Rachael Thomas has again received the nod from Lethbridge residents to be their representative in Ottawa.
The Conservative Party member says she feels honoured to be re-elected as the Member of Parliament for the region. Thomas says this is a job she does not take lightly.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun to have another term in the House of Commons and to be an advocate on behalf of Lethbridge,” Thomas says. “This region needs a strong voice in Ottawa and I’ve had the opportunity to do that for this community for three terms and I’m looking forward to the fourth.”
Over the 37 days of campaigning the re-elected MP says the concerns she heard from those she talked to did not change, with the top three being affordability, safety and security, along with Canada’s economic stability. Thomas says she heard from numerous people in the community that they do not feel safe in their community and many shared stories with her of not being able to go for a walk at night or feeling like they can send their child out to the playground to play on their own.
“Elderly people told me about needing to call the watch to walk with them in order to feel safe. People want a community that does feel safe and does feel secure and you know Pierre and the Conservative Party of Canada was offering that.”
She adds in light of the situation with the United States and President Donald Trump and his tariffs, people are asking questions about what the government is doing to draw investment to Canada going forward and if there is a plan to expand into other markets instead of depending so heavily on our neighbours to the south.
“They want to see the barriers brought down between provinces so that we can trade amongst ourselves, which, you know, there’s a lot of work to do there.”
Thomas’s family including her nine-month-old daughter was with her Monday night as she was re-elected for a fourth term. The politician says she went into politics because she loves her community and country, but since becoming a mom that feeling has amplified.
“It is not just my community and my country that I’m fighting for, it’s her. It’s her future. So it puts a new human face to what I’m doing.”
When asked about what the biggest challenge will be looking to the next four years in Ottawa, looking at the projected seats Thomas matter-of-factly stated “It’s not four years.”
