Financial Advisor at Edward Jones Garth Rowswell has announced that he will be seeking a nomination to run as the United Conservative Party (UCP) candidate for Vermilion-Lloydminster.
The next provincial election will likely be in 2019 and Rowswell is throwing his hat in the ring for a nomination in the fall. Rowswell says he’s been involved in local constituency associations both at the federal and provincial level. He is currently in the finance industry and has been for the past 15 years, but before that he was part of the farm supply business.
Rowswell says he has always been interested in public policy and wants to see things change in the province.
“I disagree with what’s happening in the province and the country in some cases not all of it. Somethings that are bugging me so instead of sitting on the sidelines and complaining about it I decided to run and see if I could have an impact on the inside.”
Rowswell says he is not a fan of the carbon tax and would like to see the government’s role limited in the day to day lives of citizens. His goal if elected would be to reduce the amount of government regulations and hopes it will resonate with voters in Lloydminster.
The more pressing topics in the political landscape today include the Trans Mountain Pipeline. Rowswell says he admires Premier Notley for what she has said and done so far. He says that she is doing the right thing forcing Prime Minister Trudeau’s hand.
“There goal is to shut down the oil sands so it doesn’t matter what we do and I think it’s a federal regulated issue. It’s been approved, it should just go ahead.”
The UCP was formed in July 2017 merging the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative Party’s together into one. The party is currently the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly in Alberta. Their leader Jason Kenney was elected in December 2017 and Rowswell says that he has talked to Kenney about running for the Party.
“The only thing I’ve asked him if I was successful to get in is, I said I don’t want to be muzzled. I want to say what I want to say and I asked him can I say it and he says yes, but be intelligent about what you say and make sure you back it up with research.”
Rowswell says that Kenney wants to set nomination rules at a policy convention in May and after that he will seek a nomination.