A longtime and vocal critic of the Alberta government is now looking for a change of pace, seeking a seat in the institution that he had long been keeping tabs on.
Derek Fildebrandt, who had headed the Canadian Taxpayers Federation from 2009 to late 2014, has announced that he is seeking to become the Wildrose candidate for Strathmore-Brooks.
Fildebrandt says that he is even considering making a run at the leadership of Alberta’s Official Opposition. “I’m consulting with friends and family right now and I’m going to make a decision that is best for the party, the province, and my family, and that could take several different forms. Obviously, Jim Prentice, even if he doesn’t call an election, is playing games here to put a stick in the spokes of the Official Opposition.”
He thinks the election talk is ‘incredibly undemocratic’ when he knows that the opposition will be trying to hold a leadership race.
“The Wildrose are going to have a leadership race and we are going to have a viable leader in the next election.”
Fildebrandt says that the recent floor crossing of one Wildrose MLA prompted him to make the move.
“Well, in all honesty if Jason Hale hadn’t crossed the floor, I wouldn’t be challenging for the Wildrose nomination right now. Jason was a guy I liked; he was a guy I trusted to keep his word. I trusted his word when he signed his name to the CTF Balanced Budget Pledge. The people of Strathmore, like me, feel betrayed.”
Fildebrandt doesn’t currently live in Strathmore but says he and his wife are actively looking to move there.
