Floyd Roland to run for the Conservatives
Former premier, current Inuvik mayor unopposed in bid to become nominee
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Monday, July 6, 2015
INUVIK
A former NWT premier will run for the Conservative Party in the next federal election, expected this fall.
Floyd Roland is the Conservative Party nominee for the upcoming federal election. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo |
Inuvik Mayor Floyd Roland was unopposed in his bid to be the Conservative nominee in the NWT.
"I was driving to meetings down the Dempster Highway when I got the message that I had been confirmed as the candidate," Roland said.
"I'm happy that the membership felt that my name was good enough and the work that I've done in the North was positive enough to let me stand and move forward."
There is no one single issue that Roland feels he'll base his campaign on.
"I don't think we can narrow it down to one. There are all kinds of challenges that we face in the North. The cost of living and the economy in the North is a daunting one. It's a challenge that we have to work on to try to overcome," he said.
"The environmental issues, the climate impacts we're feeling. We have a hot dry summer and forest fires across the North and low water at hydro facilities. Those are just local examples of some of the areas that we're going to have to continue to work on."
Currently, the Conservative Party holds power in Nunavut and the Yukon with MPs Leona Aglukkaq and Ryan Leef respectively, while the New Democratic Party holds court in NWT with Dennis Bevington in the member's chair. Roland said he would not have entered the race unless he thought that he could win but he said he is well aware that unseating incumbent Dennis Bevington, who has been in office since 2006, won't be easy.
"It's an uphill struggle. Nothing is for sure. You've got to work and keep working until the actual count is done and you see the results," he said.
Roland, 53, was premier of from 2007 until 2011. He was first elected as an MLA in 1995. His time in the legislative assembly was not controversy-free. It was revealed in 2008 that he had an extramarital affair with a legislative assembly clerk. His government also survived a non-confidence vote in 2009 amid allegations by a number of MLAs that he refused to communicate with them on major policy decisions. News/North asked Roland if he thinks any of his political baggage will work against him.
"When you have a long history in the North and you make decisions, some of those decisions aren't the easiest to make. With 16 years at the territorial level and now almost seven years at the community level, my life during that time has been an open book with the people of the North," Roland said.
He has an answer prepared for voters who are ready to oust Stephen Harper as prime minister.
"Let's look at the history of this Conservative government and the prime minister and the NWT and tell me when was the last time the North had such attention from a national government," Roland said.
Bevington announced he would be seeking re-election late last month with the NDP. The Liberal Party is expected to nominate a candidate at the end of the summer. Kieron Testart and Gail Cyr are currently the only two people who have announced they are seeking the Liberal nomination.
