The Fort McMurray-Conklin byelection has been called for July 12, although advance polls are running until July 7.

During the long weekend, the Today interviewed all candidates hoping to represent Fort McMurray-Conklin in the legislature.

Neighbourhoods in Fort McMurray-Conklin include: Abasand, Beacon Hill, Draper, Grayling Terrace, Gregoire, all of Thickwood south of Thickwood Boulevard, Saprae Creek, Waterways and Wood Buffalo.

It also includes all rural hamlets, which are Anzac, Conklin, Gregoire Lake Estates, Fort Chipewyan, Fort Fitzgerald, Fort McKay and Janvier.

You can find your polling location at Election Alberta’s website. Our coverage of the byelection can be found here.

Candidates are in the order of the number of seats their parties hold in the legislature. Interviews have been edited and condensed for space and clarity.

Jane Stroud, Alberta NDP

Jane Stroud has represented Anzac, Conklin, Gregoire Lake Estates and Janvier as a municipal councillor since 2010. After dealing with the governments of four PC premiers, Stroud says Notley and the Alberta NDP have impressed her the most.

This is a historically conservative riding. How do you feel people in Fort McMurray-Conklin are receiving the leadership of Notley and the NDP?

I’ve been out at the doors and meeting people in Fort McMurray and across the riding. People seem to be more positive about the economy than they have been in sometime.

I live here, I work here, I’m in it for the right reasons. In my years on Wood Buffalo council, I’ve worked on a number of issues in the region and was in the region as a whole.

I believe the residents of Fort McMurray-Conklin deserve a local voice who knows the issues and has a track record of success.

Can issues such as the carbon tax or the province’s pipeline policies resonate with local voters?

On the carbon tax, we needed a climate change plan. That was mandated by the federal government for all provinces.

Putting the climate change plan in place gave us the support from the federal government for Trans Mountain.

That’s a very important project for our region. It offers sustainability and the rate of return will come back to Alberta.

Your campaign has frequently attacked the past political experience of your UCP opponent. Why should Laila Goodridge’s resume be treated with suspeicion?

I’m simply comparing my record to my opponent. When I was a councillor here in Wood Buffalo, Laila was running just three years ago in Grande Prairie and calling that her “home base.”

I’m simply asking if she was a parachute candidate then or now, and why she’s misleading Albertans.

She may have been born and raised here, but I do not believe she is connected to issues in Fort McMurray and certainly not to those in the rural areas and our Indigenous peoples.

You’ve called Notley and the Alberta NDP the best government the municipality has dealt with since you were on council. In what way has this government benefited Wood Buffalo?

Look how long it took to get Willow Square in the ground. Seniors in Fort McMurray-Conklin deserve a place where they can get care with dignity in close proximity to their families.

Also, the helipad at the hospital in Fort McMurray is really important. Many of our residents work outside the urban area and need a direct route to the hospital in case of an emergency. I appreciate the fact the NDP got it done.

With First Nations, they’re working on an addition to reserve in Fort Chipewyan which is important to that community. This past month, we signed a historic, long overdue agreement with McMurray Métis to purchase land from the province.

We’re also at the present time investing in off-reserve housing. The waterline going to rural areas has funding from the province to go to the boundaries of the Fort McMurray First Nation 468 in Ward 4.

Laila Goodridge, United Conservative Party

The political resume for Laila Goodridge begins in 2003, when she volunteered on Brian Jean’s nomination campaign to be the Conservative Party’s MP candidate. Since then, she has worked in the Alberta Legislature and on Parliament Hill.

Critiquing your political resume has been a major part of the NDP’s campaign locally. Why should voters not be wary of your past, particularly your 2015 election campaign in Grande Prairie-Wapiti?

To be honest, I don’t think that’s something that’s a fair criticism. I ran in Grande Prairie as a parachute candidate because they were struggling to find candidates after the floor crossing and I did a favour to the party.

It was more out of service and it was not my home. It was a place where my mum grew up and I had family there.

There were many parachute candidates for the NDP during that same election and I don’t hear them criticizing some of those people who are now MLAs.

The NDP government is praising the purchase of the Trans Mountain project as a victory and validation of policies such as the carbon tax. Have policies like the carbon tax helped the oilsands and pipeline projects?

With Trans Mountain, we all want this project to succeed, but it’s the result of inaction from the NDP and their federal Liberal allies that the project faced so much uncertainty that Kinder Morgan wanted to leave.

We’re in the situation we’re in as a result of actions taken by the Liberal government in Ottawa, with no opposition from the Alberta NDP, to halt two other pipelines including Northern Gateway and TransCanada’s Energy East.

