Red vs. Blue Torys Exists at the Riding Level

Whispering in the Wind (WITW 45) September 17, 2014

Member of Parliament for the Westlock - St.Paul riding Brian Storseth announced that he will not be running in the 2015 federal election.  Mr. Storseth indicated that he will continue on with his duties as a MP until the election is called and that means no by-election in the riding. 

It is worth noting for local residents, the federal riding’s name and boundaries are changing.  The “new” riding name is Lakeland with “new” boundaries.  The Lakeland riding includes the following major communities and surrounding areas:  Athabasca, Thorhild, Smoky Lake, St. Paul, Glendon, Bonnyville, Vermilion, Lloydminister and Vegreville.

Political parties are in the very early stages of selecting their respective candidates to do battle in the scheduled October, 2015 general election.  For the Lakeland Conservative Association two people have let their name stand to be the riding’s Conservative nominee.  Lewis Semashkewich and Shannon Stubbs are both interested in becoming the Conservative Party of Canada’s candidate in the 2015 general election – a nomination date has not been set by the Lakeland Conservative Association.

Lewis Semashkewich

As President of Melewka Structures and Design, Mr. Semashkewich works from Athabasca and from what I have been able to determine, he is an entrepreneur and property manager – amongst other things he manages some elite properties in the Bahamas. As well Semashkewich is an elected trustee for the Aspen View Public School Board.  As to Mr. Semashkewich’s politics he is not hesitant to voice independent thoughts on where the Conservatives in Ottawa could do things differently and possibly better.  According to one interview Semashkewich identified “pipelines” and getting Alberta oil and refined oil products to both Canadian and foreign markets as a top priority in his campaign to get nominated.  To help the people in the Lakeland region Semashkewich said:  “I believe that we need to have another refinery between Cold Lake and Lloydminister…. We could build a pipeline east, refine the oil and sell finished products to Canadians and not be buying finished products back from other countries.”  Mr. Semashkewich has offered strong views on a number of other subjects such as immigration, the temporary foreign works program and Canada’s young people.   In Semashkewich’s words he says Canada’s youth is an “untapped resource” that must be cultivated.  From my perspective, it is refreshing to hear some political views from a conservative that recommends how things can be done better or differently and doing it in a conservative environment.

Shannon Stubbs

Shannon Stubbs was born and raised on a family farm in the Chipman area.  Ms. Stubbs has accumulated extensive political experience in the conservative movement in Alberta and Ottawa.  More recently Shannon Stubbs has worked closely with Alberta’s Wildrose Party and all of its activities.  Stubbs’ connection to the Wildrose Party has become quite personal in that she is now engaged to Shayne Saskiw, the current Wildrose MLA for the Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills constituency.  In the early days Shannon Stubbs started her political career with a BA in political science from the University of Alberta, was an intern for Preston Manning in the Reform movement and worked for Deborah Grey in her constituency office.  Most recently Stubbs has closely associated herself to the Alberta Wildrose Party.  Shannon Stubbs held the positions of advisor and chief of staff to the Alberta Wildrose Party leader, between 2010 -2012.  And Shannon Stubbs was director of legislative affairs for the Danielle Smith, leader of the official opposition between 2012 -2014.  Stubbs is currently visiting communities in the riding and gaining insights and thoughts from people she is meeting.  One thought that she has deemed particularly important are property rights.  If nominated and if she wins in the 2015 election, she will push for entrenching property rights in the constitution.  Another clear statement made by Ms. Stubbs is that she is a strong supporter of the present Conservative government in Ottawa – and that means, Ms. Stubbs is a strong supporter of the Harper Way.

My Perspective

Regarding the New Democrat, Liberal nominees, it is still early in the process.  In the past few weeks, both Thomas Mulcair and Justin Trudeau visited Alberta to rally their party faithful – and both probably have ideas on who and how their party might crack the conservative stronghold in Alberta, and the Lakeland riding.  As for the Conservative nominees there is little doubt in my mind that there are political differences between the two nomination candidates.  Lewis Semashkewich is relatively new to politics, more independent minded and more progressive.  Mr. Semashkewich would be classed a Red Tory – a conservative who holds “progressive” views on certain fiscal and social issues.  Shannon Stubbs has a different perspective on politics.  Stubbs has worked most of her early adult life under Preston Manning’s Reform (now Wildrose) influence.  No doubt in my mind, Ms. Stubbs would be classed a Blue Tory – a conservative who advocates and staunchly supports strong traditionalist, orthodox conservative values.  Who ends up carrying the torch for the Conservatives in the Lakeland riding has yet to be settled or determined.