Randy Hoback during Question Period in the House earlier this year before the COVID pandemic. (Christian Diotte, House of Commons Photo Services)

By Glenn Hicks

a new year

Hope and the Future: Hoback wants general election and in-person outreach

Dec 25, 2020 | 8:00 AM

The COVID-19 pandemic makes 2020 a year many may prefer to forget but there is hope for the future. We’ve decided to make that the focus of our series of end-of-year stories.

A chance to get back to what politicians do… that’s what 2021 brings for Prince Albert MP, Conservative Randy Hoback. He says he’s missed the barbecue circuit and coffee meeting tours and, not surprisingly, his number one goal is to form the next government.

“Who would have thought a goal would be just to get to normal. Good riddance to 2020, can’t wait to get into 2021,” Hoback told paNOW when reflecting on the obvious challenges of the global pandemic.

“We usually do five to 10 passport clinics a year and in 2020 we haven’t done any. Those are a good opportunity to talk to people without any issues in front us. We talk about holidays, vacations and spending time with family, and we’ve had none of that this year.”

Hoback said, as the vaccine rollout continues, he looks forward to getting back to being out and about. And while engaging with constituents is part of the job, so too is political campaigning, something he expects to be doing sooner or later in 2021.

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“Whether we see the government fall in the spring or fall, I think there’s a 60 to 70 per cent chance this [parliamentary] sitting won’t last. It’s time to take the Liberals out of power. That’s one of the things I’m looking forward to in 2021, is a general election and a Conservative majority government.”

Hoback said it was important to have a government “that tackles things in a smart way, not throw money at everything and anything,” referring to his party’s criticism of what they see as excessive spending and borrowing for programs the Liberals do not have a mandate from the public to pursue.

He added the new year will offer the public more chances to learn about what he sees as the organizational and decision-making credentials of party leader Erin O’Toole, someone he refers to as “one of my best friends.”

The Prince Albert MP says his preference for a 2021 general election would be to wait until the fall so that the vaccine will have largely done its job and proper face-to face campaigning can happen rather than relying on online meetings.

On a personal level Hoback, who has a son in the U.K. and a daughter in Vancouver, said it hasn’t been possible to spend time together over Christmas because of the pandemic restrictions. Like so many others, he’s looking forward to being with his kids at some stage in 2021.

And that goes for constituents too.

“I do miss being in the rural communities and talking to seniors, and talking about the weather, grain prices, or a variety of things,” he said. “I miss that personal contact and look forward to getting back to something like normal. One thing 2020 has taught us is not to take anything for granted.”

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow