The Conservative Party of Canada announced this week that their representative that will be on the ballot in Battle River-Crowfoot in the next election, whenever that may be, will not be Pierre Poilievre, but former MP Damien Kurek.
Kurek is proud to have represented our constituency in Ottawa and is hopeful to do it once again. “I’m proud to be from East Central Alberta, proud to have represented this region in Parliament, and to have won three elections as a Conservative here. In the aftermath of last April’s election, my wife Danielle and I knew that we had to do something because we believed then and still believe now that Pierre Poilievre is the right guy to be Prime Minister. We knew we had to lead by example, so we did. We made that choice to step back, resign the seat, so that Pierre could run in a by-election. Pierre knocked it out of the park, spent a ton of time connecting with the people here in East Central Alberta, was successful in that by-election, and has continued sense to fight for that common-sense conservative vision that we so very much believe in. From the very beginning, I had told Pierre that I was offering to resign, but I wasn’t planning on retiring. I went from starting politics as a volunteer, to being a volunteer in politics again, helping Pierre out here locally. It’s certainly an honour to have that recognized by the Conservative Party, who has announced that I will be nominated to be the candidate here in Battle River Crowfoot in the next election. I look forward to being able to have my name on the ballot whenever that next general election is.”
Kurek believes that it is better that this announcement came out now as with a minority parliament in Ottawa; an election can be called at any time. “With a minority parliament, it is possible that it could happen, so one has to be prepared for that. I know locally, since I first started getting involved in politics here in Battle River Crowfoot, although it was just called Crowfoot at the time, it’s been about making sure that folks locally are represented and that politically we are ready to ensure that we have what it takes to be successful during a election. There’s an incredible team of volunteers, folks that are passionate about the Conservative Party. They helped here out during the by-election; they helped me out during the previous general elections. These are incredible people and we are ready for whenever (the next election) happens.”
It has not been announced where Pierre Poilievre will run, come the next election, but Kurek admits that there have been benefits on having the Leader of the Opposition as our Member of Parliament. We loved the ability to ensure that East Central Alberta was fought for in our nation’s capital, making sure that those common sense values that define who we are as rural Albertans, whether that’s Drumheller, Camrose, Three Hills, Stettler, Provost, Wainwright, whatever the case is, across these 56,000 square kilometers of East Central Alberta. What’s been really encouraging, and I saw this time and time again throughout the course of the by-election, being able to travel from small town to small town with Pierre and to connect with people, to bring that national focus that only a national leader can bring and see that could highlight what is so incredible here in East Central Alberta. It’s been neat to see that, and then in the months since the by-election, to continue talking with Pierre on a regular basis, to see that he is continuing to fight for those things that the folks here are so very passionate about. When it comes to ensuring that rural is represented, fighting for ag and energy and common sense, Pierre’s been doing that.”
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