UCP’s Nate Horner celebrates re-election in Drumheller-Stettler

By Jordan Parker

Current Alberta Legislature representative Nate Horner has again won his seat in the Drumheller-Stettler riding.

The United Conservative Party member nabbed 15,274 of 18,054 votes cast in the riding for an overwhelming majority, and the NDP’s Juliet Franklin was the next closest. The UCP’s Danielle Smith remained as Premier of the province.

“I’m excited and relieved at the result. It’s amazing to see a decisive victory and a majority government,” said Horner, who noted the voter share of 52.5 percent was down from 55 percent in 2019.

“Locally right now, it shows alignment with what we’re currently doing for our constituents.”

The Member of Legislative Assembly previously told The Oyen Echo about the accomplishments he’s proud of, including the Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit Program, and the negotiation of the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

“Four years sounds like a long time. But when you’re trying to push forward projects and policies, sometimes you need longer. I’m excited to have had the chance to run again and represent the area,” he said.

“There are some really big-ticket items we can see through, and we need to just continue on and keep pushing.”

It wasn’t all sunshine for the UCPs during the election, with a government that currently holds no seats in major centre Edmonton and opposition candidates who cited Horner’s lack of a listening ear with constituents as an issue.

Before the election, NDP candidate Juliet Franklin highlighted to the Echo that she felt Horner was failing to provide adequate healthcare and wasn’t engaging with the population.

“People can’t afford their bills, put food on the table, and they have trouble getting a doctor. The cost of school supplies is large, and people are frustrated that their representation isn’t listening to their concerns. They send letters to their MLA and never hear back, and they deserve better,” she said.

When questioned about the criticisms of other parties on Horner not fulfilling his promises, he said he’d “like to see specifics.”

“We’ve largely done what we said we’d do. We did 95 percent of a comprehensive campaign platform. We did everything within our power,” he said.

“We took some things to the Supreme Court and failed, like carbon tax. But we initiated big things that couldn’t have been dreamed of prior.”

Horner has two big projects he continues on, including the irrigation project near Acadia Valley and the rail project.

“We have the potential for 108,000 acres of irrigation, and I just want projects like these to hit a decision point, and they can be huge for Albertans,” he said.

His current big issue is improving healthcare and bringing more services to the area.

“We want to continue on this path and make things better for people. Having businesses opening and people coming in droves is important. We love that people want to make Alberta home,” he said.

“We’re coming off two balanced budgets, and we need to continue with fiscal discipline. We cannot have deficits, and if we continue like this, other good things will happen.”

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