Heather Schmitt will be running for the Maverick Party in Prince Albert during the coming federal election. (Rob Mahon/paNOW)

By Rob Mahon

Maverick Party

Election campaigns in Prince Albert begin as Maverick Party hosts outdoor cookout.

Aug 20, 2021 | 4:16 PM

The federal election campaign has officially begun in Prince Albert as a local candidate for the Maverick Party held a barbecue for supporters in Kinsmen Park today. Heather Schmitt will be their representative for the area.

The party is focused primarily on issues concerning Western Canada and getting what they call a fairer deal for the region. While they don’t immediately look for independence or separation, they haven’t ruled it out.

“The Maverick Party has a twin-track approach,” said Schmitt. “We are looking for constitutional changes for more fairness in the west. If we aren’t able to, or in working through that, we will be looking for independence.”

Issues like the carbon tax and equalization payments are major elements of the party’s platform. They have six candidates so far in Saskatchewan, one in Manitoba, three in British Columbia, and 17 in Alberta.

“We have western candidates running from Manitoba west,” said Schmitt, “and we’re looking to have a voice for only western Canadians. Part of the idea is that no matter what government gets in, everything they want put through, we are a voting voice on behalf of Western Canadians.”

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Schmitt is entering her first foray into politics officially. She believes that as a business owner and Western Canadian, she has lived politics in her day-to-day life, and if she doesn’t step up to be a political candidate, she can’t be sure who else will.

“I’ve been told it’s not over until it’s over if you’re dealing with Heather Schmitt,” she said. “As a fairly passionate small business owner and taking things personally when it comes to tax time, I feel like I’m making the time when nobody else has time on the farm to go and be this voice for everybody.”

In previous federal elections, Saskatchewan has been a stronghold for the Conservative Party. Current Member of Parliament Randy Hoback has been the representative for the area since 2008.

“There have been a lot of things that have gone or that have been promised by the Conservative Party that I feel Western Canadians aren’t happy about or sufficiently pleased by,” said Schmitt. “If it came down to the vote if the Conservatives are in there, the Western Canadian voice, the Maverick Party will be the deciding factor or have the ability to get our views actually known.”

The federal election is set for September 20. The Liberal Party under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had a minority government following the most recent election in 2019.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP