The NDP has their candidate for the Livingstone-Macleod Riding, and it's not the usual candidate they normally run here.
M.D. of Ranchland Reeve Cam Gardner has tossed his hat into the ring for the governing party.
He says his primary focus will be on agriculture.
"Been ranching my whole life. I'm a fourth generation, going on fifth generation (rancher). I want to lead agriculture into the next generation. And I'm also a champion of small town communities. I realize you need neighbours. We may live an hour apart, but in rural Alberta we're all neighbours."
He says the NDP has done a great job of protecting the environment, particularly in Southern Alberta's back country, and it's work he's very passionate about continuing.
"I'd like to continue being the Southern Alberta Land Use Policy advocate, for protecting our back country and the three and a half million acres of prime farmland this riding consists of."
Gardner says issues like climate change, and declining market shares for our agricultural products are at the core of his campaign.
"I don't think the way to address those issues is to ignore them. I'd like to hit those issues head on. This government appears to be prepared to do that with the carbon tax. And part of my plan is to allow a framework so farmers can pull CO2 out of the air, and get paid to stick it in the ground."
Unlike many other farmers and ranchers, Gardner points to Bill 6 as a good piece of legislation, but says how it was first rolled out didn't help it's reception.
Gardner is hosting a nomination meeting on Sunday, February 24 at Stuthorns on Main in Nanton, starting at 2 p.m.
Source : Discoverairdrie