Get to know your Calgary-Lougheed byelection candidates: David Khan

Advancepolls are open to replace Calgary-Lougheed MLA Dave Rodney, who stepped aside to make room for new United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenneyto run for a seat in the legislature.

The byelection is set for Dec. 14, with a candidates debate scheduled for Sundayat the Braeside Community Hall. It starts at 2 p.m.

• Here's where to vote in the Calgary-Lougheed byelection advance polls

CBCCalgary'sThe Homestretchis profiling the candidates for the major parties.

Here's candidate David Khan's chat with The Homestretch on Thursday.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length, but you can listen to the full interview at the end of this story.

CBC News plans to interview the other main candidates before the byelection.

Q: How are you trying to move this party forward?

A: We are trying to move it forward by showcasing our policies and contrasting them to those of Jason Kenney, and this byelection is a great way to do that.

Q: How are you going to separate yourself from Jason Kenney and the other candidates?

A: What I am hearing at the doorsis that conservative-leaning voters are very suspicious of Jason Kenney and uncomfortable with his regressive-right social views and also his austerity cuts that he has been signalling that would be in store if he became premier.

So there's a lot of concern that I am hearing about that. But on the other hand, also there's no real confidence that the NDP government really understands how deep the job losses have been, especially down here in Calgary, and that they have a plan to deal with the deficit.

Q: What is your plan to deal with that deficit?

A: We need to look at redeploying the budget, especially the health budget, which is half of our budget.

We need to redeploy that to the front lines and looking at cutting the bureaucracy and the layers of management, both in the health bureaucracy and the education bureaucracy.

We need to get a real handle on our spending as well as look at how we are raising revenue. But we need to have a plan and implement that plan, and right now we are just treading water and hoping that the price per barrel of oil goes up.

Q: What do you make of the competition from the Alberta Party?

A: They haven't run a candidate in the last two byelections. We almost won Calgary-Greenway, the last one, and we are obviously running here.

I am focused on building a moderate alternative for Albertans to vote for, that isn't the NDP left or UCP right.

They haven't been running candidates in the byelections. It seems to mewhat's really important in politicsis to contest elections.

Q: What about a merger with the Alberta Party, to consolidate the vote in the middle?

A: I think that is what we are doingis consolidating the middle and building strong policies and a strong choice for Albertans in the middle with the Alberta Liberal Party.

That's what I have been focused on in the last six months.

Q: How do you raise your profile in this environment?

A: It's exactly what I am doing right now, is running a very high-profile, strong campaign in this byelection.

If you drive around Calgary-Lougheed, you will see the signs on private property that indicate it's a real two-way race between party leaders, between me and Jason Kenney.

The response at the doors has been so great that I am hoping to win this and have an upset victory over Jason Kenney. But nonetheless, we are comparing and contrasting our policies.

Q: A lot of people have Jason Kenney as the front runner. Do you have the financial and volunteer backing, because it's getting the vote out and boots on ground?

A: If you come down to our campaign office, you will see that we have a big operation. We have got tons of volunteers, we've got lots of signs out.

We are calling, we are door knocking every day, every evening and all day weekends. It is about getting out that vote, and we've got a lot of enthusiasm for our campaign and I am really excited about it.

The other side of the coin is, Jason Kenney appears quite entitled to win this riding. People on the doors I am hearing are very leery about that sort of entitlement, that he should just win.

Q: What are the issues in Calgary-Lougheed?

A: No. 1 is jobs and the economy.

The NDP just doesn't really realize how bad it's been in the oil-and-gas sector, especially down here in Calgary and in Calgary-Lougheed.

People are really concerned about jobs, and jobs don't appear to be coming back, despite this economic uptick in the GDP, because it seems to be a jobless recovery.

More locally, the ring road passes around two sides of the constituency, so there are concerns about it passing through the Weaselhead area and the dust and the construction.

If we can get that built in the end, it will be good for the constituency.

Q: Do you have plans to diversify the economy?

A: The word diversify is really a buzzword that politicians like to throw out there, but often it's contentless. But we really do need to look at other areas, other sectors to create the jobs that are going to employ us.

Especially younger people that aren't going to be able to rely on solid oil-and-gas jobs, or these companies rehiring all of the tens of thousands of people they have laid off.

We need to look at other sectors, like the tech sector, like film and television production, of which we only have about three per cent of the national pie, and we've got a beautiful city and a great, talented and educated workforce. So there are advantages we have but really have to capitalize on that, and I think there is a role for government in doing that.

Rapid fire questions for all candidates

2026 Winter Olympics, Yes or No?

A: That's a tough one. I lived through the 1988 Olympics. I have fond memories of that. But I am also concerned that the billions we may have to spend on those Olympics could be better utilized elsewhere. But I'd like to see more of the planning and also how much money the International Olympic Committee might give us to host that, because I think they are running out of candidates.

Carbon tax?

A: We have to do something about carbon emissions, but I am not a fan of the carbon tax as it's been implemented by the NDP.

There are very little controls about how the money is spent, how it's raised. Whether it's actually reducing carbon emissions or it's just a big slush fund for the government to spend money on whatever they feel like.

I think there are real concerns that I have, that Calgarians have, about the carbon tax.

Provincial sales tax?

A: We have got to have a discussion about the revenue side of the fiscal budget equation in Alberta. I am consulting with Albertans and economists to figure out what that might be.

I am not going to take a position right now on whether we need a PST, but we certainly have a revenue-versus-spending problem that needs to be addressed.

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With files from The Homestretch