Canadians will go to the polls Oct. 19, after one of the country’s longest election campaigns to date.
So far, four candidates have been chosen to represent Yellowhead by their respective parties and a fifth candidate is awaiting his nomination announcement, as nominations are not yet closed.
In the coming weeks, the Fitzhugh will provide extensive coverage of Canada’s 42nd general election to ensure Jasperites are well informed before casting their ballots.
This week we start with an introduction. Be sure to tune each week throughout the campaign, as we provide in depth coverage of the issues that affect Jasper.
If you have questions for the candidates or specific concerns you’d like them to address, send them to [email protected] and we’ll do our best to get them answered.
Ken Kuzminski
Freshly minted as the NDP candidate for Yellowhead, Ken Kuzminski is running for office for the third time.
In 2008, he unsuccessfully ran for the NDP in both the provincial and federal elections, but this time around he is confident voters are ready for change.
“Albertans aren’t afraid of the NDP,” said Kuzminski, a local contractor who lives in Jasper.
“I think after all these years of Stephen Harper, people want a different direction for Canada. People don’t want to be saddled with fear all the time.”
As the former president of the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce and the current president of the Jasper Royal Canadian Legion, Kuzminski said he is well acquainted with local issues and is the only candidate with a strong background in business, as the owner of Kuzminski Contracting Ltd.
“I think I’m the only candidate in this riding that has business experience or been a business advocate,” said Kuzminski, adding one of the biggest issues facing businesses across the riding is the severe labour shortage.
“Everybody is having staffing issues and staffing issues never really go away, but it is particularly acute with the changes to the temporary foreign worker program.”
He also stressed that part of his role as the president of the chamber involved balancing competing interests.
“Being involved with the chamber has really shown me the need for balance and civil discussion and coming up with a solution rather than just everyone pointing out the problems.”
In addition to his business experience, Kuzminski also pointed to his current role as president of the Jasper Legion and slammed the federal government for the way it treats veterans.
“It all comes down to respect,” said Kuzminski, who has also been involved with the Military Police National Memorial Motorcycle Relay Ride since 2009.
“We should have a system where veteran affairs works for veterans instead of against them. It’s not the people in the offices, it’s the attitude of the government. They like to wrap themselves in the flag and get pictures taken of them on the battle fields, but when those soldiers return back to Canada, Harper wants them to disappear and I’m proud to stand by them and offer what help I can.”
As part of his role at the legion, Kuzminski has also transformed the space into a viable music venue, supporting local acts as well as Juno award winners.
“When I started at the legion, nobody else was doing this in town, especially in the summer time,” he said, adding a lot of people told him it wouldn’t work and he wouldn’t be able to make money.
Since then it has become a reputable venue for touring artists and is considered one of the best venues in Western Canada.
Ryan Maguhn
Liberal candidate Ryan Maguhn is no stranger to politics.
Born and raised in Hinton, Maguhn was first elected to Hinton town council during a 2012 by-election and was reelected in 2013. As a councillor he currently sits on the Hinton Municipal Library Board and several other committees.
Unimpressed with the country’s direction under the Conservatives, he decided to run as a Liberal candidate in the 2014 federal by-election.
Although he lost to Conservative MP Jim Eglinski by more than 5,000 votes, he increased the overall share of Liberal votes from around three per cent in 2011 to nearly 20 per cent in 2014.
“I think what we’ve seen from the provincial election is Albertans are willing and ready to change their vote,” said Maguhn, referring to the NDP’s win over the long-standing Conservative government.
“I think what is left for us to do is show Canadians we have a strong platform, that growing the middle class and putting Canadians first is really what we’re here to do.”
As a young adult, Maguhn enrolled in the Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps, and stayed in the organization until he was 19 years old. During his time with the Corps, he served as the regimental sergeant major, achieving the rank of chief warrant officer.
While attending Bemidji State University in Northern Minnesota, Maguhn was elected to represent state college students as a representative with the Minnesota State College Student Association.
Maguhn earned a bachelor of science degree and a teaching certificate.
“As far as I know, I’m the only candidate who went to university for the purposes of political science. I have micro and macro economic courses, I gave foreign politics courses, I have contemporary politics courses, this is what I was trained to do, in addition to education.”
Upon his return to Hinton in 2005, Maguhn taught social studies and coached senior boys’ volleyball at Gerard Redmond Community Catholic High School. In the past he has also served as a volunteer firefighter, and he is a father to a four-year-old boy.
Cory Lystang
Touting his work ethic as a farmer and oil worker, Libertarian Party candidate Cory Lystang believes Ottawa could use some blue-collar values.
“I want to represent Yellowhead because I believe the Libertarian Party is going in the direction we need to really consider so that our freedoms and liberties are still intact for our children and grandchildren,” said Lystang, who earned three per cent of the vote in the 2014 Yellowhead by-election.
Born and raised on a cattle ranch south of Mayerthorpe, Lystang thinks the government has become too large, too expensive and unaccountable.
“We’re looking to make the federal government smaller and more fiscally sound,” he said.
As a young man, Lystang thought he would follow in the footsteps of the three generations of cattle farmers before him, but soon after leaving high school, cattle prices dropped leaving him with few other options than to take a job in the oil industry.
Lystang explained that it was mad cow disease, also known by its scientific acronym as BSE, that changed his dream of being a farmer.
“Just before BSE hit, I had bought a truck that was going to start making me some more money and revenue so I could get into farming, and when BSE happened that’s when I shifted my focus directly to the oil fields,” said Lystang.
