Green Party candidate Joe Anglin was Prins’ toughest competition in this election and had many supporters by his side at Moose Hall in Ponoka while the votes were rolling in. Anglin realized that it was a tough battle against the Progressive Conservative party and was impressed with the advancement of the Green Party in this election.
“I’m very proud of my party,” said Anglin. “We started out with $0 in our bank account and the Conservatives started out with a full wallet and I think we did really well. To get that many votes was pretty good. We knew we were going against the grain, and we are in the heartland of the Conservatives. What is most important though is that the issues are still here and I’ll debate any politician anytime to help address those issues. We have truth and the issues on our side.”
During his campaigning Anglin spoke with many Albertans and found there was lack of information when it came to the different parties.
“People don’t take the time to be informed,” he said. “The hardest thing was trying to battle the misinformation. A lot of people just vote for the different parties and have never heard of the candidate or what they are about. I think more people should put effort into finding out exactly who they are voting for.”
Alberta Liberal party candidate Edith McPhedran received less votes than Anglin and was surprised at the results of the election.
“My heart aches for this province,” she said. “I really believe there are serious issues that need to be addressed and changed. Through the campaign we had people clearly say they were not going to vote Conservative and they either voted differently or, judging by the voter turnout, people were fearful of change and came out to vote to keep that from happening.”
McPhedran believes that it was a strong election and is pleased with the work of all the candidates.
“I believe the Liberals had a sound platform and were well thought out,” she said. “I really wanted to see democracy served and I think that it was in the fact that we made the Conservatives work for their votes. We were all strong candidates but people made their choice and I hope that they get what they want.”