The dust has settled after Tuesday’s (May 5) historic provincial election with the electorate replacing a 44-year-old Progressive Conservative dynasty with a New Democrat majority government and local MLA-elect Cam Westhead says he is ready to represent the interests of the Bow Valley in Edmonton.
The 37-year-old registered nurse from Bragg Creek was a clear winner in the Banff-Cochrane riding with 43 per cent of the total vote, or 8,428 ballots cast for him out of 19,615.
“I entered this race with that in mind,” Westhead said. “I feel like one of the core goals and values of a registered nurse is to represent people and make sure they have the things they need to live and have the most opportunities available to them. That is what I do in my professional role and clinical role and I want to use those same skills to represent people of all political stripes in the riding; it doesn’t matter if you are PC, Wildrose or NDP.”
Incumbent PC MLA Ron Casey and Wildrose candidate Scott Wagner were just over 100 votes apart throughout the riding – Casey had 5,534 votes, 28.2 per cent, while Wagner had 5,653, or 28.8 per cent of the vote.
Voter turnout for the riding may have also broken records, with a 62 per cent turnout at the ballot box from Lake Louise, Banff, Canmore, the MD of Bighorn and Cochrane.
Westhead said the turnout shows people were paying attention to the election and the issues crossed a spectrum of demographics.
“I am very impressed with the voters of Banff-Cochrane for putting their trust in me and showing up to the polls in such great numbers,” he said. “I think it reflects Albertans’ values. We ran a campaign based on hope, optimism and fairness and I think Albertans see their values reflected in that.”
As a new MLA in a new majority government, the learning curve will be steep, but Westhead said he thinks it is important to work with local industry stakeholders and constituents collaboratively on issues. But there is one top issue for him and that is flood mitigation.
With his campaign supporters in Canmore, Casey said with the unfolding of the election campaign and polling numbers, including in this riding, he was not surprised at the results.
He also expressed concern for the effects that electing an NDP majority will have on the economy and disappointment in the leadership of Jim Prentice, who, after being defeated, resigned as both leader and the elected representative for his riding of Calgary-Foothills.
