Another Winkler resident is in the running to fill Candice Bergen's now vacated seat as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Portage-Lisgar.
Born and raised on the poor, western side of Kenya, Josh Okello feels his experience of growing up in Africa and living in Canada helps him see opportunities to improve life in the riding's communities.
"We have a lack of proper housing, enough housing for our senior citizens. If you think about it, in [the] Canadian population, 30% of our people are of senior citizen age, meaning that these people will soon be hanging their gloves and they would like to enjoy their hard work they've put in this country. Taking care of all these people, having a plan, having resources available to keep them safe and healthy is something that inspires me to want to take part in our local leadership."
Okello studied business and Christian philosophy in Toronto, earning his Masters at the University of Maryland, before moving to Winkler in 2016 where he met his wife.
After watching the pandemic and subsequent restrictions force many businesses to close, Okello feels the business community needs to be given stronger support.
"Because through that we have a stable economy, through that our governments can get taxes, through that we create employment. Those businesses need to have resources and business centers where they can get information they need. Currently, we have so many young talents gifted in different ways. Do we have a place where they can get resources to help them start up and see where the road leads? But because of leadership that is lacking we don't have these resources within our communities."
Okello recalls his mother teaching him that in whatever you do, have high hopes, commit everything to it, believe in God and you will attain what you are working towards. That ties in to another main issue facing the riding, said Okello - the disintegration of family values and unity brought on by the pandemic.
"We have a lot of human beings, but humanity is kind of lacking. We need to bring that humanity back. And how do we do that? It is only through someone that understands these values and puts them at the forefront of every issue that we are facing. Solving family values will also help us tackle behavioral changes and some of the criminal cases we are seeing happening, some of the substance abuse that we are seeing. I believe uniting people would help us solve some of the issues we are facing as a people."
Okello believes another area in which Ottawa is failing Canadians relates to the sanctity of human life.
"The government is planning to expand medical assistance in dying to people struggling with mental issues. I've worked with people who are struggling with mental illness and they are the most amazing people you can work with. And now that the government is suggesting death as the only resort that we have for our family members, for our community, is something that is very wrong and I think needs to be shut down through all means possible."
A date for the Portage-Lisgar by-election has not yet been announced.