After changing career paths, Lystang set his sights on becoming a small business owner and within a few short years he had five tank trucks and employed seven drivers. That all ended in 2008 when the economic recession took hold.
“It was one of the worst experiences of my life,” he said of watching his business fold.
“The business was one of the best things in my life. It taught me how to deal with people and to work with my peers.”
He credits that experience with sparking his interest in politics.
Today, Lystang operates a pressure truck out of Whitecourt and owns his own land where he lives with his family.
When he’s not working, he enjoys hunting, fishing and camping.
Jim Eglinski
Nine months after being elected to represent Yellowhead in a by-election to replace long-time Conservative MP Rob Merrifield, Jim Eglinski is confident he’s proven himself as a competent representative of the riding.
The retired RCMP officer and former mayor of Fort St. John said he’s worked hard to learn everything there is to know about Parliament Hill and to stay in close contact with the riding and its constituents.
“When I was running last year, I said I was committing myself to the riding and that people would see me a lot more than my predecessor. I believe that’s a very important role for the member of parliament—he has to be there for the constituents,” he said, adding that his favourite part of the job has been connecting with the communities within the riding and sitting down face to face with constituents to talk out their concerns.
“Sometimes I can’t resolve the issue, but we can talk about it and I can understand their side and they can understand my side. I think that’s a very, very important part of my role and that’s one of the parts that I really do enjoy—meeting the people and talking to them directly.”
Eglinski won the November by-election with 62.6 per cent of the vote and committed to spending the next nine months proving himself before the 2015 general election.
“Whenever you get elected, it always takes that first year to gain that momentum and gain that information,” he said, referring to his new found knowledge of Parliament Hill and the riding. “I have it now, and when I go back [to Ottawa] this fall—and I’m hoping you’re hearing that positive tone—I can take it back and utilize it more to my benefit and to the benefit of this riding.”
Since being elected, Eglinski has sat on the Citizenship and Immigration committee, as well as the Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and Status of Persons with Disabilities committee.
As well as being MP, Eglinski has a commercial pilots' licence and enjoys restoring classic cars.
Sandra Wolf Lange
Green Party candidate Sandra Wolf Lange not only believes in environmental activism, it’s in her DNA.
Born and raised in Porto Alegre, Brazil, both her parents were environmental activists and friends with the late José Lutzenberger, a highly respected Brazilian environmentalist who defended the environment while Brazil was under military rule and in the 1990s became the country’s minister of the environment.
“My whole life I’ve been an environmental activist,” said Lange. “I basically grew up running around [Lutzenberger’s] garden, which was like a rainforest, with other kids that also had parents involved.”
At the age of 13, Lange began participating in environmental initiatives, like clean ups and the establishment of a wildlife reserve.
Since moving to Edmonton, she has earned a masters of science, focusing on autonomous (off-grid) solar photovoltaic systems and a masters of design with a thesis about an alternative learning environment for elementary schools.
She has taught courses at the University of Alberta and often leads lectures about environmental issues for various institutions and organizations across Canada.
In addition to her education, she also runs her own company called Sustainable Living Design that transforms traditional lawns into natural environments to help local birds, insects and wildlife thrive in a city environment.
Despite living in Edmonton, she has a strong connection with the Yellowhead riding and regularly comes to Jasper to escape the city.
“I come to Jasper whenever I can find the time,” she said, explaining that she celebrates her wedding anniversary in Jasper every year, dining at Karouzo’s Steakhouse with her husband.
“I’m in touch with Jasper and the issues around Jasper and I care deeply about it,” she said.
For Lange, running for the Green Party in Yellowhead was an easy decision.
“I don’t think there is a more important riding in Alberta that I could be defending right now,” she said. “It’s really close to my heart to defend the national park.”
NDP to hold nomination meeting Aug. 19
The federal NDP party has yet to name a candidate for Yellowhead, but confirmed it will be holding a nomination meeting Aug. 19.
As of press time, the only candidate confirmed to be running in the nomination contest is Jasperite Ken Kuzminski, who ran for the NDP in both the federal and provincial elections in 2008.
“As of right now I’m not the official candidate and there’s still opportunity for someone else to throw their name in the ring if they really wanted to,” said Kuzminski.
Kuzminski is a contractor and the president of the Jasper Royal Canadian Legion and was the president of the Jasper Chamber of Commerce in 2010-11.
“The federal party set that date a while ago,” he said of Aug. 19, “but with the election call being made on the long weekend, we’re trying to see if we can get that date moved up to be able to start the campaign.”
Independent candidate runs in neighbouring riding
Dean Williams’ name will not be on the ballot this time around after Elections Canada redrew the riding’s boundaries.
The independent candidate earned nearly five per cent of the popular vote in the 2014 by-election.
The new boundaries mean the Yellowhead riding will no longer include towns in the northern part of the riding, such as Whitecourt, where Williams lives.
As a result, Williams is running as an independent candidate in the Peace River–Westlock election, which stretches from Whitecourt to Wood Buffalo National Park.
Eligible voters are Canadian citizens 18 years of age or older. In order to vote, you must be able to prove your identity and address. This can be done with a piece of government issued photo ID, for example a driver’s licence, or with two original pieces of authorized identification, like a health card and hydro bill with your name and address on them. The final option is to take an oath and have another voter—who has the proper ID—vouch for you.
Jasper’s polling station is located in the Jasper Activity Centre. Election day is Oct. 19.
