Avni Soma is already working to turn Yellowhead orange as she knocks on doors across the riding as the federal NDP candidate.
Officially becoming a candidate for the federal NDP on Nov. 27, Soma said while she was new to the political arena in terms of putting her name in the hat, she always had a political perspective.
“For me, I’m passionate about ensuring that we keep our democratic process intact,” she said. “People say democracy is a grassroots movement and this kind of thing, and when you’re door knocking, you actually feel it and actually feel that it is a grassroots movement because it does start with just listening to people in the riding and understanding the issues.”
The Canmore resident is a scientist and small business owner with a background in health care and more than 15 years of experience in the food industry. Among other achievements, she currently sits on the National Food Policy Advisory Council and the board of Alberta Food Matters.
Soma is passionate about changing food systems to address a variety of challenges such as climate change and food insecurity. She noted issues that are top of mind for constituents are housing for Banff and Canmore, the doctor shortage in Hinton and the rebuilding of Jasper following the wildfire.
Although acknowledging she did not have in-depth knowledge about the Jasper wildfire, she felt the federal government could be doing more and criticized how it was responding primarily through Parks Canada.
“I feel there should be more departments involved, and I feel there should be pressure from the government to engage insurance companies more,” she said. “That’s my big-picture perspective as I’m learning what’s happening in the insurance industry with natural disasters and the frequency of our natural disasters.”
In the next federal election, the Yellowhead riding will have new electoral boundaries that will encompass Banff and Jasper national parks as well as Hinton, Edson, Grande Cache, Rocky Mountain House, Sundre, Carstairs, Canmore, the MD of Bighorn and other communities.
Some are pleased that the mountain communities are finally sharing a district, while others have criticized the sprawling nature of the riding.
As for whether an NDP candidate may now be able to win this traditionally conservative riding, Soma said, “That is the million-dollar question.”
“We’re still 60 per cent conservative-leaning and 40 per cent NDP-leaning, so it’s definitely not without a lot of work for the NDP to get in,” she added. “I’m hoping … that there’s an appetite for change in general, so I’m hoping that people feel that the NDP is a change that they’re looking for.”
Having spent her whole life in Alberta and moved to Canmore 15 years ago, Soma is aware of what challenges affect the riding, such as the increasing tourism for the mountain parks. Her background as a business owner also allows her to understand the economic side of what is needed to accommodate visitors.
“I feel that in order to support tourism and to support our local economies and our locals, we need to – all levels of government – be working together, and that’s something that’s not happening at this time,” she said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday (Jan. 6) that he would be stepping down as federal Liberal party leader and as Prime Minister. He prorogued Parliament until March 24, meaning an election cannot be called until then at the earliest when the House of Commons has its next session return.
With a federal election expected by October at the latest, Soma said her campaign was going well, everything from fundraising in December to door-knocking to setting up regional coordinators in the various areas.
“We really would like to make history by being the first federal rural riding in Alberta to go orange, so that would be huge,” she said.
