Federal election 2021: Conservative candidate for Calgary Confederation — Len Webber
By Sophia Lopez, September 10 2021—
This year’s federal election will take place on Sept. 20. As the election is fast approaching, the Gauntlet interviewed the willing candidates from Calgary Confederation — the riding encompassing the University of Calgary — on issues facing students and why your vote matters this fall.
One of the many political parties running in this election is the Conservative Party of Canada, which plans on creating job opportunities to help Canadians recover from the pandemic and boost the economy. Len Webber, incumbent candidate for Calgary Confederation, spoke with the Gauntlet on the work the Conservative Party is doing to help Calgarians during these difficult times and why they want the younger generation to get involved.
“I would encourage any youth to support the Conservative Party because we are the only party that has a plan in order to secure a future for the youth for jobs, and for low taxes and for opportunities in the future,” he said.
In response to COVID-19 and how the pandemic has affected everyone, the Conservative Party plans to support the mental health of Canadians by providing more reliable and efficient resources.
“I believe that we need to invest a considerable amount of money into mental health in particular,” said Webber. “We need to be there, whether it’s a number to call, to seek counseling to be able to talk to somebody, or even just give them hope for the future.”
The oil and gas industry plays a huge role in Alberta’s economy, and although Webber believes in eventually transitioning away from oil and gas, he explained that this process cannot happen overnight and that we need to continue taking advantage of Alberta’s natural resources.
“Oil and gas is not going away, the demand for oil and gas is going to continue to increase,” he explained. “We should be tapping into our own oil resources, getting our oil industry going again, and encouraging investment and exploration and a more environmentally friendly way of extracting oil from the oil sands, which we continue to achieve.”
Many university students are at the age where they are eligible to vote and Webber highly encourages youth to get involved in the federal elections in order to help the country better represent the needs of the younger generation.
“This election is an incredibly important election, it’s going to determine the path forward with respect to our country, whether it’s going to be a country with opportunities, or a country with high taxation and limited opportunities,” said Webber.
Webber concludes by reminding students that he is here for them, and that the Conservative Party is aiming to help students have a more affordable education.
“I would certainly love to see more people attend post secondary education at a lesser cost, and the way to do that is to have a strong vibrant economy,” he said.
The federal election will take place on Sept. 20, 2021. For more information on Len Webber, check out his website. The full platform for the Conservative Party of Canada can be found online.