By Troy Gillard

LaGrange, Stephan elected

United Conservatives sweep Red Deer

Apr 16, 2019 | 9:11 PM

After being part of the NDP Orange Crush in 2015, Red Deer was part of the Blue Wave that swept across Alberta on Tuesday.

United Conservative Party candidates Adriana LaGrange in Red Deer-North and Jason Stephan in Red Deer-South cruised to victory on a night where their party won a majority government in the provincial election.

“I think it’s exciting for Alberta, there’s change coming and it’s going to be a positive change,” says LaGrange. “I know we have a wonderful platform. It’s a progressive platform that will lead the party well, lead the province well and we will be able to hit the ground running.

“We’ve got wonderful, talented people, a very diverse group of individuals with many talents and skills and abilities from all walks of life.”

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LaGrange resigned earlier this year from Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools, where she had been on the Board of Trustees since 2007, in order to enter provincial politics. She is also the former president of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association and former vice-president of the Canadian Catholic School Trustees’ Association.

“I have been totally blessed with some of the best people who have helped me,” notes LaGrange. “The support I’ve received over the past number of months has just been incredible. I’m so thrilled and so blessed and so fortunate, I really can’t thank them enough.”

LaGrange defeated incumbent Kim Schreiner, who was elected as NDP MLA in 2015. While in office she served as deputy chair of the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund and as a member of the Special Standing Committee on Members’ Services and the Standing Committee on Alberta’s Economic Future.

“I’m absolutely proud of what I have done as an MLA for the last four years. I’ve worked very hard for Red Deerians and Albertans,” she said following her defeat. “I guess I wish I would’ve had just a little bit more time. I’ve worked extremely hard to get hospital expansion and the cardiac cath lab. That was something very near and dear to me. I am so proud of our government for putting the money for the needs assessment and business plan in the last budget.”

After a short rest, LaGrange says her first order of business will be to find out what she can do to serve the citizens of Red Deer.

“The hospital expansion and cardiac catheterization are top of my list of priorities,” declares LaGrange. “And of course education and the needs of central Alberta in education and then going beyond that, I will be looking at how I can help provincially.”

Red Deer-North (87 of 89 polls reporting, 20,181 total votes)
X- 12,246 Adriana LaGrange – UCP
4,665 Kim Schreiner – NDP
2,688 Paul Hardy – AP
352 Matt Chapin – FCP
230 Michael Neufeld – AIP

Elected in Red Deer-South, Jason Stephan, both a Chartered Accountant and a Lawyer, has served as President of the Red Deer Taxpayers’ Association and is the founder and owner of CA Tax Law.

“A lot of things as we know from life that are the most worthwhile, are the things we have to work the hardest for,” he exclaims. “I have to say that probably this last month, month and a half has been one of the hardest working months I’ve ever had but one of the most rewarding. It’s just been a wonderful experience meeting so many great people in our community.”

Stephan unseated incumbent Barb Miller, who was the president of the Red Deer and District Labour Council and a cashier for Safeway before being elected as NDP MLA in 2015.

“I was proud of being an MLA for the last four years,” said an emotional Miller. “I had an amazing team and we worked hard. We just didn’t get the result we wanted. I was proud to be on Rachel’s team and I’m going to continue to fight here for Red Deer-South.”

Alberta Party candidate Ryan McDougall finished third in Red Deer-South in Tuesday’s election.

“I think this was an incredibly positive experience for me, I learned a lot,” she said. “It was a lot of hard work, but people warned me before I committed to it. I’ve gotten to know so many incredible people, and as far as the other candidates in my riding, everybody’s been very respectful.”

Stephan says Alberta has prospered in the past because it has always been competitive, something he hopes to see the province do again moving forward.

“We’ve always been the land of opportunity where people from all over the country would come and visit,” recalls Stephan. “The UCP platform which we will be implementing in the next couple months will restore that competitiveness. We will again be the most attractive, competitive place to both start and grow a business.

“I would say that we have made a very positive step tonight,” adds Stephan. “Better days are ahead.”

Red Deer-South (86 of 90 polls reporting, 18,463 total votes)
X-10,628 Jason Stephan – UCP
4,878 Barb Miller – NDP
2,542 Ryan McDougall – AP
210 Teah-Jay Cartwright – FCP
205 Lori Curran – GRN