Michael Fark: Liberal Party of Canada candidate for Yellowhead

By Jordan Rein

Liberal Party of Canada

Candidate profile: Michael Fark (LPC) – Yellowhead

Apr 7, 2025 | 2:17 PM

Michael Fark, the Liberal Party of Canada’s (LPC) candidate for the newly re-drawn Yellowhead riding, says he’s stepping into the political arena with a wealth of practical experience and a focus on infrastructure, crisis management, and local economic development.

Fark, who currently calls Jasper home, says he brings a diverse background to his campaign. His career has spanned various sectors, from his early days as a stone mason and home builder to his later work in crisis management and municipal government, where he served as the General Manager in Canmore. Fark’s most recent role involved leading the recovery efforts in Jasper after last summer’s devastating wildfires.

Although new to federal politics, Fark says his extensive experience navigating complex political challenges at multiple levels of government has shaped his understanding of what it takes to represent a community effectively. His work on the recovery efforts in Jasper, as well as his previous roles in government, have allowed him to engage directly with the needs of residents in Yellowhead, and it is this hands-on experience that Fark believes will serve him well if elected.

The Yellowhead riding, which stretches from Kananaskis in the south to Grande Cache in the north, is a sprawling, diverse region with a range of communities and industries. The newly redrawn boundaries, which include previous parts of several other ridings, present a unique challenge, but Fark believes his understanding of crisis management will be invaluable.

“Some of the threats were facing internationally, and even some of the challenges here in Yellowhead— there’s a fair bit of crisis going on,” says Fark.

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If elected, Fark says, among other issues, he hopes to address infrastructure deficits that he says have been a longstanding issue in the economy. He points to years of underinvestment in infrastructure at the municipal level and stresses the importance of ensuring that both business and communities have the necessary resources to thrive.

“[Infrastructure] is what will allow us to have a strong and healthy economy,” Fark says. “That healthy economy is actually our best defense against some of the threats we’re facing from the United States.”

Fark also prescribes the need to remove provincial trade barriers, get products to other international markets, and balancing immediate economic needs with long-term environmental sustainability as keys to national success.

“We saw the very real effects of climate change last summer here in Jasper,” says Fark. “But we’ve also been seeing it with the drought in southern Alberta- so we do need to balance those things.”

Fark’s focus on infrastructure extends to housing and affordability, which he says are pressing issues across Yellowhead. He acknowledges the challenges residents face in securing affordable housing and is committed to addressing the issue with practical solutions that balance economic development with long-term sustainability.

When it comes to Canadian sovereignty and relations with the United States, Fark emphasizes the importance of a united front. He supports the current approach of standing firm on national interests and rejecting any notion of Canadian subordination. Fark believes the distinctiveness of Canada’s values—such as investment in healthcare, education, and social safety nets—should remain protected.

In his quest to represent the riding, Fark says he’s “never really been a [political] party person,”; instead, he sees the role of an MP as one that involves deeply listening to the concerns of constituents and advocating for their needs in a meaningful way.

So far, along with the LPC naming Fark, three other parties have nominated candidates in the Yellowhead riding:

• William Stevenson has been nominated by the Conservative Park of Canada (CPC).
• Avni Soma has been nominated by the New Democratic Party (NDP).
• Vicky Bayford has been nominated by the People’s Party of Canada (PPC).

rdnewsNOW has reached out to all declared candidates for an interview.

Voters head to the polls on April 28.

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