The purpose of this note is to thank you for everything we achieved in the 2011 election campaign. We may not have won the battle for Edmonton-Strathcona but we decisively won the war for Canada, in more ways than one.
For many of us, the election of a national Conservative majority government marks the culmination of 25 year political odyssey that began in Alberta. As a young man I was attracted to politics by the ideas, principles and objectives that were encapsulated in the rallying cry “The West Wants In,” and I am overjoyed that millions of Canadians from coast to coast to coast voted for a Conservative majority government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
May 2, 2011 will go down in history as the national election that restored stability and clear choices to Canada’s national politics. For much of the 20th century our country was ruled by politicians and parties who stood for nothing. But last Monday, Canadians elected an overwhelming majority of MPs who belong to parties that hold strong convictions, either Conservatives or New Democrats, while the opportunist Liberals and separatist Bloc Quebecois were nearly annihilated.
Nowhere in Canada was the contest over ideas fought more vigorously than in Edmonton-Strathcona. We forced a long overdue debate over energy policy onto the local and national agenda. We called out our opponents for bashing our province and the industry that drives our economy. We appealed to reason, not emotion, and got people thinking hard about the importance of a balanced approach to economic development and environmental protection. We fought to represent Alberta's positive and productive role within a strong Canada.
Defeat is a great teacher: no doubt there were things we could have done differently, and better, on the campaign, but working harder was not one of them. Team Hastman set national records for door-knocking, pamphleteering and media exposure. If elections were won on effort alone, Edmonton-Strathcona would have been a Conservative landslide. I have all of you to thank for that.
So as I said on election night, we have nothing to be ashamed of, and everything to be proud of. For me, the proudest moment was the morning after, when Prime Minister Harper was asked at a news conference what the election result means for the West. “Western Canada can breathe a lot easier,” he said. “There were a lot of policies being floated by the other parties [on] the energy sector that simply did not reflect the needs and concerns of this part of the country [and] were pretty seriously threatening to the interests of this part of the country. ... So I think it’s a great thing that those policies will not be coming to fruition.”
Indeed! And every single one of you who contributed to our campaign can be proud of the fact that we led the argument against those dangerous opposition policies. We fought honourably for a worthy cause, and next time we’ll win the battle as well as the war.
Thank you all very much for your support. Please stay in touch!
Ryan & Lianne Hastman
May 6, 2011
Contact the Edmonton-Strathcona EDA at: www.strathconaconservatives.com
Phone: 780-433-069