PCs must attract younger voters, leadership candidates tell Fort McMurray town hall

The Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta needs to skew its policies to appeal to younger voters, leadership candidates told a town hall debate Thursday in Fort McMurray.

Byron Nelson, Stephen Khan, Jason Kenney and Richard Starke took questions submitted by members of the audience. A few touched on the theme of attracting younger voters.

Khan, a former PC cabinet minister who lost his seat in the 2015 election, said the party failed to connect with younger voters during the last campaign.

Socially conservative policies turn off younger voters, he said, noting the average age in Alberta is 36.

"People who are 36 years old and under are not people who are going to support policy or emotion that pits parental rights against outing LGBT kids from schools," Khan said, gesturing toward Kenney.

"People who are millennials believe in climate change and want a responsible government to take action against it."

Nelson said millennials have different priorities and the party needs to focus on what interests them, not on issues that interest older people.

"We can't keep talking about things … that are still interesting to me [like] tax policy, and talk about issues that are interesting to older Albertans and expect magically the youth will flow," he said. "We have to be talking about ideas that hit everybody."

​Starke said the way to get youth involved is to involve them in the process. He said his first private member's bill on banning flavoured tobacco was brought to him by a high school student.

"That's how you engage young people," he said. "You engage young people by telling them they can make a difference. You engage them by bringing them onboard and telling them, 'We need you to be part of the solution.' "

Kenney said many youth who voted NDP in the last election may park their vote elsewhere in 2019 after they are "mugged by economic reality."

The NDP's commitment to push the minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2018 will end up killing jobs in Alberta, Kenney said.

"I think we have an opportunity to appeal to many young people who will be collateral damage in this NDP's anti-growth agenda," he said.

Party needs to call out bullying

Candidates were also asked about the bullying and intimidation that forced former candidate Sandra Jansen out of the leadership race.

Jansen said the culprits were supporters of another candidate. The incident is still being investigated by the party.

Nelson said he was glad the party took the allegations seriously instead of telling Jansen to get a thicker skin. He said the incident has hurt the party's image.

Khan said leaders need to stand up to bullying.

"It does not belong in our party and I agree with my colleague Byron, it's made our party look bad," he said.

Starke said the online attacks against Jansen are vicious and the harassment that happened in Red Deer was real.

He said the party needs to make it clear that women have a role in public life.

"Our party has to call out bullying, it has to call out misogynist and hateful dialogue wherever it occurs," he said.

Kenney touched on the "lock her up" chant about Premier Rachel Notley that arose at an anti-carbon tax rally last weekend at the legislature.

He said people are frustrated with the direction of the province, but they need to be encouraged to channel that frustration in positive and constructive ways.

He said candidates need to set an example.

"Whenever somebody starts saying inappropriate things about our premier, I stand up and say she is a talented, brilliant, committed Alberta woman, committed to public service," he said.

"We need to respect her, while respectfully disagreeing with her ideas."

The Fort McMurray townhall was the second ot three debates leading to the leadership vote in March. The next debate will take place in Edmonton next month.