Morinville – A Morinville mother of two is running for provincial office under the EverGreen banner. Lisa Grant, who ran for the Green Party in the last federal election and for the Alberta Greens in the 2008 provincial election, is once again taking a run at political office.
Grant was born and raised in Alberta but travelled around a lot due to her father being in the military. She married a military man herself and the couple have two children whom she home schools. Additionally, Grant recently started driving school bus in St. Albert. In her spare time, Grant serves on the board of directors for two different local non-profit organizations.
The candidate said her first bid at political office was at the provincial level and that she was motivated to do so by lack of voter choice. “After I didn’t have anyone to vote for in the 2004 provincial, thanks to feeling completely disconnected from the other parties, I realized that if I wanted to vote my conscience, as well as give as many as 5 per cent of the public someone to vote for, I would have to step up to the plate myself,” Grant said. “After running in the 2008, I think I’ve got the bug, and think I can actually make a meaningful contribution to the political process, if only during elections for now, and hopefully as a representative for the people in the future.”
In the 2008 general election, Grant ran for the Alberta Greens in Innisfail-Sylvan Lake against PC Luke Ouellette. She captured 4.91 per cent of the vote. Although the Alberta Greens dissolved in 2009, Grant was able to find a party she could support in the provincial election. The EverGreen Party of Alberta was registered with Elections Alberta in December of 2011. Grant hopes voters won’t interpret the party’s new status to mean inexperience.
“The EverGreen Party may be new on the scene officially, but the members are not new to the political process, and many of us have a well-developed vision for the future of this province,” she said. “Globally, Greens have a reputation of being a one issue party, but we are not just concerned about the natural environment, although since that is what keeps us alive, it should be an important consideration. We care about our communities, our jobs, and the overall well-being of our province.”
Although environmental issues are of nature a concern to Grant and her party, she sees other issue confronting voters this election.
“I think the issues I’ve heard most concern about lately, have been education (especially in Morinville), as well as the overall economy,” she said. “People are concerned about their jobs, whether that’s in the public sector, big-business, or the self-employed. Alberta may be dealing with a lot of dollar signs right now, but somehow that doesn’t seem to be translating to the middle-class residents of this area. “
Grant sees the EverGreen Party as one who can solve the province’s issues.
“As far as education, we are committed to providing diverse possibilities for learning opportunities, offer different methods of learning, and ensure accessibility to all people,” she said.
The economy, Grant sees as a more complicated issue, but one that begins at the local level. “We would support creating a self-sufficient local economy, support research and development of innovative technologies to make sure we stay highly competitive on the global market, create a more fair tax system to ensure that money is being used to the benefit of the community as a whole, and support the development and expansion of sustainable production while ensuring the long-term sustainability of Alberta’s resources,” she said.
The candidate said she will be running a pretty low-key campaign, but is happy to speak with people and answer any questions they may have during the campaign. Contact information for Lisa Grant can be found online at http://evergreenparty.ca/lisagrant.pdf.