This is not a celebration of the carbon tax, this is a lack of action from federal and provincial governments to get private industry to build these pipelines.

The UCP has been attacked as a threat to abortion access and LGBT rights, particularly after every UCP MLA refused to vote on a bill creating no-protest zones around clinics. Should voters supportive of these issues mistrust you?

The UCP has always been very clear we will not reopen this matter. It’s just misdirection from the NDP.

I strongly oppose any form of intimidation or harassment of women. Laws exist to ensure their safety.

If the NDP really believed this legislation was necessary, why had they never raised it once before?

They didn’t do it during decades of opposition, they didn’t in their election platform, they didn’t mention it in nearly three years of government, not even in their throne speech a month prior.

The UCP respects the rights of all people no matter who they are, where they came from, who they love, what they believe or who they pray to.

What I think Albertans want is focus on jobs and the economy, and not revisit social issues.

The rural areas gave the NDP a strong showing in 2015 and now they have produced an NDP candidate. Should you win, what would your approach be regarding reaching out to rural and Indigenous communities?

I believe in the last election if you did a combined PC and Wildrose vote, many rural areas were not clearly NDP.

You have to reach every single person in urban and rural communities and communicate with them.

I would listen to these communities and see what solutions they come up with for their specific communities.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time in rural and indigenous communities in this campaign and heard many of the same concerns, that they’re concerned about the carbon tax and how it affects their life and a lack of jobs in economy.

Sid Fayad, Alberta Party

The Alberta Party is hoping their first candidate to ever run in Wood Buffalo will be a wildcard. This is Sid Fayad’s first foray into politics. Since arriving in Fort McMurray in 2008, Fayad has run several businesses including restaurants, a barbershop and thrift store. He currently runs Mac Granite.

As the first candidate the Alberta Party has ran in Wood Buffalo, how are people receiving the party?

I’m getting a good reception. Voters want and need somebody from Fort McMurray, that has done business in Fort McMurray, has worked in Fort McMurray and gone through the same ups and downs. They don’t want repeat candidates that are career politicians.

What drew you to the Alberta Party over the UCP and NDP?

Our leader, Stephen Mandel, is someone I’ve known for a very long time from when he was mayor in Edmonton. He has a solid track record in Edmonton after he set them up with a good growth plan. Edmonton is now robust and flourishing.

The policies and stances of the party is one of the centre. It’s a balanced party considering the social aspects of the community and the province.

The province has to be balanced and can’t have a government that is extreme left or extreme right, which is what we get from the NDP and UCP. They overpromise and underdeliver. They promise us steak dinner and serve us bologna.

For the last three years, the NDP have said a lot and taken care of a few things, but they’re acting as if they solved all our problems.

But we have a growing deficit. Notley makes us look like we’re embarrassing and caters to the views and ideas of everyone else around the world, but when it comes to Alberta we’re last. We should be first and foremost.

The UCP have a whole wackload of issues with the LGBT community and within their party. Their leader has a bad track record from when he was in federal cabinet.

What local issues would you advocate for in the legislature?

We need more incentives for more action in Fort McMurray. Something like the carbon tax impacts heating our homes when it’s cold nine months of the year in Wood Buffalo.

We pay extra on all the goods and services in Fort McMurray.

And with fly-in, fly-out workers, we built a beautiful international airport that cost millions of dollars, but we’re seeing ridership decrease, hours are being reduced and there are layoffs.

If the system can’t be cut out completely, it has to at least be so any commuters benefit our region.

The airport could be a hub before they go to site, so they’re not just flying over Fort McMurray and taking money away from our community.

Its different with commuters who drive to site from elsewhere because they get gas here, stop for food and maybe spend the night after a long journey. But the people who live here are covering for those people who don’t contribute anything.

Any money made in Fort McMurray should be taxed in Fort McMurray and not bled out of our province.

And of course we have to prioritize a ring road. We have dangerous goods going through our city. Other places have other access routes out, but we have one.

We were lucky the highway was twinned during the evacuation, but if our only access out was blocked, we’re going to have residents stuck and in danger.

How would the Alberta Party get pipelines built and reduce emissions in the oilsands?

We would make sure there’s Indigenous interest and collaboration on every pipeline project. When that happens, pipelines will go through a lot easier. If we don’t include them, we get pushback.

If investors worry about protests and strikes and people blocking routes, we’re not going to see success. We need to get our resources to the west and east coast.

