Poilievre promises ‘strong voice’ for west in Stampede speech

Politicians of all stripes visited the Calgary Stampede this weekend as a way to connect with voters. Jordan Kanygin reports.

Pierre Poilievre white-hatted himself at the Calgary Stampede Saturday, looking every bit the rural Alberta MP he hopes to soon become.

The Conservative Party leader, who lost his Ottawa seat in the most recent federal election, is running in an Aug. 18 byelection in central Alberta’s Battle River-Crowfoot riding.

On Saturday at the Stampede, Poilievre sang the praises of former Conservative MP Damien Kurek, who resigned after winning an overwhelming majority in Battle River-Crowfoot in order for the party leader to get back into the House of Commons as a sitting MP.

Poilievre was relaxed and animated Saturday, reminiscing about his youth growing up in Calgary, where he walked the family dog in Fish Creek Park, delivered the Calgary Sun newspaper and visited Heritage Park.

‘Fight for oil and gas’

Poilievre said he stood for a strong voice for Western Canada in the House of Commons, in particular for Alberta.

“We’ll fight for oil and gas, for farmers, for low taxes, for decentralization, a stronger military and a smaller federal government so that we can have a bigger Alberta,” he said.

“If elected in Battle River-Crowfoot, I’ll use the platform of leader of the opposition to amplify the legitimate demands of Western Canada,” he added.

“The era of Ottawa telling Alberta to pay up and shut up must end,” he said.

Carney was also in Calgary for the Stampede on Friday and Saturday, attending events, flipping pancakes, sampling fudge and chatting up Stampede visitors on the midway.

NDP interim leader Don Davies also attended Stampede on Sunday, with Ontario premier Doug Ford scheduled to visit Monday, when he’s expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with Alberta premier Danielle Smith concerning building new energy and interprovincial trade infrastructure.