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Cochranites join the province at the polls April 16: local candidates Guthrie and Durrell teams excited

The writ has been dropped and by this time next month, Albertans will have elected the government to run the provincial ship through to 2023.
Government of Alberta.
Government of Alberta.

The writ has been dropped and by this time next month, Albertans will have elected the government to run the provincial ship through to 2023.

Premier Rachel Notley delivered the news at the National Music Centre in downtown Calgary on Tuesday morning (today, March 19) that the election will be held Tuesday, April 16.

This followed her Monday throne speech introducing Bill 1 – the Act to Protect Public Health Care.

The Airdrie-Cochrane riding, a brand new riding, has three confirmed candidates: Steve Durrell for the NDP, Peter Guthrie for the UCP and Matthew Morrisey for the Freedom Conservative Party.

Notley's speech kicking off the election season centered on "fighting for good jobs, strong hospitals, good schools and an economy that works for all Albertans" as well as economic diversification and pipelines.

The Premier called out Official Opposition leader Jason Kenney of the UCP for recent concerns surrounding the leadership race that saw him beat out former Wildroser Brian Jean to lead the new conservatives.

The RCMP are involved in the "kamikaze candidate" investigation, looking to directly tie Kenney to the mounting evidence that $60,000 was allegedly funnelled to fund the UCP campaign of Jeff Callaway to derail Jean's leadership vie.

Janice Harrington, UCP executive director, maintains Kenney had no knowledge of any ongoings, reiterating that communication among candidates during a leadership race is normal.

"This revelation confirms what we have been saying repeatedly for months - that the Jason Kenney campaign had nothing to do with the funding of the Jeff Callaway campaign.

This came on the heels of recent UCP announcements committed to pay cuts for elected officials; rolling back minimum wage to $13/hour for youth to aid small businesses; attracting 10,000 new immigrants to the province to boost the economy; reiteration of killing the carbon tax and supporting the energy sector by lifting red tape and loosening regulation.

As social media posts in the hours that followed already revealed candidates putting up the first campaign signs, local front runners Guthrie and Durrell are excited to get started.

"Make no mistake this election is about reigniting our economy and getting Albertans into good paying jobs," said Guthrie, who hosted a breakfast event at the Cochrane Legion on Saturday – dishing out the goods on why the province would be better served by a conservative government than an NDP one with "record debt" and "bloated bureaucracy."

Guthrie's event was hosted by ally, retired Calgary Flames announcer Roger Millions. Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills UCP MLA Nathan Cooper also delivered a few words to the full house.

Durrell is excited to get his campaign underway.

"We've had a great time at the doors talking to people and hearing about how important protecting healthcare and education is, as well as infrastructure projects like the 1A/22 interchange," said Durrell, a married father of three who grew up in Cochrane but currently lives in Strathmore.

"I'm running with Rachel Notley because she is the only one who will protect those services and projects."

Cochranites can expect to see both camps knocking on doors over the next four weeks leading up to the election.

The most recent Ipsos-Reid polls indicate the UCP is leading at 53 per cent of voter certainty, compared to 35 per cent (NDP), and the Liberal Party and Alberta Party combined at seven per cent.

The Freedom Conservative Party is the newly-formed libertarian/conservative party led by Derek Fildebrandt.

The former outspoken and often contentious Wildroser was once speculated to be a potential front runner for the conservatives but fell out with Kenney and the UCP early on in their formation.

The Alberta Party was close to confirming a candidate last month, but that candidate withdrew before they could be confirmed.

There is also no Liberal candidate for this riding.

Visit electionsalberta.ca to learn more about voter registration.

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