The Foothills riding turned Tory blue on Monday night.
Newly elected MP John Barlow says the results from the federal election speak for themselves about the desire for strong local representation in Ottawa.
“I think this says a lot about the Foothills riding,” he said. “The entire campaign we were talking about strong local representation and I think that resonated quite loudly in this campaign that people wanted someone who was from here, someone who knew the issues, knew the community, and knew the people of Foothills.”
With 229 of 234 polling stations reporting Monday night, Barlow received 43,759 votes in the Foothills. Liberal candidate Tanya MacPherson was a distant second with 7,764 votes and NDP candidate Alison Thompson came in third with 3,688 votes. Green Party candidate Romy Tittel took fourth with 1,847 votes, Libertarian candidate Cory Morgan placed fifth with 400 votes and Christian Heritage Party candidate Marc Slingerland rounded out the pack with 332 votes. Voter turnout in the Foothills was 69 per cent.
While it will be different sitting on the opposition side of the House of Commons, Barlow said representing the Foothills will remain his top priority.
He said he ran a strong campaign, listening closely to issues important to Foothills voters.
“Our strength is grassroots, on the ground, knocking on doors, speaking to as many constituents as we can, and listening, which is important, and I think that was definitely evident here in Foothills,” he said.
He said it’s critical the Foothills riding has a representative with strong connections to the community, who understands what matters to its residents.
“The NDP and the Liberal candidates weren’t from Foothills, they didn’t live here,” he said. “I think that’s critical, you want someone who has some roots here, who has experienced what the residents of the Foothills has experienced, knows the issues.”
He said building the economy and supporting families remain key issues for Foothills voters.
“The second thing for residents here in Foothills is our focus on low taxes, supporting Canadian families, supporting small businesses, and our trade programs like the Trans Pacific Partnership, the South Korean trade agreement,” he said. “Those are huge for our agriculture industry in the Foothills and I’m hoping that the new government will continue and follow through on those agreements that we made.”
While it wasn’t the result MacPherson was hoping for, she was pleased with her campaign.
“I am sure we will have representation (from the Liberal party) in Alberta, so the Foothills will have strong representation,” she said.
MacPherson stressed the Liberals aren’t about to put the kybosh on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which is expected to benefit beef producers.
“We are not saying anything about the Trans-Pacific Partnership because we haven’t seen it,” she said. “We have to see what it says. We would make the TPP public and open debate in Parliament.
“If it is a good deal for Canada we want to sign it.”
She said she found Foothills residents welcoming when she went knocking door to door.
“People were very nice on the doors, there was only the occasional comment (about the former National Energy Program),” she said. “I found a lot of openness at the doors.”
She called the experience a huge learning curve and congratulated Barlow.
“I want to congratulate John and thank him for running,” she said. “I’m happy for him.”
Despite her third place finish, NDP candidate Alison Thompson said she wants to continue to represent the foothills.
“What you’re going to find is a lot of politicians go to the corners of the world,” she said. “I’ve been working on behalf of my riding in my professional life for 20 years. I’m going to be here for the next 20.”
Thompson said Canada is far behind other countries in environmental innovation and it’s time for a change.
“We did really good to introduce change in this election and I’m really looking forward to continuing that momentum,” she said.
