Red Deer-North MLA and Education Minister Adriana LaGrange has fended off a challenge from an anti-vaccine mandate activist for the UCP nomination.
It was reported that about 500 UCP members voted — about a 50 per cent turnout — with LaGrande taking 57.7 per cent of the votes, 290 votes to Andrew Clews’s 212.
“I’m grateful to all members who came to vote,” said LaGrange in a statement. “It was a hard fought nomination and i would like to thank my opponent for putting his name forward in the spirit of public service.
“I’m looking ahead to ensure we beat the NDP next year and keep Red Deer blue. I’m focused on getting the hospital expansion built.
“Additionally, I’m focused on issues such as affordability, supporting our business owners and farmers, and standing up to Ottawa. “
Clews, 33, is co-founder of Hold The Line, a group that opposed mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and helped support those who lost their jobs or whose jobs were at risk because of their resistance to vaccination.
He said he decided to seek the nomination after speaking with many in the community who are not happy with the job LaGrange has been doing and her perceived lack of response to their concerns.
He believes the UCP should be uniting around conservative values and by that measure LaGrange fell short by not speaking out against her government’s vaccine mandates.