Dunvegan-Central Peace MLA Hector Goudreau and his wife, Angie, celebrate a third straight election victory with party supporters during a special celebration at the Falher Regional Recreation Complex March 3. Goudreau captured a majority total of 4,185 votes in last week’s provincial election, which saw the Tory’s win 72 of the 83 available seats in the Alberta Legislature. Goudreau’s closest competition was Wildrose Alliance candidate Dale Lueken, who finished with 2,361 votes. New Democratic Party hopeful Nathan Macklin was third with 1,218 votes while Bob Woken picked up 285 votes for the Alberta Liberal Party.

Political winds of change will not be blowing through the Dunvegan-Central Peace constituency anytime soon. That was the strong message Progressive Conservative supporters sent to political party rivals in last week’s provincial election by endorsing a third straight term in the legislature for incumbent Tory MLA Hector Goudreau. “This is an absolutely unbelievable feeling,” says an elated Goudreau, who spoke candidly with the Express one day after winning the March 3 provincial election. “I’m very grateful to everyone for their renewed confidence in me as MLA for Dunvegan-Central Peace.” “It is indeed both a privilege and honour to be representing the wonderful people of this constituency for another term in the Alberta Legislature.” Goudreau and his wife, Angie, spent the night of the election in his home town of Falher at the Falher Regional Recreation Complex where he was joined by a supportive group of approximately 100 individuals. And they all let out a thunderous collective cheer just before 9:30 p.m. when television broadcast media outlets in Edmonton declared Goudreau as the unofficial winner. “I can’t say enough about level of support we received in this election from both voters and our campaign team,” he says, adding that the end result was both positive and encouraging. “We went into this campaign as a focused team with our heads held high and worked hard to reach our objective.” His decisive victory in the 2008 Alberta election saw him claim 46 of a possible 57 polls throughout the Dunvegan-Central Peace constituency. In terms of overall support, Goudreau led the way in the election race with 4,185 votes (or 52 per cent of the voting electorate). His closest competition came once again from Wildrose Alliance Party candidate Dale Lueken, whose support dropped to 2,361 votes from the previous total of 3,322 in the 2004 election. Finishing third was Nathan Macklin of the New Democratic Party with 1,218 votes, followed by Alberta Liberal Party hopeful Bob Woken, who captured just 285 votes. Tory dominance in this election wasn’t exclusive to just the Dunvegan-Central Peace constituency. It was something which reined supreme from one corner of the province to the other as the Progressive Conservative Party – led by Premier Ed Stelmach – captured the glut of votes by securing 72 of a possible 83 seats in the Alberta Legislature. That’s an increase of 10 from the previous election in 2004 which saw the Tory’s secure 62 seats. Goudreau says the unwavering level of support for the Progressive Conservative party in this election is a clear reflection of the level of confidence which Albertans have with the present government. “Our party has worked hard to be in the position it is in today,” says Goudreau, adding that voter response gives Premier Stelmach “a true mandate” to govern as part of a renewed party dynasty which spans 37 years of strong and effective leadership. Goudreau entering third term as MLA The Dunvegan-Central Peace MLA is entering his third term as MLA, coming off victories in 2001 and 2004. Part of his focus for the upcoming term, he says, will include addressing seniors’ accommodations and home care issues in addition to working with the forestry and agricultural sectors towards respective industry improvements. “We’ll also be looking at various infrastructure improvement projects related to enhancing existing highway surfaces and bridge structures,” says Goudreau to the Express.