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By Curtis Galbraith

Provincial Politics

Interest in education, healthcare, energy industry drew new Grande Prairie UCP candidate to politics

Apr 6, 2023 | 6:00 AM

A local businessman says one of the reasons he wanted to get into politics was that he wanted to know what was going on in the education system.

Nolan Dyck will be the UCP candidate in Grande Prairie in the May 29 provincial election after winning the nomination over three other candidates in a vote held Monday.

Dyck says he wants to be involved because he is a parent but also thinks “teachers want to be teachers.”

“They’re exceptional. They’re tired after the last couple years. They’re highly trained individuals, but I think they want to get back to just being teachers, being able to teach math and sciences and English (and) everything else.”

“They wear a lot of extra hats from guidance counsellor to emotional support. Name something else and they probably have a part (in) some kid’s life.”

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Dyck says he wants to work with people in health care on solutions to problems in the system, adding he thinks this is a great first step.

He adds he is also interested in the energy industry.

“Things happen here and we have huge amounts of technology in the oilfield with huge amounts of opportunity here. Our energy industry is being attacked. We have to make sure that we can keep our messaging strong and also staff our energy industry.”

Dyck says there are opportunities for this area to impact the energy industry worldwide by not only exporting energy but also technology and expertise.

He adds the key to his side winning the May 29 provincial election is remembering the good things that have happened under a conservative government and what did not happen under the NDP.

“We’ve got a balanced budget. We have excellent opportunities in the future. We’ve brought in billions of dollars worth of investment into Alberta.”

“We have a thriving film industry now … I believe it went from $ 100 million to almost a billion dollars.”

Dyck says the UCP has also attracted other industries besides the energy sector to Alberta.

In a thank you message on his website, Dyck included the three other candidates for the nomination – Gladys Blackmore, Larry Gibson and Tayyab Parvez, thanking them for running “clean and passionate campaigns.”

“Number one for me, as we step into this election, is unity. I truly believe we are called the United Conservative Party. We have to be united.”

Dyck is originally from Bow Island in southern Alberta. He moved to the Peace in 2008 to attend PRBI and has stayed here since. He is married with two kids with another baby on the way in September. He and his partners run a workforce and tech business that connects employers and employees. Dyck also has a marketing and leadership business.

Dyck says he is now busy doing things like fundraising and getting signs printed. He says he will soon go door-knocking and also wants to have get-togethers where he can meet with people.