Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley says Fort McMurray finally received the attention it deserved when her government took power, after years of being ignored by conservative governments.
“We’re pleased with the work that we have done, listening to the people of this community, partnering with them,” Notley said in response to a reporter’s question at an event in the northern Alberta city on Wednesday.
“It’s not about who they vote for. It’s about making sure that Fort McMurray finally gets the attention that it deserves from its provincial government.”
Notley was in Fort McMurray to make two announcements: the building of a secondary route out of the city, aimed at giving residents another escape route if the city has to evacuate, as happened during the wildfires of 2016; and an expansion of the Alberta High Load Corridor, a series of roads and bridges that can handle the transport of heavy equipment by truck.
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Notley said her government went ahead with projects that were ignored by the governing Progressive Conservatives, even while the region boomed a decade ago. That includes upgrades to the hospital and construction of the oft-delayed Willow Square Continuing Care Centre.
Noltey said her push for oil refining and upgrading within Alberta will benefit Fort McMurray by making the oilsands less vulnerable to changes in world oil prices.
But it isn’t clear whether these announcements will pay off at the ballot box next month. While Notley campaigned in the city, shoppers at the downtown Walmart had mixed opinions about the NDP leader’s record as premier.
Rwamu Rwangombwa says Rachel Notley has done her best to get oil moving by pipeline. (Sam Martin/CBC )
Rwamu Rwangombwa, who works at Syncrude, has made up his mind. He plans to vote NDP.
“I think she’s doing a great job,” he said of Notley. “She stands up for jobs in Alberta. Especially with trying to get oil moving.”
“She’s done her best. I wouldn’t say she’s done enough. I’m quite sure there’s always room for improvement.”
Jeannie Lundrigan wouldn’t say who she is voting for was clear it won’t be for the NDP.
She said Notley needed to do a better job sticking up for Fort McMurray and doubted she will win another term in office.
“Most of our economy, Alberta’s economy, depends on Fort McMurray,” Lundrigan said. “Depends on the oil. And yet, we’re getting nowhere,”
“Nobody cares. There’s layoff after layoff. Nobody’s trying to fight for anything.”
When told about Notley’s comments that she has been fighting for pipelines, Lundrigan laughed.
“Really, Rachel? Really?” she asked.
Election rematch
Lundrigan’s response demonstrates the uphill battle the NDP faces in Fort McMurray, which has been battered by both the downturn in oil prices and the devastation wrought by the 2016 fires.
The area is represented by two UCP MLAs who are both running for re-election: Tany Yao in Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo and Laila Goodridge in Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche.
Public school trustee Stephen Drover is in a rematch of the 2015 race in Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo. The NDP candidate is again running against incumbent Tany Yao, who is the candidate for the United Conservative Party. (Sam Martin/CBC )
This election is a rematch of past races.
Yao was elected under the Wildrose banner in 2015. NDP candidate Stephen Drover placed second, following a campaign that included early morning runs to the bus stops around Fort McMurray, where people wait for the Diversified coaches to take them to oilsands sites north of the city.
Drover, a trustee with Fort McMurray Public Schools, is running again against Yao, who is now a candidate for the UCP, which formed following a merger of the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties in 2017.
Asked how he gets the message out to the electorate, Drover said he has to go to where they live and work. People in Fort McMurray work long days, so they won’t come to your campaign office, he said.
“How does a mouse eat an elephant? One bite at a time. And for me, it’s one door at a time,” he said.
“Just sitting down and saying, we built five schools in the last four years. We got the aging-in-place facility put in place. We got so much renovations with our hospital. This government is very good to Fort McMurray.”
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Goodridge of the UCP won last summer’s byelection with 67 per cent of the vote in the old riding of Fort McMurray-Conklin. Her main opponent was the NDP’s Jane Stroud, a member of council for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.
Stroud is running again in the expanded riding, which now includes Lac La Biche, a three-hour drive south from Fort McMurray.
Wood Buffalo Coun. Jane Stroud is the NDP candidate in Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo. (Sam Martin/CBC )
If re-elected, the NDP has said it would add passing lanes to the main route to Anzac, Conklin and Lac La Biche along secondary highway 881.
Stroud said those changes will mean a lot to residents of the area.
“Passing lanes to me is extremely important because I’ve been on that highway,” she said. “I’ve seen large trucks not be able to make the incline of the hill and then you have traffic backed up for two miles because they shut down (Highway) 63.”
Mark Grinder (Alberta Independence Party), Jeffrey Fafard (Alberta Party) and Brian Deheer (Green Party of Alberta) will also be on the ballot in Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche.
Marcus Erlandson (Alberta Party) and Michael Keller (Alberta Independence Party) are also running in Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo.
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