The Alberta Wide Rally, a peaceful protest against the NDP carbon tax held at 12 locations last Saturday, reported a province-wide turnout upwards of 9,000 Albertans.
According to a press release issued by the grassroots movement, between 7,000 to 8,000 signatures on the anti-carbon tax petition were also collected.
“Overall, the Alberta Wide Rally was a tremendous success story,” said managing rally organizer, Todd Beasley. “Our next steps are to organize petition committees in every hamlet, village, town and city in the province.”
Banff-Cochrane Conservative MP Blake Richards attended the McDougall Centre Calgary rally location, speaking about the “double damage” that is on the horizon with the Trudeau’s promise of an even larger federal carbon tax if provinces don’t cut emissions.
“I was really encouraged by the turnout,” said Richards, adding that people driving by were honking and cheering in support, some pulling over to participate in the rally.
Richards reiterated that the federal carbon tax plan would result in an average increase of $2,500/year for the average family and the plan makes “unfounded claims that it would help the environment” but would only serve to “put Canada at a major disadvantage with our competitors” and “hurt the economy”.
He said in addition to raising heating costs and an average increase of 11.5 cents per litre at the pump, the cost of nearly everything would increase due to rising transportation costs that would inevitably be put back to the consumer.
According to Alberta Wide Rally’s press release: “Our collective mission is to secure a minimum of 500,000 signatures on the petition to send a compelling message to the Alberta government that they have a moral responsibility to take this serious matter to the people for a fair vote.”
Many supporters of the Unite the Right movement were reported to have been in attendance at the rally, as an increasing number of conservatives seek to unite the Wildrose and PC parties under the umbrella of a single, unified conservative party.
Cochrane Coun. Morgan Nagel, who attended the PC Party leadership convention held in Red Deer last weekend, said the unite the right movement is picking up steam.
“Last weekend, I felt a whole different type of energy – and a huge energy behind the unite the right team,” said Nagle, a long-term Jason Kenney supporter, who is the favourite horse to win the PC leadership race next spring.
Nagel said there is plenty of work to be done and he is encouraging anyone interested in providing grassroots-level support to propel the Unite the Right movement forward to get in touch with himself or Owen Neal, captain of the Banff-Cochrane Alberta Can’t Wait chapter at albertacantwait.com.
