Voters in the Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche riding will head to the polls on March 15 to elect a new MLA for the vacant provincial seat.
The official announcement was released late on February 15 by Premier Jason Kenney on the last possible day of a six-month allowable window defined in the Municipal Government Act to call for a by-election. The seat has been empty since last August when UCP MLA Laila Goodridge vacated the seat after being appointed as a new federal Conservative Member of Parliament.
Kenney made the by-election announcement during an unrelated news conference on Tuesday, stating that dealing with the recent COVID-19 wave was a top priority over delving into a political race.
"We were not going to call a by-election in the midst of the Omicron wave. We wanted to, as much as possible, defer discretionary political activities like that until we got well past the Omicron peak," Kenney said.
However, the Premier did confirm that a writ required to call the election was submitted prior to the announcement which was confirmed by Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer, Glen Resler.
“Appointments have been made for the returning officer and election clerk in Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche and they are ready to conduct voting in the electoral division,” said Resler.
Currently, four candidates are vying for the seat. Many have already been unofficially touring the riding for several weeks.
Jean
Former Wildrose Leader Brian Jean is the current UCP candidate. The Fort McMurray resident who has also been the region’s federal Member of Parliament, has made it very public that his long-term plan is to challenge Kenney for the leadership of the provincial UCP. In recent social media comments, Jean has said that if he is elected as the area’s MLA, he will likely challenge Kenney at the party's upcoming leadership review, scheduled for April 9 in Red Deer.
Jean’s campaign office has been contacted for comment. An update on the story will be made to include Jean’s comments.
Mancini
NDP candidate Ariana Mancini is also in the race.
She hopes to bring some stability to the province, the government — and to Alberta families.
“Folks in our constituency have had enough of the drama and the infighting in the UCP,” Mancini said. “We need a government that is focused on families and businesses here in our community.”
A teacher in Fort McMurray, Mancini says the promise of future growth in the community comes from necessities that the current government has neglected.
“As a teacher, I get to know a lot of families and I watch their kids grow up and begin their lives and careers as young adults,” Mancini said. “It’s incredibly important to me that families in our community continue to have the education, the healthcare and the economic opportunity that we all value, and that’s why I’m running.”
She says that Kenney’s UCP government has “badly damaged” much of what Albertans value. In her campaigns first public comment, she also took the opening shot towards the Brian Jean camp.
“Thanks to Brian Jean, Jason Kenney and the UCP, every one of us is paying more income tax, more property tax, more school fees, more tuition, more interest on student debt, more for utilities and more for insurance.”
Hinman
While this is Mancini’s first run for a provincial political seat, another candidate in the mix for the Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche provincial seat is two-time MLA and current Wildrose Independence Party Leader Paul Hinman. In a recent visit to the area, Hinman called this election “the most important ever” for the riding.
Burns, Deheer
Also on the ticket for the by-election is Alberta Advantage Party President, Marilyn Burns.
Lac La Biche’s Brian Deheer, a long-serving Green Party supporter who has run under the party’s environment-first banner in several provincial and federal elections is also expected to be on the Elections Alberta candidate list before the closing of nominations on February 25.
Advance polls will take place from March 8 to 12, leading up to election day on March 15.
While the unofficial results of the vote will be available within hours of the polls closing, the official results of the by-election are expected to be legislated on March 25.
*With files from Rob McKinley
