With the federal election campaign well underway the Rocky View Weekly’s sister paper, the Rocky Mountain Outlook, chatted with Conservative Party candidate for the Banff-Airdrie riding, Blake Richards, about why he is running.
Tell us about yourself
I am running for re-election as the Conservative candidate for Banff-Airdrie in order to continue to serve constituents and our country on the issues that matter, such as keeping our economy strong and supporting Canadian families.
Why should voters choose you?
Since coming to office, our Government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, has focused on what matters to Canadians; such as lowering taxes, and protecting and creating jobs. Canada has had one of the best job creation records in the G7, and created 1.2 million net new jobs.
In addition, our government has created new measures to support Canadian families. The Universal Child Care Benefit has been increased and expanded to include children aged six through 17, the Child Care Expense Deduction has been increased to $1,000 and the Children’s Fitness Tax Credit has been doubled to $1,000.
What issues are most vital to you?
Another issue that is important to both myself and our riding is the preservation of our national parks. As such we have invested more than $3 billion in our national parks improving highways, bridges and other important infrastructure. In Banff National Park alone, our government has recently invested more than $160 million.
Why are you running?
I have served as the chair of the Parliamentary Tourism Caucus for the past four years as we have implemented the Federal Tourism Strategy and seen tourism industry revenues grow to $88.5 billion per year.
For the past two years, I have been recognized as the ‘best constituency MP’ and ‘hardest working MP.’ I have also had the privilege to serve as chair of the House of Commons Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development.
It has been an honour to be your representative in Ottawa as a part of a strong Conservative government. If re-elected as your Member of Parliament, I will continue to work hard to serve you and represent your interests.
