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A UCP government will carve out a new provincial park in southwest Edmonton’s river valley if elected, leader Jason Kenney announced Saturday.

The plan is to protect the North Saskatchewan River valley from industrial and residential development and growth pressures while enhancing the recreational potential of the area, Kenney said at an announcement overlooking the river valley.

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He said a UCP government would take funds allocated by the NDP to build a solar farm in the area and invest them into the new Big Island Provincial Park.

“United Conservatives share the vision of the River Valley Alliance to transform over 100 kilometres of river valley into an extraordinary park that becomes the single, unifying and defining characteristic of the capital region — just as Stanley Park and Central Park are for Vancouver and New York,” said Kenney.

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A UCP government would provide up to $10 million over two years to create the park in the Woodbend-Big Island Natural Area, 770 hectares of largely wilderness land along the river in southwest Edmonton between the Anthony Henday freeway and the town of Devon.