And regarding the carbon tax, Alberta is extremely vast with green tech opportunities. We also have the smallest carbon footprint between all the nations fighting this carbon issue. The NDP are trying to sell the story we are going to be a top carbon reducer, when really we’re already the lowest.

The more we tax people, the tougher it is for us to live. Nobody is happy with the carbon tax.

Robin Le Fevre, Alberta Liberal Party

This is the second time Robin Le Fevre has ran for a provincial seat in Fort McMurray, despite never having lived here. However, the Edmonton resident is hoping local voters will give his party a chance to understand the community.

As an Edmonton resident, why are you running in Fort McMurray-Conklin?

We have a lot of friends in the area and they needed someone to go on the ballot, and I’m as good a choice as any. We felt it was important there would be a Liberal choice on the ballot.

I guess there’s skepticism when there’s a candidate who has been flown in and hasn’t been a resident.

But my experience is when you’re new to a place, you’re able to see the beauty of the place and challenges all at the same time.

With the optics of having a broader experience beyond local communities, you can bring real value to a community and address some of its issues.

What are those issues you’ve identified in Fort McMurray-Conklin?

Jobs, especially with the oilpatch being as challenged as it is. Also environment issues.

We look at health care as an issue, but it is an issue for everybody.

We want to see our dollars spent well and see programs being delivered well.

What solutions would your party bring to those issues?

I don’t think there’s an easy fix. We have to take a hard look at what the books tell us first and look at ways of improving them.

I don’t have a specific policy issue with respect to something like housing today, but I come from a development background. We looked at different income levels, best ways to deliver infrastructure.

I can’t say I have a strong handle on all of the issues that are near and dear to the people in Fort McMurray-Conklin, but I can appreciate they want a community where they have jobs, health care and credible infrastructure serving their needs.

Adam Germain once represented Fort McMurray as an MLA between 1993 and 1997. After that, Fort McMurray favoured Wildrose or PC candidates. Why should Fort McMurray give your party another chance?

I’ve been around democracy long enough to know people at the end of the day want a good life to enjoy their families and don’t want to be discouraged or distracted from having that good life.

I don’t think people in Edmonton are any different than people in Fort McMurray in that respect.

I think we as Liberals hold the centre. We can bring a balanced approach the other parties don’t. This is a byelection and it’s a great opportunity to give a chance to a new party.

If you don’t like us, you get to replace us pretty fast. But you’ll be surprised with what we can do.

Brian Deheer, Green Party of Alberta

This is the third time Brian Deheer has ran in a Fort McMurray election, despite being another candidate that calls another place home. Deheer first ran as a federal candidate during the Fort McMurray-Athabasca byelection in 2014 and again in 2015 in Fort McMurray-Cold Lake. He insists the party is not a threat to the oilsands.

As a resident of Lac La Biche, why should Fort McMurray-Conklin voters consider you?

Certainly it’s preferable that candidates are from the riding they’re running for and in this case I’m not from Fort McMurray-Conklin. But I live just down the road and I feel there’s a lot of things we share in common. Just as there’s an enormous amount of oil activity in Wood Buffalo, there’s considerable amount in Lac La Biche County as well.

People believe your party wants to shut down the entire oilsands. Do you?

That’s not true. If you look closely at our policies, we want to work with industries including the oilsands and see some things done better.

Part of what we need to do is move towards a new energy mix and I find that a combination of conventional fuels – like oilsands and natural gas – as well as renewable and clean fuels – like wind solar and geothermal – are best.

Alberta has huge potential for those renewables. Even oilsands companies are making that shift. I was happy to learn that one of the companies was starting a solar farm. It shows they’re thinking of themselves less as oil companies and more as energy companies.

The more we broaden our energy mix, the better off we’ll be.

How would your party get bitumen to market?

We need to stay open to options and consider all our options.

It’s very important we consider the processing and upgrading closer to the source so we capture more of the jobs and value added.

There’s technology that enables bitumen to be convert into pellets. If it’s transported in that form, there would be almost no risk.

Maybe the solution will be a combo of the above and some rail, maybe some pipelines and maybe upgrading closer to the source.

Why should a riding home to the oilands consider the Green Party?

There’s a lot the Green Party has to offer. It’s different from most of the other parties. Its difficult to place all our policies in the left or right on the political spectrum. We have respect for communities and grassroots opinions, and take the long-term future perspective. What I would bring to this role is looking for opportunities for a stronger local economy.

I feel everyone should have an opportunity for their voice to be heard and all voices need to count. Everyone needs to be included.

vmcdermott@postmedia.com