Members of the Kootenay-Columbia Conservative Association have chosen Rob Morrison as their candidate for the 2019 federal election.
Voting for their candidate in nomination votes this past week and weekend in Nelson, Creston, Invermere, Sparwood, and Cranbrook, the Kootenay-Columbia Conservative Association voted Rob Morrison as their candidate over Wendy Booth and Dale Shudra.
“I just am ecstatic, I’m so happy to be part of the Kootenay-Columbia riding and to represent the people here,” Morrison told MyEastKootenayNow.com following the nomination vote. “I am just so looking forward to 2019 and hope to get a lot of support from the people in the area.”
Morrison said that all of the candidates had one objective right from the start, regardless of who eventually secured the candidacy.
“We travelled all over our riding and we all had one goal. The goal was to –Â whoever won, was to work together and to build up the Conservative Party within the Kootenay-Columbia and to win 2019.”
Wendy Booth took to social media after learning of the results from Saturday’s final nomination vote in Cranbrook.
“Congratulations to Rob Morrison for securing the nomination,” wrote Booth. “I’m glad that I had this opportunity and I wish him all the best.”
The upcoming federal election will be held October 21, 2019, as Morrison is expected to get back on the campaign trail and continue to make his case to local voters as to why he should be the next MP for Kootenay-Columbia.
“To be a successful member of parliament you need to be a good listener because you have to find out what the issues are,” Morrison told MyEastKootenayNow.com. “For me to be travelling to all of these areas is vital and I’ll be doing that.”
Morrison is expected to compete in Kootenay-Columbia against current NDP MP Wayne Stetski, as well as undetermined Liberal and Green Party candidates.
Historically Kootenay-Columbia has been a right-wing riding since it was first created in 1996, electing Reform Party, Canadian Alliance, and Conservative Party candidate Jim Abbott in five consecutive elections from 1997 to 2011 before electing David Wilks as their Conservative MP in 2011, who is now the current Mayor of Sparwood.
The NDP then won in 2015 with Wayne Stetski narrowly defeating Wilks by just 282 votes, as Stetski continues to serve Kootenay-Columbia as the riding’s active MP.