Hunter fears western alienation under Trudeau

By Trevor Busch
Taber Times
tbusch@tabertimes.com

Last month’s resounding Liberal majority in the 2015 federal election saw Canadian voters displace the incumbent Harper Conservatives, but it was still a sea of Tory blue across much of the Prairie provinces.

Cardston-Taber-Warner MLA Grant Hunter admits he was disappointed by the Liberal sweep, and warned ominously about the prospect of undue federal interference in Western Canadian affairs.

“I was disappointed that Eastern Canada voted the Liberals in. But we live in a democracy, and we need to respect the fact that every person gets a vote. I’m hoping that Justin Trudeau realizes Alberta is a physical part in Confederation, and when left alone we can really prosper. But I doubt that will happen.”

Left-wing voters effected an “anyone but Harper” agenda which conspired to fell the once-mighty Conservative Party, according to Hunter.

“Towards the end there I was thinking it was going to happen, to tell you the truth. It just seemed like in the last couple of weeks there was a real shift. But I think really what happened is it was an ‘anyone but Harper’ approach, where the left-centered parties, or left-of-centre leaning people, decided they were going to consolidate their votes to make sure they get out the Conservatives,” said Hunter. “That happened, but the NDP really caved. They took a real hit. But that’s democracy, and we’ll have to see how it plays out.”

If there is a “silver lining” for Hunter, it is that the federal NDP were kept from achieving a majority status in Canadian Parliament.

“I would be more concerned if the NDP had got in, to tell you the truth. I think a federal government, and an NDP provincial government, would have been devastating for us. I believe that the Liberals do have some business sense, perhaps not with the understanding the Conservative Party does, but at least they have more business sense than the NDP does. I guess that’s one silver lining.”