Red Deer-Mountain View MP Earl Dreeshen wants to run for a fourth time as a Conservative candidate in the 2019 federal election.
Dreeshen announced on Monday he will again seek the Conservative nomination for this riding, saying, “It’s a great honour to serve and represent the people of Red Deer – Mountain View.”
The former teacher and farmer, who first became Red Deer MP in 2008, was returned to office with a resounding endorsement from the electorate in 2015. And Dreeshen believes he’s upheld the public’s trust by working hard on behalf of Central Albertans.
He wants to keep fighting the carbon tax the federal Liberals are imposing with help from Alberta’s New Democrats, calling it “a Draconian tax grab.”
He also wants to change the tide now flowing against Alberta’s pipelines because of shifting federal regulations, and vows to battle against the Liberals’ “arrogance and sense of entitlement.”
Dreeshen believes he’s made a positive difference by sitting on the Agriculture Committee that removed the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly and improved farmers’ competitiveness. He also introduced legislation that eventually strengthened the Criminal Code of Canada by increasing prison times.
New Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer appointed Dreeshen to the International Trade Committee to lead the party’s dealings on NAFTA and various trade files. “Canada, and especially Alberta, are faced with great uncertainly due to the trade mismanagement and continued failures of the Trudeau Liberal government,” said Dreeshen, who wants a continued opportunity to take Conservative platforms to Ottawa.
The local Conservative association is expected to make a decision on who its candidate will be on Dec. 15. So far, no one else has announced they want to run for the nomination.