He wanted to wait until after the candidates were official, but Grande Prairie – Wapiti MLA Wayne Drysdale has officially endorsed Doug Schweitzer for leadership of the United Conservative Party. The longtime Progressive Conservative member says his principles and values align with his own.
“The leader and the next premier of this province needs to be a young dynamic that understands the millenials to move the province forward in a positive manner and to lower taxes, make us more competitive, do away with some regulations so it’s easier to do business.”
Schweitzer is a lawyer based out of Calgary, but he has family in the Peace region. He calls himself fiscally conservative and socially moderate, something that resonates with Drysdale.
“We need the economy to drive the province, but we need a strong economy to pay for the social programs; you can’t have one without the other and you can’t govern from extremes. You need a balance between the economy and the social programs.”
Drysdale also compliments Schweitzer for avoiding negative campaigning so far, instead promoting his own platform. He’ll be up against former Wildrose leader Brian Jean, former PC leader Jason Kenney, and former Wildrose president Jeff Callaway.
Schweitzer admits he came into the race unknown to most Albertans, but feels he’s quickly gaining traction. He says getting Drysdale’s endorsement is a major boost.
“I’ve travelled a lot of the province and I’ve met a lot of elected officials, and the way Wayne conducts himself and engages in his community, I just think he’s one of the top MLAs that we have in our legislature right now.”
“I think our message is connecting with Albertans and people are starting to get excited about our campaign,” he adds.
Candidates had until 5 p.m. Tuesday to filed their documents and pay the necessary fees to the new party. Jean and Kenney say they have paid the full $95,000, while Schweitzer’s and Callaway’s campaigns have each submitted a $57,500 deposit.
UCP members will choose the party’s first leader through a preferential ballot vote on October 28th. Grande Prairie – Smoky MLA Todd Loewen has already given Jean his endorsement.