The Lethbridge business community is reacting to the results of Monday’s provincial election, specifically the return of Lethbridge’s two incumbent MLA’s: the UCP’s Nathan Neudorf in Lethbridge-East and the Alberta NDP’s Shannon Phillips in Lethbridge-West.
Cyndi Bester with the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce says the consistency helps them reinforce their priorities as they continue partnerships.
“That fiscal responsibility,” said Bester of the chamber’s top asks. “At the same time understanding that economic drivers are business.”
Meanwhile, municipal leaders say they’re also prepared to use their relationships to hold the new UCP government accountable to its commitments.
“We got a lot of promises before the writ was dropped,” said Lethbridge mayor Blaine Hyggen.
“I want to make sure we follow up on these and make sure these campaign promises are realized.”
When it comes to the impact on the city, political experts say both returning MLAs high profiles are an asset, and reminiscent of a time when longstanding legislative members from Lethbridge also maintained portfolios.
Before the election, Neudorf served as deputy premier and infrastructure minister, while Phillips was the opposition’s finance critic.
“I think this returns Lethbridge to the place that it had back in the 90s and 2000s, and that’s probably good for the city of Lethbridge,” said Geoffrey Hale, a professor emeritus of political science.
Bringing back both incumbents means the city is once again split between the UCP and NDP, which some believe could be beneficial.
“Having that balance between the two parties will at least not be a negative for Lethbridge,” said political science professor Lars Hallstrom, as the two parties move their attention from the campaign trail to the legislature.