LAKELAND – The official results of a United Conservative Party (UCP) nomination race that closed its polls in the Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul riding on Dec. 12, took 11 days to confirm what is likely the party’s closest nomination race to date.
The result of the nomination vote will see former UCP MLA Scott Cyr as the area’s candidate for the upcoming 2023 spring election, beating current UCP MLA David Hanson by just one vote.
The first count of the ballots suggested Cyr usurped Hanson by two votes but after an appeal, a recount and a second look at ballots deemed spoiled by the election scrutineer and a returning officer – then by the provincial UCP board – the win went to Cyr by the smallest margin possible.
“It’s a part of politics,” Hanson told Lakeland This Week following the final ballot review. “I think that was a record for the closest nomination race ever so, of course it's a little surprising.”
Hanson was first elected as the MLA for the Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hill riding in 2015, and was re-elected in 2019 in the Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul riding. He has been serving Lakeland constituents for almost eight years, also helping cover the Lac La Biche area prior to the 2022 by-election that saw Brian Jean named as the MLA for Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche constituency.
Until a new representative for the riding has been elected through the next provincial general election, which is scheduled to take place on May 29, 2023, Hanson will remain the riding’s MLA.
“In the next four months, I have some pretty significant assignments from the new Premier [Danielle Smith] and I will do my best to fulfill as many of those as I can,” said Hanson, who was appointed to the role of Parliamentary Secretary for Procurement Transformation by Smith on Oct. 24, 2022.
“Nomination aside, it was a privilege to serve two terms. Less than 1,000 people in Alberta history have had that privilege and I was really happy to be part of it,” said Hanson.
While serving as the area’s MLA, Hanson acknowledged the last two-and-a-half years were marked by some of the greatest challenges seen in Alberta over the last 50 years.
“No doubt, it was tough for everyone, [the pandemic] was very divisive in our communities. Trying to find a balance when you couldn’t please anyone – it was a very tough two years,” he said.
“In the midst of all that, we had a new leader for the party that didn't see eye-to-eye with a lot of membership and a lot of the MLAs... We ended up going through a leadership review and leadership race and it’s been one thing after another. It has been a heck of a time to be involved in politics.”
With a new party leader at the helm and unity at the forefront for the UCP party, Hanson intends to take some time for himself and his family following the end of his term. However, he won’t rule out what the future of politics may hold down the line.
“We've had a very grueling eight years, it's been non-stop between campaigning, leadership races and reviews, party unity, and all that stuff,” Hanson acknowledged. “It's been pretty exhausting. A very exciting time to be involved in politics and I am very glad to have that opportunity to represent our area for that time, but I think for 2023 I’ll probably be taking it a little easy.”
Hanson said he will use the next year to slow down and spend time with his five granddaughters – “that’s number one.”
In his eight years serving as an area MLA, he said some of his greatest accomplishments have been getting large-scale school projects off the ground, referring to Two Hills Mennonite School and Bonnyville Centralized High School, as well as the opening of the dialysis unit in Lac La Biche County.
Hanson was the 888th MLA to be elected to the Legislative Assembly in the Province of Alberta.
Cyr reflects on close win
First elected to represent the Bonnyville-Cold Lake riding in 2015, Cyr will return to the provincial ballot in May under the UCP banner.
Reflecting on his extremely small margin victory, Cyr said, “A lot of people don't believe that they can influence elections. You can see that just one single family could have influenced this election... When people say that democracy is dead in Canada, specifically in Alberta, I would challenge that and say that this nomination is proof that it is working and it's working well.”
Cyr acknowledged that the results were both “a nail-biter" and turned out to be a much longer process than anyone, including fellow candidate Greg Sawchuk, Hanson or the UCP board, had anticipated.
“In the end, I think we can take comfort that the party handled it professionally and I just want to make sure that the people in the region know that the party is always making sure that their voices are heard, and we don't take their votes or their support for granted,” he said.
Cyr looks forward to working with the riding’s constituents, as well as Sawchuk and Hanson, to ensure that the party can show Albertans that they are ready to continue governing the province.
“I believe that I was a strong voice from 2015 to 2018. I'm bringing experience and I'm bringing a real strength to the UCP bench if I am chosen by the local region for being the next MLA,” he said.
Cyr says he will be prioritizing inflation and healthcare in the northeast region, if he is elected this spring.
“We haven't seen any real growth in our region when it comes to our healthcare system,” he said. “The next thing would be to make sure that people are feeling represented equally and fairly when it comes to our healthcare across the province.”
Cyr, who was the last candidate to enter the nomination race, attributes his success to the team of volunteers who helped him campaign for the election and the work he did during his last term in legislative office.
“It shows that I did accomplish a lot in my time as the MLA, and people remember that. And I hope that I can bring those accomplishments back to the 2023 year if I can convince the Lakeland, Bonnyville-Cold Lake- St. Paul, that I am the best person to move forward going into the next four years,” he said.
“When we all work together, we are all successful. And that's the one thing that I can bring to the table is collaboration.”
The certified results from the riding’s nomination recount show that Cyr received 314 votes, while Hanson garnered 313.
A total of 723 UCP members of about 1,500 eligible voters participated in the vote from Dec. 10-12
