Incumbent Conservative Party candidate Blake Richards was re-elected Monday night and admits to feeling “humbled” by the opportunity to continue to serve his Banff-Airdrie riding.
“I think it was almost 55,000 people that marked an x beside my name,” Richards said Tuesday morning.
According to unofficial results from Elections Canada, Richards received 71.3 per cent of the popular vote in the riding.
“It’s humbling. It’s something I don’t take lightly,” he said. “It’s an honour to be that voice and I will be a strong voice for them.”
Richards celebrated with party supporters and community members at Rival Axe Throwing in Airdrie Monday night. Festivities were dampened, though, with the prospect of another four years of Liberal rule. Richards said he was surprised by the results and said he sensed during his campaigning that Canadians had an appetite for change.
He feels this “appetite” was satisfied in the way people voted last night.
“First of all, as Conservatives, we did get the most votes of any party leading in the country. [The election] did result in an increase of seats for us, but obviously not as much of an increase as we had hoped,” he said.
Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s re-election as a minority government will result in a source of disappointment and frustration among Albertans, Richards said.
“My job is going to be to continue to fight hard, to continue to talk about and tell the story about what is happening here in Alberta, why it’s happening and why the rest of the country needs to sit up and pay more attention to that,” he said.
“That will be the job that I have and the message that I know our voters have delivered. I want to take that incredibly seriously.”
Richards didn’t mince words on his feelings about the current state of the country’s political landscape.
“Hopefully, we won’t see four more years of this government. I don’t think that is what this country needs,” he said.
He added he feels Canada deserves better and he, and the Conservatives, will push for change sooner, rather than later.
Richards heard the same message throughout the Banff-Airdrie riding, noting a lot of people have lost their jobs and are looking for hope.
“They’re looking for something that’s a signal that there’s going to be an opportunity to get back to work,” he said.
He also highlighted small business owners in Airdrie and Cochrane who are struggling to keep the doors open, and the employees who are nervous about their futures.
“The hope has to come in the form of the realization in this country that the oil and gas industry is something, and is going to be a part of the future for a long time to come,” he said.
Richards added oil and gas jobs make a contribution, not only to Canada’s economy, but also on a global level by providing a platform for Canadian innovation and technology. He said he’s worked hard to get that message across, even as another round of layoffs at Husky Energy Inc. – with the majority happening in Calgary. Reports of the layoffs came from employees Oct. 22 with the company yet to confirm the exact number of jobs lost.
“So, the message that I heard loud and clear during this campaign is that we need someone here to be able to fight for us,” he said.
Richards acknowledged growth management challenges in Cochrane are on his radar. He said while these issues might not fall under the federal government’s umbrella, he will play a role in trying to help.
“I have to make it very clear – first and foremost, above anything else – is we need someone to fight for our community, our jobs, for our families, and that is going to be job number one for me,” he said.
The population of the Banff-Airdrie riding is about 135,000 as of 2016. First elected in 2008, Richards serves as the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet Minister for Small Business, Export Promotion and Tourism. He is presently a member of the Finance Committee.
In 2010, Richards spearheaded a national petition that called for changes to the national pardons system. The petition attracted thousands of supporters from across Canada and in June 2010 Bill C-23A, a new law to limit pardons for serious crimes, received Royal Assent.
The following year he introduced Private Member's Bill C-309 in the House of Commons, and guided it through the House and Senate. It also received Royal Assent in June 2013 and as a result, it is now a Criminal Code offence to conceal one's identity during a riot or an unlawful assembly.
On Nov. 30, 2017 Richards was removed from the House of Commons by House speaker Geoff Regan for “excessive heckling” after three repeated warnings.
Richards has been a vocal supporter of changing the Employment Insurance (EI) Program to accommodate a bereavement leave for parents grieving the loss of a child. In February, his motion asking the Standing Committee on Human Resources to undertake a study of the impact of such a loss and make recommendations to ensure parents “no longer suffer undue financial or emotional hardship as a result of the design of government programming,” passed in the House of Commons.
On Oct. 15, he continued to champion his cause by pledging – if elected – the Conservatives would ensure EI was extended to eight weeks, following the death of an infant.
