MLA Rebecca Schulz visited Medicine Hat this week after announcing her leadership bid / Photo: CHAT News

By Meghan Cobb

UCP leadership candidate Rebecca Schulz visits Medicine Hat

Jun 17, 2022 | 5:49 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The latest candidate to enter the race for the UCP’s top job was in Medicine Hat this week garnering support and speaking with residents.

Rebecca Schulz, the MLA for Calgary Shaw, formally entered the race on Tuesday in Calgary. Schulz resigned from her position as minister of children’s services before announcing her bid.

Schulz says a change of tone is needed from the next leader of the party, who should be a leader not only for the next election, but for the next generation of conservatives.

“They want to see some humility, they want to see their voices heard,” says Schulz. “Albertans feel like we’ve gotten a little bit off track. Some feel like we’ve been a little bit arrogant, or out of touch or entitled and I want them to know that we’ve heard them.”

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The official platform is still to come, but Schulz says she has heard from Albertans that the economy needs to continue to be a focus for the next leader and government.

“Economic growth is what makes sure people have jobs and enables us to invest in things like healthcare and education, you know, services that people do in fact rely on,” says Schulz. “So that is my focus while still respecting the different views that people bring to the table.”

Schulz held two community events Thursday night to speak with people in Medicine Hat, followed by a stop at the Root Cellar and door knocking on Friday. She was joined Medicine-Hat MLA Michaela Frey who described Schulz as dynamic, hard working and not one to back away from a hard conversation.

“The priorities that I hear from my constituents are affordability,” says Frey. “We see inflation taking off, we know that people are having a harder and harder time paying their bills. We really need to figure out the cost of living and how we as a government can mitigate some of those impacts.”

“People want to see a shift in tone,” add Schulz. “They want to know that their opinions and their views are being heard. I think that’s maybe some valid criticism but largely it’s not always the decisions that government has made that have people frustrated. It’s how the decisions are being made and how they are communicated.”