The Conservative Party of Canada has named their candidate for Souris-Moose Mountain for the next federal election. In a nomination vote held over the weekend, Steven Bonk, who is the Saskatchewan Party MLA for Moosomin, was named as the next candidate for the riding, beating out Torquay Mayor Michael Strachan.
The nomination vote was held after the current MP for Souris-Moose Mountain, Dr. Robert Kitchen, announced he would not be seeking re-election when the next federal election is called.
“I want to give a lot of credit to Dr. Robert Kitchen for the great work he’s done over the past nine years representing Souris-Moose Mountain,” said Bonk. “He’s served with integrity and honesty, and I just wish him all the best in the retirement, or whatever else comes for him.”
Bonk also extended his well wishes to Strachan.
“I know what it’s like to put your name forward on a ballot,” Bonk continued. “It’s not for the faint of heart, and I’ve known Mike for quite a while, and he’s also a very good, honourable man, and I just also wish him the very best, and thank him for the good job that he did in this race.”
The voting for the nomination race was done in three locations – one in Moosomin, another in Estevan, and one in Weyburn.
For Bonk, he still does have a little bit of time left to serve as the MLA for Moosomin before he dives right into federal politics. He will continue to serve as the MLA for the riding until the provincial election is called this fall.
“After that point, I’ll focus my efforts solely on the federal campaign, and I’ll be out and about introducing myself to many people in the riding, in different towns, and all areas of the riding,” Bonk stated. “It’s a huge riding – it's about the same size as the country of Croatia – so there’s going to be a lot of miles, but it’s just filled with great people, and I want to get out and make as many personal introductions as I can.”
Bonk is also looking forward to working with the leader of the federal Conservatives, Pierre Poilievre.
“I had the privilege of serving as the co-captain for his leadership team here in Saskatchewan, and working with him, I realized very quickly that I’m so aligned with him on almost every issue, and I just want to be part of the team to help him out in any way I can, and maybe export some of this good, common sense that we have here in southeast Saskatchewan to the rest of Canada.”