By Canadian Press

Next Conservative party leader best not take Alberta for granted: MPs

Aug 17, 2020 | 1:12 PM

OTTAWA — Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner is warning whomever her party elects as their new leader this weekend needs to be prepared with robust policy for the West.

Rempel Garner, an Alberta MP since 2011, says she doesn’t think western issues were debated enough during the leadership race, which wraps up this Sunday.

She says she hopes the winner will come to the table with more than just promises to axe the carbon tax or develop the oilsands, because it will shape people’s votes come the next federal election.

None of the four candidates hail from the West, a first in the party’s modern-day history.

All of them — Leslyn Lewis, Peter MacKay, Erin O’Toole and Derek Sloan — have made overtures to the region and secured some endorsements on those grounds.

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But Rempel Garner, as well as fellow Alberta MP Shannon Stubbs, have not endorsed anyone, saying it is up to individual members to decide who is best for the region.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2020.

The Canadian Press