Chris Warkentin and his wife Michelle celebrate their election victory at their headquarters in Grande Prairie . Photo Credit: Shane Clausing

By Shane Clausing

Federal Election

Warkentin eager to continue serving Grande Prairie-Mackenzie residents in Ottawa

Sep 20, 2021 | 11:24 PM

Grande Prairie-Mackenzie Conservative MP-elect Chris Warkentin will be returning to Ottawa for a sixth term once parliament resumes, as he cruised to an election victory during Monday night’s federal election.

Serving in the seat that represents Grande Prairie since 2006, Warkentin says he’s thrilled to have another opportunity to represent Grande Prairie-Mackenzie in the House of Commons.

“I do count it as a privilege to serve the people of the Peace Country. I have done it over the last number of years and every single election I enter it not taking anything for granted, recognizing the seat here in the Peace Country is the people’s seat,” he told EverythingGP following his projected victory.

“It’s not my seat, it’s not the Conservative party’s seat, but really it’s an honour. I’ve been selected by the people of the Peace Country to continue to serve and I look forward to continuing to serve our neighbours and communities throughout the Peace Country in this next parliament.”

Warkentin’s election win comes over five other candidates, including two other conservative options in the People’s Party of Canada and Maverick Party.

He says no matter how residents voted, he will work to represent every resident of the Peace Country and amplify their concerns.

“I’ve never taken a single vote or election for granted. I can tell you, I’ve heard from people who have voted for the PPC and the Maverick Party that the federal government hasn’t been listening and responded to the concerns some people in our community have felt. I think that’s an important message that needs to be heard by Ottawa,” he said.

“Quite frankly, it’s my privilege to represent every single one of my constituents and I will continue to advocate on many of the issues they brought forward on this campaign, including the fact that we need to renegotiate equalization in this country.”

Warkentin adds he also wants to fight more more supports for the energy sector.

“The fact that we have to have a strong voice when it comes to developing our energy sector here in Alberta and so many other things. I do support those same concerns and I will continue to not only represent those views but to continue to listen to people that feel they haven’t been represented by the Liberal government, and quite frankly by some of the more traditional parties.”

With Warkentin heading back to Ottawa, he mentioned there are several other local issues he wants to get addressed once parliament resumes.

“My preoccupation is what it has always been and that’s defending the interests of people in the Peace Country. We are coming off of what is a devastating harvest season for many local producers here. I’m going to be looking to the federal government to work with the provincial government to help those farmers that have been hard hit in this last season,” he said.

“I do believe we have to continue to stay focused on building opportunities and jobs here in the province. We have a provincial government that has been supportive of the energy sector, but we have a federal government that has been resistant to the development of the energy resources we have here in the Peace Country.”

Warkentin says he also wants to address the cost of living for area residents.

Meanwhile, the Liberals are projected to have ended up with a minority government and essentially ending up right back where they were before the election was called.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives are projected to return as the official opposition once again, with the Bloc Quebecois and NDP potentially holding the balance of power.

Warkentin says the Tories will need to reflect on yet another loss to the Grits.

“I think it’s important for us as a party to go back and reflect on what went wrong. I believe there was a sense of broken trust with our party as our party didn’t seem to have a consistent message when it came to this campaign,” Warkentin explained.

“I think mid-campaign, we went from leading in the polls to struggling in the polls when our leadership began to not be clear for what we really stood for. I think we have a responsibility to answer for why we weren’t prepared and especially our leadership wasn’t prepared to stand for the policies and positions Conservatives believe in.”

Warkentin feels that the future of the Conservative Party leadership, a position still held by Erin O’Toole following Monday’s election, will be for its members to think of how they move forward.

Warkentin also wanted to thank everyone on his team and the volunteers who helped support him and his family. He also thanked the rest of the other candidates for their willingness to step up and represent their parties and be part of the democratic process.