returned to run for the New Democrats and former Medicine Hat school board trustee Tom Rooke has been tapped by the Liberals.

Andy Shadrack is representing the Green Party largely from British Columbia and Medicine Hat resident Jordan Harris has taken up the purple banner of the People’s Party of Canada.