UCP leadership hopeful Todd Loewen visits Cochrane

United Conservative Party leadership hopeful Todd Loewen’s new Ford F-150 rolled over the 45,000 kilometre mark on the odometer as he pulled into Cochrane for a campaign meet-and-greet at Ducks on the Roof on Sept. 23.

The UCP leadership candidate bought his pick-up on June 6, so it’s clear the vehicle has seen many of Alberta’s highways in the last three months. The soft-spoken road warrior said he’s loved every minute while criss-crossing the province, talking to Albertans about what political issues are most important to them.

Asked if he’s getting tired, he responds like a four-year-old when asked the same question near bedtime, only with a smile.

“Nope.”

It’s been a long three-and-a-half months on the campaign trail, but Loewen said he has enjoyed it all.

“This is the fun part, and the most important part – meeting people,” he said.

Loewen runs an outfitting business near his home in Valleyview, near Grande Prairie. He hunts moose, elk, deer, and black bears in his spare time.

The top issues he’s heard about on the road are the rising cost of living, the decline in health care, Alberta’s relationship with Ottawa, and the governmental response to COVID-19.

All of the other UCP leadership candidates except Loewen have been distancing themselves from arguable front-runner candidate Danielle Smith’s controversial Sovereignty Act proposal, which would allow Alberta to ignore any federal laws that go against the province’s interests.

Loewen said the critics have been misrepresenting the Sovereignty Act, which is not really an Act at all. He downplayed its importance.

“All it does is allow us to say ‘No’ to Ottawa if they interfere with our provincial jurisdiction, or if they come up with something that’s going to harm Albertans,” he said.” It’s very simple – it’s actually just one sentence.”

In the next sentence, he points out that it’s not even really necessary.

“I just think we don’t need to wait until we pass the Sovereignty Act – we can start saying ‘No’ to Ottawa now,” he said.

“Quebec doesn’t have a Sovereignty Act. They just say ‘No’ to Ottawa anytime they want.”

In February 2021, when he was still a UCP MLA for Central Peace-Notley, Loewen argued for a regionally based reopening strategy during the end of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was one of 18 UCP members who signed an open letter to Premier Jason Kenney in April 2021, criticizing the public health measures that aimed to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

In May 2021, Loewen posted an open letter calling for Premier Jason Kenney to resign, and resigned his position as caucus chair, but did not resign from the UCP.

Loewen's letter criticized Kenney's government, claiming the premier had weak negotiations with the federal government, ignored caucus members, delivered contradictory messages, failed in negotiations with doctors over billing, and the controversy over coal mining in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

Later that month, Loewen and fellow UCP MLA Drew Barnes were kicked out of the UCP caucus by a caucus-wide vote after both criticized the government’s response to COVID-19.

If it’s true that nice guys finish last, Loewen doesn’t have a hope. He’s soft spoken, articulate, smiles easily, listens carefully, and looks you straight in the eye when conversing.

He’s been perceived as a non-contender in the race to be the UCP’s next boss – Smith and Travis Toews have been touted by most observers and some polls as being the front-runners.

The UCP will elect its new leader Oct. 6, using a preferential balloting system, where voters mark their choices in order of preference.

If a candidate wins a majority of the first preference votes, they will be declared the winner.

If nobody receives a majority of the votes — 50 per cent plus one — then the person who received the least number of votes gets eliminated, and the second choices on their ballot cards get distributed to the pool. The process is repeated until someone eventually gets a majority.

The preferential system punishes antagonistic candidates, but benefits those who are seen as similar by voters.

When asked if he thinks he can garner enough second-choice votes to surprise people in the preferential ballot system being used in the Oct. 6 election, Loewen smiles.

“Well, I’m hoping I can win on the first ballot with over 50 per cent as number one,” he said with a self-deprecating laugh.

Then he retracts his bold prediction as he comes down to earth.

“I would say no, that’s probably not realistic. I don’t believe the polls are that accurate, but no, that would be hard for me to do.”