Martha Hall Findlay professes political optimism at U of A

Riding the momentum from Sunday’s Liberal leadership debate, candidate Martha Hall Findlay brought her vision for Canada to the University of Alberta.

Intermittently sipping on a beer while speaking to a full, enthusiastic room at Dewey’s, Findlay made her case as to why she’s the best candidate to lead the Liberals — even after their disastrous showing in the 2011 election — as well as the best choice for leader of the entire country.

“We will never regain the trust and confidence of Canadians if we don’t regain the trust and confidence that we need to have in ourselves to stand up for what is right,” Findlay said.

Findlay made it clear that she and her party need to have substance and the ability to take a firm stance on important economic and social issues if they hope to win the votes necessary to form the next ruling government. With this goal in mind, she acknowledged the Liberals have their work cut out for them in Alberta. But for Findlay, the path to success lies in changing both the Liberal party’s goals and their presence in our province.

“Have you seen the Liberal party in the last 30 years? Alberta has been flown over by the Liberal party for ages,” Findlay said. “Here I am: a supporter of the oil sands, talking about how the oil sands contribute to the economic prosperity of all of the country. I can remind people that the oil sands exist because of the Liberal government’s involvement in helping to subsidize the initial development.”

It’s that kind of changing attitude Findlay hopes will win her the leadership race and put the Liberals back into power. While this isn’t Findlay’s first leadership contest — she ran in 2006 before polling last and throwing her support behind Stéphane Dion — she’s optimistic that things are different this time around.

“One of the biggest differences between 2006 and now: it’s really fun being referred to as a front runner.”

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