Torrie seeks to unseat incumbent in MD of Taber Ward 3

Posted on October 9, 2025 by Taber Times

By Heather Cameron
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The M.D. of Taber will be holding their municipal election on October 20.

All but two seats are acclaimed.

In Division 3, Brian Hildebrand and David Torrie are campaigning for a Council seat.

In an interview, Torrie sat down with the Times and detailed his platform for the current campaign.

When asked why they wanted to get involved in this particular political arena and what the focus of their campaign would be, David Torrie offered the following response:

“The focus of my campaign is making sure that the M.D. of Taber, including Grassy Lake, is the best place in the world to live. We’ve got all these amazing young families that have built up Grassy Lake from a couple hundred people to almost a thousand people, but we need to help with businesses. There are some great small businesses in Grassy Lake, though; they’re very entrepreneurial. But as far as a big company that can employ a lot of people, we think that the time is right with the twinning of the highway coming through. We just think there’s a lot of potential in this area and we want to help make that happen. We really want the people that live in this area to feel like they’re in control of their destiny. And so I want to listen to them. I feel like they deserve to be listened to and have somebody that represents them on the M.D. Council that cares about their town and their struggles.”

When asked where they stand on the proposal to convert grazing lease land to irrigation, David Torrie had this to say:

“I’m in the middle of the road on it. I have leased provincial lease land, and so I understand how important lease land is to cattle, and how important it is to the ecosystem. I know that the proposal’s already been pushed through, and so maybe there’s nothing that can be done about it. I realize that the M.D. of Taber would be nothing without irrigation. Like there would be no industry here. I think, though, that it needs to be looked at maybe a little more carefully.  I respect all the people that are involved in this process. We just need to make sure that we’re listening. And there are some valid concerns that I’ve heard from the lease holders that makes me think that we should at least slow the process down, talk it over and see if we can come to more of a compromise. I think we just need to work at it together and not pit one group against another.”

When asked how important it is for the M.D. to continue to develop infrastructure for the agrifood corridor and what potential economic benefits might stem from that, David Torrie had this to say:

“I think we absolutely need to look at the infrastructure and have incentives in place for industrial land so that we can get businesses to come here. And then, then we actually have a tax base that can support all the roads and everything that needs to be supported because none of these potato buildings and irrigated land are paying enough taxes to cover the damages on the roads.” 

When asked if the development and expansion of the Taber Airport should be a priority, David Torrie had this to say:

“It would be nice to have airport service closer.”

When questioned about their thoughts on remedying the situation surrounding rural crime, David Torrie had these thoughts:

“I don’t think it’s going to be by hiring a whole bunch more police. It’s going to be by making a more cohesive community, and being with the people, seeing what their kids need, and working with people that’s going to reduce crime. We’ve got to have law enforcement and maybe we need to be more organized on calling each other, and maybe Neighborhood Watch if we see suspicious activity, but bringing the hammer down on people isn’t going to help. Trying to make opportunity will help. I think there’s plenty of opportunity to go around in the M.D. of Taber. We just need to figure out how to get those opportunities to the amazing young families that are just trying hard to survive. And with the cost of housing and with the cost of food and all these things, it is very hard to imagine survival. And so we need to come up with more affordable housing options and education opportunities for these families.”

When asked if they were satisfied with the current direction of the municipality, David Torrie expressed these thoughts:

“I really like the people that are in our M.D. right now. We work quite a bit with a lot of the different staff and there’s not a lot of concern. But I do feel like there we could listen better to the people, and that’s what I think I can bring to the table.”

Voting on Oct. 20 will take place at the following locations:

The Grassy Lake Community Hall from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

The Taber Parkside Manor from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

Advanced Voting dates and locations will be at: 

The Taber Legion Hall from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on October 8, 2025, for Division 4 – Taber.

The Grassy Lake Community Hall from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on October 9, 2025, for Division 3 – Grassy Lake. 

In Division 4, Ben Elfring and Tamara Miyanaga are campaigning for a Council seat.

Hildebrand did not respond to requests for an interview.