by Dawn Smith | Rocky View Weekly | rockyviewweekly.com/
Entrepreneur John Fitzsimmons has announced his intention to seek the Progressive Conservative (PC) nomination for Banff-Canmore, left vacant by outgoing MLA Janis Tarchuk, who served 14 years in the riding.
Fitzsimmons, founder and owner of Fitz Flooring and member of the National Flooring Alliance (NFA), will spend the next month campaigning in the region in anticipation of the Jan. 28 vote. He will be going up against Cochrane Mayor Truper McBride, who recently announced his intention to seek the nomination.
“This is something that has been on my bucket list to do,” said Fitzsimmons. “I am excited about it.”
Fitzsimmons, who has lived in the Springbank area his whole life, is a successful entrepreneur who has grown his 20-year-old flooring business from one location in Calgary to its current six in B.C. and Alberta. With two grown children and a successful business, he said the time is right to enter politics and especially the PC party because of the new leadership on the horizon.
“I have the time right now to commit to do the job that needs to be done,” says Fitzsimmons. “I think it’s an exciting time for the PC Party.”
Fitzsimmons will be campaigning under the banner: John Fitzsimmons: Renewing the Energy. He said hard work will go a long way to ensure Alberta’s future.
“I believe that hard work and strong commitment to the people of Alberta will help ensure the province remains as a strong economic leader nationally and internationally,” said Fitzsimmons. “We want to continue to bring a new energy to the party and to the people of this province. The negativity has got to go away.”
Fitzsimmons said his knowledge of the diverse riding, which includes the agricultural lands of Springbank, Jumping Pound and Cochrane and the environmentally sensitive areas of Bragg Creek and Kananaskis Country, Banff and Canmore, garnered from living and doing business in it, makes him a good candidate to represent Banff-Cochrane’s residents.
“Environment, tourism, agriculture, oil and gas are huge in this riding right now,” said Fitzsimmons. “We’ve got Kananaskis Country which has some of the most precious lands in the world and the stewardship of those lands is also very important and I want to be a part of it.”
Fitzsimmons said if elected, he plans to stay true to his roots.
“The focus is to stay in touch with the community,” he said. “We need to make sure we are doing the right things. If you just handle yourself correctly and base your decisions on what is right for the province you will have no problems.”
For more information, visit johnfitzsimmonsformla.com.