BOW VALLEY – Six candidates are now running for election in Banff-Kananaskis, including a candidate for the Alberta Liberal Party.
Gwyneth Midgley, the executive director for the provincial party, has lived in Calgary for the past 25 years, but follows local issues closely and has deep connections in the Bow Valley.
“I am very passionate about the Kananaskis, Banff, Canmore area,” said Midgley, who graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in geography.
She said her biggest concern as a candidate is working with residents and stakeholders to protect the local environment.
“We are very concerned about climate change and the environment and how we balance that with the province’s economy,” said Midgley, explaining her party would uphold the province’s carbon tax and help develop a sustainable tourism industry.
“This is something that we have to tackle as a province and I want to see strong environmental regulations.”
She said her party is also concerned about clear cutting in Kananaskis Country, protecting watersheds along the eastern slopes and growing pressure from visitors on the province’s parks.
While the environment is a major concern, she said her party is also concerned about other bread and butter issues like affordable housing and taxes.
“We’re also concerned about issues that effect people and making sure people have a good quality of life in terms of services, healthcare, education and a living wage,” said Midgley.
One of the party’s key election platforms is a promise to restructure the province’s tax system, including introducing a harmonized sales tax (HST) of eight per cent.
According to its platform, it would implement the new tax while also eliminating personal income tax for individuals who make $57,000 or less. Anyone who makes more than that would see their income tax rate cut by one per cent.
The Liberals would also slash corporate tax rates by two per cent to create jobs and diversify the economy.
“We’re running on an HST, which is a more efficient way of collecting taxes and more sustainable for the future so there isn’t a revenue roller coaster which relies on the boom and bust of the oil and gas industry,” said Midgley.
“It also taxes the tourists that come and visit our province. We’re missing out on almost a billion dollars in tourism taxation revenue because we don’t have a sales tax, which can go towards many other things that Albertans need.”
Beyond her party’s platform promises, she said she also has deep connections in the Bow Valley.
In 2012 she worked for Harvey Locke, a well-known conservationist from Banff, who ran unsuccessfully for the Liberal Party of Canada in the Calgary Centre riding
She also helped Marlo Raynolds run unsuccessfully for the Liberal Party of Canada in the 2015 federal election for the Banff-Airdrie riding. Raynolds is now the chief of staff for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna.
She also has four children, including a daughter who lives in Canmore and works with the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y).
