With the provincial election officially over, a newly elected United Conservative Party MLA for the Chestermere-Strathmore riding is excited to hit the ground running.
Chantelle De Jonge won her seat by a large margin, securing a total of 10,174 votes. The runner-up NDP candidate, Raj Jessel, followed with 4,025 votes.
Grateful for the support, de Jonge put her team and family in the spotlight when interviewed after the election, saying she could not have accomplished the victory without them. Thankful for the opportunity to represent her community, she said she’s prepared to take on her new role of representing and advocating for Chestermere-Strathmore constituents in the legislature.
“It’s an honour and a privilege to have been elected by Chestermere-Strathmore,” de Jonge said.
Chestermere-Strathmore includes communities in east Rocky View County, including Langdon, Indus, Conrich, and Prince of Peace.
While she’s been involved with politics and volunteered and worked for for conservative politicians in the past, de Jonge was a first-time candidate this election. She replaced the riding’s previous UCP representative, Leela Aheer, after the former UCP leadership candidate and cabinet minister announced she would not be running for re-election this year.
De Jonge won the UCP nomination for Chestermere-Strathmore in January, and has been effectively in campaign mode ever since.
As she went along the campaign trail, de Jonge said she found a new appreciation for public servants and candidates. She addressed the UCP’s election platform as a key influence in her win.
Health care and the economy were two prominent factors that swung the vote in her favour, de Jonge felt.
“The United Conservative Party offered an incredible platform that addressed those concerns on affordability, on the economy, [and] on health care,” she said. “That’s what resonated with the residents of Chestermere-Strathmore.”
Overall, de Jonge said the platform presented by the UCP is “laser-focused” on finding solutions to current problems within Alberta’s health care system. She added the party has important policies that will protect Albertans from high inflation rates.
Taking aim at the federal government in particular, de Jonge argued the rising cost of living in Canada is directly associated with the Liberal-NDP coalition in Ottawa.
Confident the UCP was going to win a majority government on May 29, de Jonge said their policies will move Alberta forward.
“I knew that, not just Chestermere-Strathmore, but Alberta was going to re-elect the United Conservative government,” she said. “This is the party, and we have the platform that will propel this province forward.”
The newly elected MLA said she's looking forward to working with new and returning members across both parties. She noted every election is unique and comes with a new dynamic.
Feeling this year’s election was one of the most important in the province’s history, de Jonge argued voting in the NDP would have had poor economic consequences for the province.
“It was a difference between moving Alberta forward or taking us back to the economic devastation we saw under the last NDP government,” she said.
Once the legislature reconvenes, de Jonge confirmed the first order of business for the Alberta government will be the passing of Bill-1, the taxpayer protection amendment act. The introduced bill will prevent any new or existing governments to raise personal taxes or taxes on job creators without having a referendum.
“That’s a continuation of a commitment to the Alberta advantage to protect the families, job creators, employees, employers, and investors from the tax hikes we saw under the NDP,” she said.
Other candidates for Chestermere-Strathmore riding included Kerry Lambert for the Independence Party of Alberta, who received 202 votes; Terry Nicholls, an Independent who got 180 votes; and Jed Laboucane for the Solidarity Movement of Alberta, who secured 37 votes.
