The Foothills riding's list of federal election candidates sits at five with the big day just three weeks away.
Among them is Paul O'Halloran, a founding member of the People's Party of Canada (PPC) who is running under the party's banner in the upcoming election.
O'Halloran has called Alberta home for over 30 years, initially moving to Calgary during his time with the military.
He eventually settled in Black Diamond, now Diamond Valley, which he currently calls home.
For most of his life, O'Halloran wasn't very politically inclined, but that changed with the inception of the PPC.
"Like most people, when you're younger, you don't have the time or the mindset to get involved in politics. But I just had absolutely no faith in the system. Then, in November of 2018, I met Maxime Bernier, and I learned about the People's Party policy, and it was like coming home for me, in a sense of resonating with what the message was. So, I became a founding member, and I've supported the party, and I've been an advocate for the party."
O'Halloran has remained an advocate of the party since then, with two federal elections having passed.
As for what made him throw his hat into the ring as a candidate, O'Halloran explained that the decision was spurred by the initial candidate dropping out.
"We had a gentleman that stepped up to be the candidate, and then, because of personal reasons, he backed out. That was in early March. Then, recognizing at that point that there was nobody representing PPC supporters in the Foothills, I believed that they at least needed a representation. So, I stepped up to the plate, and here I am today, doing the full deal candidacy, and just going to try and win some votes."
For O'Halloran, the appeal of the PPC is in the name, as he feels they are the only party that truly represents everyday people.
"Everybody I've met that's actually taken the time to sit down and read People's Party Policy come out and says, 'I resonate with that, it makes sense to me,' And I haven't met anybody who hasn't come out with that conclusion. That alone, which is my passion for it, is what drives me every day now."
In contrast, he believes the other major parties are working more or less toward the same goal and are simply vying for power.
"Canada moved, I think, just before Pierre Elliott Trudeau, or he might even have been the reason, into the New World Order concept. And every politician from every party has followed that lead ever since. They've all made strides towards the New World Order, the one government agenda. All that has been gradually creeping up on us. Then when Justin Trudeau got in, it was just accelerated at a high speed, where it became more transparent than it ever has been."
Among the foremost issues O'Halloran would like to see addressed is Alberta's energy exports.
"We need to get our product to tidewater. We need that. We need to remove the restrictions... We had the liberal government that bought the Northern Gateway and just literally did nothing with it. We need to open it up."
The ongoing Canada-U.S. trade war is a concern for everyone heading into this election, and one that each party is having to address in its platform.
O'Halloran doesn't like the retaliatory actions and rhetoric he's seen from the Liberal and PC leaders.
"The only person that showed any diplomacy was Danielle Smith. The only one, and she was dead right, and everything she did, she made great success, and she's probably one of the reasons things aren't worse than they are right now. Well, Maxime Bernier has the same approach as Danielle... Let's put everything on the table, this milk cartel or dairy cartel, where we charge the states 300% and stuff, so they can't afford to buy our products down there, but yet we want to get things for free back from them, that kind of stuff."
O'Halloran would also like to see interprovincial trade barriers reduced and for provinces to use their own resources in a more self-sufficient manner.
He's a proponent of the PPC's border policies, which call for action to address U.S. President Trump's concerns over drugs crossing into the U.S.
The PPC platform also calls for a moratorium on immigration, the separation of 'temporary workers, foreign students, asylum seekers, and visitors who are staying in Canada after their visas have expired,' and a more stringent selection process for immigrants and workers.
"We can't keep up with it, and we can't keep bringing them in. And we need to vet these people as well. There needs to be some sort of standard that they meet to be integrated into our society, and we're not getting that. It's just sort of free reign open the border, you know, and these people can't even contribute to the society, so they come to wait on the social system, which means more taxes, which means the average Joe gets less, and we're supporting these people and their families, and it's not fair to the Canadian people," says O'Halloran. "Now, I don't care where you come from. It doesn't matter to me, but it's a system, and you need to go through that system... You end up like things we have in Toronto, in Halifax, where you get developing of no-go zones, where they want to have their own police force. Stuff that's like a country in a country."
There's no word yet on local candidate forums, though local chambers of commerce usually organize one or two during each federal election.
With O'Halloran's decision to run being based on wanting to represent his views, he's glad to see other parties having representation of their own in the riding.
"I think that's great, actually. I think everybody deserves representation, regardless of what I feel about that party. That's what freedom's about, right? Everybody deserves to have somebody represent them at that level, and if they want to vote that way, they're entitled to vote that way, and I'm not going to judge anybody for that... I think that everybody is entitled to support for what they believe in, and my job is to try to change their mind and show them a better way. That's what it's about."
More information on Paul O'Halloran and the PPC can be seen on the party's website.