Premier in city to campaign with Middleton-Hope
By Lethbridge Herald on October 21, 2024.
Lethbridge West UCP candidate John Middleton-Hope and Premier Danielle Smith campaign on a snowy Monday evening on the city’s westside.
Herald photo by Al BeeberAl Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
Premier Danielle Smith and Lethbridge East MLA Nathan Neudorf joined West Lethbridge UCP candidate John Middleton-Hope for some campaigning in the snow on Monday.
The premier and Neudorf, along with throngs of volunteers, joined Middleton-Hope as he walked through neighbourhoods drumming up support for his candidacy in an as-yet-to-be announced byelection.
Smith said at Heritage Pointe Park that a byelection has to be called within six months of a candidate stepping down so the Lethbridge West election has be called by Jan. 1.
The premier said she is waiting for a member of the NDP caucus to step down so its new leader Naheed Nenshi can seek election, adding “in the interests of taxpayers it would be nice to have both of those byelections at the same time. He has a few more weeks to see if one of his MLAs will step up and make way for him so that he can be in the legislature. And if that doesn’t happen, we’ll call the byelection,” the premier added.
Smith said Nenshi has an obligation to get elected to debate policy and the fact there is no open NDP seat yet for him suggests to her that he either doesn’t want to get into the legislature, which means he doesn’t take his job seriously, or he has a caucus that doesn’t want to move aside for him.
“We are happy to call an election if they can find someone who will step down for him,” said the premier adding “it’s a lot easier to have two byelections at once rather than do this one and then in a couple of months do another one. If he wants to get into the legislature, now’s the time to do it.”
In response to a question about the comprehensive care agreement with the Alberta Medical Association, Smith said “we’re very close to getting to the finish line on that but we have told the doctors because we’re seeing our doctors’ budget increase beyond inflation plus population each year, to invest in primary care we need to find savings within the doctors’ budget envelope and so those conversations are ongoing,” said Smith.
“Our intention was always to bring in the new funding model in April of 2025 so there’s some time for us to continue those discussions and we’re really hopeful that we’ll be able to have a great model that will attract more primary care practitioners to our province,” the premier added.
Smith said the party is “delighted” to have Middleton-Hope as a candidate.
“We, of course, know that law and order and public safety is an increasing concern and to have a candidate with on-the-ground experience running a police force “is going to give a lot of insight to our decision making at the caucus table. And in addition to the work that he’s done as a city councillor, he knows what the needs of the community are and that will elevate those so we can talk about it at the table,” said Smith, who also called Neudorf – the UCP’s Minister of Affordability and Utilities – a strong voice for Lethbridge.
Middleton-Hope said the big issues among constituents that his campaign has heard include healthcare, infrastructure “to a certain extent” and education.
“We’ve met with both of the school boards, we know what their issues are. The government has made a number of announcements here in regards to accelerator funding which is going to be very helpful. The City needs to be working with the school boards to ensure that we’re well prepared when we have an opportunity to apply for additional grants for our students, our teachers, our educational assistants and our parents which are all part of the equation and it’s a very very important equation for us,” said Middleton-Hope.
He said many residents are concerned about healthcare but his campaign has been telling people at their doors the situation that presently exists didn’t occur overnight.
“Healthcare has been a challenge for a number of decades. The Conservative government has worked diligently with our municipality, with our municipal leaders and so forth to ensure that we’re getting the doctors that we need. We’ve had 61 doctors come down here in the last two years, 27 in primary care, we have a total of 252 doctors in the city and that includes specialists as well.
“So we’re working hard to ensure that our citizens have access to primary health care all across the board,” he added.
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Lethbridge West needs John Middleton-Hope not Rob Miyashiro and no “Hope”!