The Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo PC Association has given a cautious welcome to Guy Boutilier, and this is a surprise to some especially considering the controversy that has recently surrounded the politician concerning his eligibility to hold the council seat that he was elected to. Party members of the association have said that Boutilier will be a welcome addition but only if the politician has eliminated his previous support for Wildrose tendencies. Boutilier purchased a membership in the association on Saturday, mere hours after he tendered his resignation to the council and announced that he was resigning from his council seat. According to PC association board member and past president Jeffrey Cromwell “There will always be awkwardness when a new member comes in with a controversial past, but time will tell what his motivations are. If Guy Boutilier is true to the values and beliefs of the PC association, and has left the Wildrose ideology behind him, then I don’t have any problems.”

Many view the Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo PC Association membership purchase by Guy Boutilier with suspicion. Board member Cromwell said “I will say that anyone who does plan to run or even join our party, they should have the best interests of the party and the community at heart.” Steve Auty stated “To me, this is such a unique situation I’m not sure where things will go, but I hope it is for the best,. The big challenge for us is getting through the near future together. We’ve seen low oil prices before and lots of people are talking about ghost towns. This isn’t looking like a ghost town to me, and it’s a great time to build our infrastructure and not drop the ball.”