Danielle Smith confirms she will seek Brooks-Medicine Hat seat in byelection
Posted October 8, 2022 2:29 pm.
Last Updated October 9, 2022 9:40 am.
Alberta Premier-designate Danielle Smith has confirmed she will seek the seat of Brooks-Medicine Hat in a byelection.
The move was expected after Brooks-Medicine Hat legislature member Michaela Frey resigned her seat. Frey had signalled she did not intend to run in the 2023 provincial election.
“I think that there’s no better way to provide a spotlight to the region that deserves a spotlight like Brooks-Medicine Hat does; there’s no better way to provide that spotlight than having the premier-designate be elected as MLA,” Frey said this week.
Smith travelled to Medicine Hat on Saturday to meet with Frey’s board and the local campaign team.
Smith says she is running in a rural riding because she says those communities didn't have their voices heard during the pandemic.
— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) October 8, 2022
Smith says she wanted to run in a rural riding because she says those communities didn’t have their voices heard during the pandemic, and that rural issues need better representation at the highest level of government.
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Smith, who won the leadership of the United Conservative Party on Thursday, does not live in the Brooks-Medicine Hat area.
She addressed that Saturday, saying she is willing to travel a lot and has a good work ethic. She added issues in that area are the same as the constituency she lives in.
Smith lives in High River, just outside of Calgary. Pundits had wondered whether she would seek the vacant seat of Calgary-Elbow.
—With files from Courtney Theriault and The Canadian Press.
