Craig Copeland has joined the race for Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul MLA.
As mayor for the City of Cold Lake, Copeland feels he has the right experience for the job.
“I think I stack up as a candidate for people to look at. I’m the mayor of Cold Lake, if they think the city has been doing well under my leadership, then this is what I will be bringing to the table as an MLA,” he explained.
Copeland is running under the United Conservative Party (UCP), along with two other candidates: current Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills MLA David Hanson, and Glenn Spiess.
“This area needs someone with a lot of experience in terms of getting things done. I think I bring that to the table. I’m a fighter, and a strong advocate for the resource sector,” expressed Copeland. “We need a strong voice in caucus to try to fight for money, especially on the capital side.”
Should he be accepted as the UCP candidate, Copeland would be required to take a leave of absence from both his job and his position as mayor.
If he was named MLA, then a bi-election would be held to fill his seat on council, but according to Copeland, it would all be worth it.
He has been involved in municipal politics since 2004, when he became a councillor for the City of Cold Lake. For the past 11 years he has held his position as mayor.
Should he become the next MLA, Copeland plans on pushing to get more funding to the area.
“The vision I have is bringing forward this constituency… I’m a strong advocate that this side of the province hasn’t seen its fair share of tax dollars from the provincial government,” he stressed.
He believes more money should be spent on local hospitals and improving Hwy. 28.
“We haven’t seen the spending in terms of our highways. Hwy. 28 is still the same. There might be a few intersections that will be fixed, but we still have a huge issue on Hwy. 28, “ Copeland detailed.
He added, “Our hospitals do great work, but our buildings need some expansion and renovations, or even new buildings. We need a voice that can move some dollars into this constituency.”
Copeland has “always believed in Jason Kenny,” and what he stands for, and is glad to see there are other candidates running.
“It’s always good to have a choice.”
This will be the first election with the new Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul riding, after Elections Alberta decided to make some adjustments to constituencies across the province.
During the last election, Copeland ran against current MLA Scott Cyr, as a Conservative Party MLA for the Bonnyville-Cold Lake area.
The constituency has nearly doubled in population and includes Bonnyville, Cold Lake, St. Paul, Saddle Lake Cree Nation, the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range, Frog Lake, and sections of the County of St. Paul.
The size of the new riding doesn’t intimidate Copeland.
“This riding is big, but I won’t favour any communities. Everybody needs to work together to try to make it that much better of a place to live.”
