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The era of Ottawa telling Alberta to pay up and shut up must end once and for all
Jul 6, 2025
The Alberta way didn't require a government program or a grant or an application to come to the rescue in a time of difficulty because that's not how Albertans work. ... We know that there can only be a strong Canada when there is a strong and respected Alberta. ... -- This video has automatic dubbed versions. Go to Setting / Audio track and select your preferred language among the following: - English - Dutch - French - German - Hindi - Indonesian - Italian - Japanese - Korean - Polish - Portuguese
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0:01
So,
0:07
but it is great to be home here. Uh, you
0:10
know, I used to come here to Heritage
0:12
Park when I was in school. They'd bring
0:14
us here, dress, Our parents would dress
0:15
us up like it was 1905.
0:18
And we go into the little schoolhouse. I
0:19
think it's still over there. And they
0:21
even had the little strap. They didn't
0:23
they didn't hit us very hard, but I got
0:24
a little bit of a mark on my palm for
0:26
talking too much during the class. And
0:29
um this is the place that taught me my
0:31
values. The values of hard work,
0:33
freedom, family, values that my wife
0:36
Anna, who I'm very honored to have with
0:38
me here, shares the values with which
0:40
we're raising our kids.
0:47
I grew up in these neighborhoods, walked
0:49
my dog, ran my dog in Fish Creek Park,
0:51
delivered the Calgary Sun door to door
0:54
as my very first job. played hockey in
0:56
the local arenas. And uh these values
0:59
that I've taken from this community and
1:01
this province have taken me forward. And
1:03
of course, these are the values of all
1:05
Albertans. The values that Damian
1:08
Kurrick has demonstrated in putting his
1:10
country first. And I'm very excited.
1:13
Yes. Give him one more round of
1:14
applause.
1:21
Damian is a family man, a hard-working
1:24
patriot, a great farmer, uh beloved in
1:27
his community, known and trusted by
1:29
people far and wide. And the story that
1:32
touches me most about him and Danielle
1:34
was um about a year ago, his father
1:37
passed away unexpectedly right in the
1:40
middle of the harvest. And they have
1:41
6,000 acres that they had to bring home.
1:44
And if you can imagine, making
1:46
arrangements and mourning such a loss in
1:49
the middle of the harvest was a big
1:50
problem. They didn't know how they were
1:52
going to bring home the crop. Then all
1:54
of a sudden, there were these combines
1:58
that just appeared from all directions
2:01
on one morning and they fanned out into
2:03
the field and they brought home the crop
2:06
and dropped it in the bins and went back
2:09
to their farms to do their jobs. And
2:12
that really is the story of Alberta,
2:13
isn't it?
2:21
It was more than It was a harvest in
2:23
more than one way. It was a harvest of
2:25
the crop that had been planted, but also
2:28
a harvest of all the friendships that
2:29
had been built over so many years. But
2:31
the Alberta way didn't require a
2:34
government program or a grant or an
2:37
application to come to the rescue in a
2:39
time of difficulty because that's not
2:40
how Albertans work. They get up, they
2:43
get it done, they do what's help what's
2:45
right, they help a neighbor, and when
2:46
they're done, they don't expect any
2:48
thank you. They go back to doing their
2:49
business and caring for their families.
2:52
That's what it means to be an Albertan.
2:59
That's the spirit of the stampede. the
3:01
spirit of free enterprise, personal
3:04
responsibility, communities coming
3:05
together, neighbors helping each other.
3:07
It's about remembering where you come
3:08
from so you know where you're going. But
3:11
that is also the story of Canada. And on
3:16
the topic of Canada, we know that there
3:18
can only be a strong Canada when there
3:21
is a strong and respected Alberta.
3:26
For me,
3:29
[Applause]
3:32
For me, that's personal. I was born in
3:35
79. And of course, only a few late years
3:38
later, Pierre Elliot Trudeau would
3:40
attack our province with a national
3:43
energy program.
3:45
Not to mention, yeah, there's still a
3:46
few that remember that.
3:49
Many probably still paying the bill from
3:50
it. The same time he hammered the entire
3:53
country with money printing deficits
3:55
that gave us the worst inflation and
3:56
interest rates in our history. Our
3:58
family actually lost our home and we had
4:01
to scrimp and save and get help from
4:03
extended family in order to get our
4:05
little place in Shaughnessy which my
4:07
mother still lives in. I think my mother
4:09
is here today somewhere. There she is.
4:13
And
4:17
when I got a little older and I started
4:19
to understand politics and realized what
4:21
had happened and why we had gone through
4:22
so much hardship in my early childhood,
4:25
that's one of the things that got me
4:26
into politics to join with fellow
4:28
Westerners to stand up for our province
4:31
for fairness within a united Canada to
4:33
stand with the great leaders like
4:35
Preston Manning, Stockwell Day, Steven
4:38
Harper, Ralph Klene and to carry carry
4:41
on the tradition
4:44
that they started and we'll do it again.
4:47
And we will do it again. What's that?
4:49
Peter Law. Peter Lawed. Another one.
4:51
Yep. He was a little a little early for
4:52
me, but yes, absolutely. Peter Law Heed.
4:54
And
4:57
you look too young to have known Peter
4:58
Loheed. But uh
5:01
but that is the tradition that Danielle
5:03
carries on today. And let me tell you,
5:06
we are going to fight for our province
5:07
again. We'll fight for oil and gas, for
5:10
farmers, for low taxes, for
5:11
decentralization, a stronger military,
5:14
and a smaller federal government so that
5:16
we can have a bigger Alberta.
5:21
[Applause]
5:26
And if elected in Battle River Crowoot,
5:29
I'll use the platform of leader of the
5:31
opposition to amplify the legitimate
5:33
demands of Western Canada to end the
5:36
unfair treatment. The era of Ottawa
5:39
telling Alberta to pay up and shut up
5:42
must end once and for all.
5:52
But the answer the answer is alliances.
5:55
We need to build alliances with other
5:56
provinces that share our destiny and our
5:59
interests. Let's build an alliance with
6:02
British Columbombians who want to ship
6:05
liqufied natural gas off of our Pacific
6:08
coast to Asia and bring home hundreds of
6:10
billions of dollars in paychecks doing
6:12
it. Let's build alliances.
6:18
Let's build alliances with Saskatchewan
6:22
and Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who
6:24
want to develop their oil and gas and
6:26
aren't interested in having anyone in
6:28
Ottawa cap how much they can produce.
6:31
Let's
6:36
let's build alliances with Manitobans
6:38
who want to ship oil out of the port of
6:40
Churchill. Let's build alliances. Yes,
6:42
let's even
6:46
let's build alliances with Quebec and
6:49
other provinces that want to
6:50
decentralize our country and get Ottawa
6:53
out of our business so that provinces
6:55
and people can make their own decisions.
6:59
[Applause]
7:17
We want to put our country and our
7:18
people back in charge of their lives.
7:20
Yes.
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