Maverick candidate Dan Irving (Calgary-Heritage, AB) said he is running in the byelection because he believes it is a great opportunity to make change. .“This is a great opportunity for us to send a clear message to the three main parties, especially the Conservatives, that this seat is not to be taken for granted,” said Irving in an interview. .“This is an opportunity, saying to the Conservative party, to the three main parties, saying we want change and we’re willing to start stepping up to make change and start voting for another party that actually listens to members of the riding instead of just being an MP and running to Ontario and caring about the East.” .He said his candidacy will “allow the parties in the next two years to show us that they should actually start listening and help start bringing the West into conversations for Canada.” .Irving acknowledged he became the Maverick candidate after asking the Calgary-Foothills chief financial officer if a byelection was happening in Calgary-Heritage, and he said there was. When he asked who the candidate was, he said it did not have one. .The CFO texted Maverick CFO Carmen Lasante about having Irving run, and she referred it to leader Colin Krieger. Krieger convinced him to go for it. .He chose to run for Maverick because he wants Western Canada to be heard. What he loves about it is how it grants free votes. .While an MP in Calgary-Heritage could vote for the carbon tax, one in Calgary-Foothills could go against it. This makes it 100% for the people of the riding. .The Maverick candidate went on to say he is qualified to be an MP because he owns a landscaping company. He has to listen to his clients to understand what they want. .An MP’s job is to listen to his or her riding and make decisions for all of Canada. He said he thinks he is a great listener. .As the carbon tax sits right now, Irving said he is against it. If it was transparent and showed it was making a difference, he would support it. .With the path Canada is taking right now, he said Eastern Canada is dictating to the West what is best for the entire country. .If the situation does not change and a vote were to happen on Alberta independence, he would vote for it because Western Canada has given the East long enough to involve it. .If elected, his top priority will be showing what an MP is supposed to do by being around for the community and listening. When he was collecting signatures, a person asked him if he would be able to change the date a round of GST rebate cheques came out. .The cheques come out on July 7, but this person wanted them to come out a few days before Canada Day to provide families with money to celebrate. He listened to him and pledged to implement this idea. .Irving concluded by saying people “keep saying we want change, but we keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting somebody else to do the change.” .“We want MPs right across the board, right across Canada, to actually start listening to their ridings,” he said. .The Calgary-Heritage byelection will be held on July 24. The other people running are NDP candidate Gurmit Bhachu, Green Ravenmoon Crocker, independent Donovan Eckstrom, Christian Heritage Party candidate Larry Heather, People's Party of Canada candidate Kelly Lorencz, Conservative Shuv Majumdar, and Liberal Elliot Weinstein. .Lorencz said on June 24 a door opened for him one day before PPC leader Maxime Bernier finished in second place in the Portage-Lisgar byelection. .READ MORE: PPC 'western lieutenant' enters Calgary Heritage by-election.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set the Calgary-Heritage byelection date for July 24 on June 18. Lorencz did not wait for the formal announcement, as he had been campaigning for more than two weeks in the riding.He is not new to the campaign trail. He placed fifth with 2% of the vote in Calgary-Nose Hill in 2019, as Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner took the seat. He placed third with 12% in Red Deer—Mountain View in 2021, trailing Conservative MP Earl Dreeshen.
