Leadership hopefuls with the United Conservative Party are hitting the road meeting voters and selling memberships to the new party.

Candidate Doug Schweitzer, one of four men running, stopped in High River, Nanton, Fort Macleod and Lethbridge on Friday in what he called his whistle stop tour of Alberta.

"The event in High River was really fascinating," said  Schweitzer. "We had a bunch of small business owners come out to it. The discussion was more about how can the government get back to fundamentals, how can we make sure we are competitive, and that small businesses can thrive in Alberta."

"I love High River, the entrepreneur spirit there is just amazing."

One topic that didn't come up - the flood.

"Nobody was complaining about the flooding. They were all saying this is what we are going to do, this is how we are going to move forward. It was just a true testament to what makes Alberta special."

He said all of the communities on his tour had different concerns.

"Fort Macleod had a little bit more of a discussion around affordable housing."

He added the people he is talking to say Albertans want to get competitive again.

"They are looking for a change, they defiantly want to get rid of the NDP government in the next election campaign, but they want to make sure this new party reflects their values."

He is hearing that people want a leader that is socially moderate but fiscally conservative.

"That is one of the reasons our campaign is really starting to gain traction around Alberta."

Schweitzer said volunteers are signing up and his fundraising taking off.

"I've been involved with campaigns behind the scene as a volunteer and we are hitting our stride we are going to be peaking at the right time which is in September, October."

To vote for the leader of the UCP on October 28th you need to purchase a membership.

The party hasn't announced when they will cut off sales before the vote.

 

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