Eric Bouchard is but one of countless Alberta business owners who suffered the devastating consequences of former premier Rachel Notley’s failed policies..Hard work, staff that was like family and sound business decisions made for the perfect recipe leading to the “amazing” success of his downtown Calgary restaurant, the Sonoma Market Café..Then the recession hit, triggered by a downturn in the oil and gas sector..Notley’s tax-ravenous NDP swept into power in 2015 and feverishly implemented polices that made the economic downturn worse. Notley kept her campaign promise to increase the minimum wage despite warnings it would lead to layoffs and help few working poor. Sure enough, businesses were crushed. Gut-wrenching decisions had to be made to let staff go. And the working poor stayed poor..“We experienced growth every year for the first 10 years and then by no fluke 2015 to 2019 were our four worst years of business during the NDP’s crippling policies,” said Bouchard..Dogged efforts by weakened business owners like Bouchard to stay afloat were futile when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and former premier Jason Kenney’s crushing mandates were enforced..Dreams and years of hard work evaporated when doors were forced to close permanently..Bouchard is now managing another establishment..He’s also one of five contestants vying to win the UCP nomination in Calgary-Lougheed, Kenney’s old constituency..“The irony, March 13 is when the vote will take place in Calgary-Lougheed. March 13 in 2020 was our last day business.”.Bouchard never aspired to enter politics. Three months ago, he was approached by a delegation of small business owners who asked him to run in Calgary-Lougheed..Bouchard gained valuable insight through his experiences with Alberta’s “boom-and-bust-cycles,” as a business owner and employer. He wants to “bring the voice of small business owners to the Legislature.”.But that’s not all he wants to do..Calgary-Lougheed has been a UCP stronghold since it was created in a 1993 boundary redistribution and named to honour former premier Peter Lougheed..However, a shocking fraction of the constituents are UCP members. Bouchard said it’s time to bring more of them into the fold..“I think there’s a tremendous opportunity to grow the party in Calgary-Lougheed.”.“The southwest corner of the city is probably the most suburban sector in Calgary. The number of first-generation Canadians, immigrants has me blown away.”.“So, my goal obviously is to win the nomination, but moving forward to reach out to all these first-generation Canadians because they do have conservative values. Their strength is their family.”.The father of four, married to Roxane for 24 years, embraces that value..“The last two months, going door to door, I find that most people are receptive and support conservative values and the Conservative party, but the amount of voter apathy ... it's unbelievable.”.He's hearing concerns about health care, education, and LRT safety. “But it's primarily cost of living. My wife and I experience that every day as well.”.Calgary-Lougheed will benefit from having representation on the ground..“The last four years Calgary-Lougheed had a premier as the MLA, and obviously he was busy with governing the province rather than just concentrating on his constituents.”.Bouchard believes in freedom of speech, assembly, association, and enterprise..“I’m a freedom guy first. Unfortunately, in the last few years the word freedom has been hijacked.”.He’s a huge supporter of Premier Danielle Smith, even though he’s never met her..“If Danielle Smith wasn’t premier now, I can equivocally say that I wouldn't be running. I believe in what she's doing and her stance with relationship to Ottawa.”.“My values align quite well with those of our premier,” said Bouchard, who became a UCP member only a year ago..UCP ads remind Albertans to be wary of campaign Notley who wants them to forget what premier Notley did to the province..Notley's platform — 'Competitiveness, Jobs, and Investment Strategy' — promises to create 47,000 new jobs, part of her effort to win the May 29 provincial election..But as premier, Notley actually killed 183,000 jobs..No, no she argued back then, when critics warned her promised minimum wage hike from $10.20 per hour to $15 per hour would decimate jobs. It will reduce poverty, she said, refusing to listen to a chorus of voices that said it would have the opposite impact..A Canadian Federation of Independent Business survey in 2016 found 89% of respondents felt it was wrong for her to increase the minimum wage rate during an economic downturn..Yet starting in October 2015, year by year, she raised it until it hit $15 in 2018..A 2018 Fraser Institute report, Increasing the Minimum Wage in Alberta: A Flawed Anti-Poverty Policy, noted the move was pointless and destructive on many levels, including failing to provide much help to the impoverished..Notley had to know 92% of minimum wage earners in 2015 didn’t live in low-income families..In 2017, 50% of minimum wage earners were aged 15-24 and 85.1% of them lived with a parent or other relative..That same year, only 2.1% minimum wage earners were single parents..Boosting the minimum wage led to fewer jobs, fewer hours and higher prices for goods and services..Notley didn’t have to face long-time, loyal employees like Bouchard did and tell them they were out of a job..“Probably one of the toughest things I ever had to do was lay off my staff. My chef and I started working together in 1997.”.Others had also been with him for years..“We were a family.”.“In 2014 we had a staff of 18. Three years later we were a staff of eight because of the minimum wage.”.“Our service staff, who in 2014 were making $10.00 an hour, were doing well, making $150 to $200 cash a day. Three of our service staff owned houses. They had kids, they had properties, and they were doing OK at $10 an hour.”.He had to grit his teeth and remain silent so as not to be blasted for wanting to deny people earning a living wage — which they had been doing before Notley ‘fixed’ things.’.“We built a business starting in 2005. Our goal was to achieve $1 million in sales. By 2011 we achieved that.”.And then it was all gone. All that was left was “significant financial and emotional loss.”.“I'm not a politician. I’m an average guy. I think I've got a strong business acumen that will serve Albertans well,” said Bouchard..Other Calgary-Lougheed candidates are: Michelle Mather, former banker and co-founder of an international oilfield services company; Sherrisa Celis, program manager at Calgary Catholic Immigration Society; Mark Fiselier, entrepreneur and veteran political volunteer; and Max DeGroat, a lawyer who served on numerous UCP boards and committees.
