UCP leadership candidate Travis Toews is calling for the province’s conservative movement to unite — and asking conservatives who felt disenfranchised during the pandemic to return to the party. .The former finance minister was speaking to a packed room at the River Cree Resort in Enoch Cree Nation on Tuesday night. .Alberta’s grassroots conservative movement united under one banner five years ago by focusing on principles of responsible fiscal management, individual freedom, and limited government, Toews said. .“And this great conservative movement must once again focus on the values that unite us instead of the issues that divide,” he said..The Grande Prairie-Wapiti MLA is currently in third place in the leadership race, trailing former Opposition Wildrose Party leaders Danielle Smith and Brian Jean, per a new Angus Reid Institute poll..He has 25% support among UCP-leaning voters — up from less than 10% a short time ago..But it’s still “early days in the campaign,” and Toews is focused on meeting and listening to Albertans, the leadership contender told the Western Standard in a media scrum following his campaign speech..“That's my goal right now,” he said. “I've heard so many perspectives from Albertans right across the province.”.Those perspectives, Toews told supporters, includes Albertans who feel disenfranchised following the COVID-19 pandemic. Albertans who feel they’ve been wrongly characterized, he said. .“I want to extend a call home. We're better together and so much stronger in our unity.”.Toews worked in the private sector until he was elected in 2019. Prior to his public debut, he worked, raised a family, and pursued business interests with his head down — like most conservatives, he said..“The best day was the day I didn’t notice government.".But he took notice of Rachel Notley’s NDPs, and in 2019, he stepped forward to preserve the opportunities he was afforded for the next generation.."Folks who never paid attention to politics were sitting up and taking note," Toews said..The former Kenney minister also plugged his track record overseeing the finance portfolio. The province is on a sustainable fiscal recovery, banks are saying Alberta will lead the nation in real GDP growth, unemployment is at its lowest since 2015, and the province presented a balanced budget for the first time in over a decade, he said..“We will no longer undermine our long term ability to care for the most vulnerable, we will no longer spend more than we make, and we will no longer burden future generations with a debt they did not incur," he said. .His event in Enoch Cree Nation fell on National Indigenous Peoples Day. Toews has already secured endorsements from 23 UCP MLAs, and now an endorsement from nation's Chief Billy Morin. .“I am absolutely honored and humbled with your endorsement of my leadership today,” he said..UCP members will elect a new leader and premier on October 6.
