MLA Janice Sarich not jumping into federal politics

Edmonton-Decore Progressive Conservative MLA Janice Sarich released a statement this morning announcing that she will not seek a Conservative Party nomination for the next federal election.

The two-term backbench MLA and former school trustee had until recently been considered a contender for the nomination in the new Edmonton Griesbach riding.

Before today’s announcement, the provincial New Democrats, Wildrose and Liberals had been itching for an opportunity challenge the Redford Tories in a by-election in the working-class north Edmonton constituency. While Ms. Sarich was elected with healthy margins in the past two election, Edmonton-Decore had previously been represented by Liberal and NDP MLAs since the mid-1980s.

Two other PC MLAs could also make the jump into federal politics in the next election. Calgary-Foothills MLA Len Webber is seeking the Conservative nomination in Calgary Confederation, and Edmonton-McClung PC MLA David Xiao is expected to announce his intentions in Edmonton-West in the coming weeks.

Here is Ms. Sarich’s statement:

After a thorough exploration I have decided not to pursue a nomination for the federal Conservative Party of Canada.

I have been asked about the possibility on many occasions lately, and I want to try to address the questions by giving a sense of why I came to this conclusion.

I had been encouraged by many people to contest the nomination for Edmonton Griesbach riding, and in many ways it would have been a logical move and an interesting new challenge, given my work as an elected representative at the local and provincial levels since 2001.

I took the possibility seriously, and explored it very carefully. In the end, the constituent’s of Edmonton-Decore have been very good to me, and we have built a strong connection over the years.

The factor that made the biggest difference was that the issues and concerns that mean the most to me are at the provincial level. It is not that federal issues are not important – foreign policy, defence, and international trade are of course very important. But to me, issues related to education, health care and human services are simply much closer to my heart, and I think they are more crucial to the people I represent as well.

I have consistently focused on trying to support the development of healthy and well-educated families in strong and safe communities.
After much thought, it is quite clear to me that I have far more opportunity to do so at the provincial level.

I have genuinely appreciated all of the offers of support to pursue the federal nomination, and I want to thank all of those who offered encouragement and assistance. I hope this explanation will clarify my decision, and I want to encourage others to pursue the federal nomination in order to address the important issues at the national level.

Sincerely,

Janice