Fenske Highlights Local Opportunities, Youth

Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA-Elect, Jacquie Fenske, outlined her commitment to the constituency’s youth, and the region’s immense economic opportunities in her victory speech to supporters on Monday evening.

“I know that Albertans have spoken, and they’ve said, as the Premier said, we have a province that wants to look forward, and not backwards,” said Fenske. “And, we in Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville have unending opportunities; we have the petrochemical industry, and we have agriculture… Which as I’ve said many times in my speeches, [we’re] one of six countries in the world that’s going to produce more than we consume — we have such an opportunity.”

Fenske also indicated the importance of youth: “And then the other thing we started in all of this was to include youth — I’d like to continue to do that, because as a former teacher, I think it’s important to be able to ensure that we don’t have a generation that hasn’t gone by without actually voting; that is very important to me.”

Fenske also said she is paying particular attention to the needs of the constituency’s many municipalities: “I want you to know that the support of the towns, and the villages and the counties and the cities is going to be very important,” she said. “I want to represent you well, and I think all of the elected people who are here who have helped in ensuring that I knew and understood what the issues were of your community.”

Speaking to OEP, Fenske reiterated her commitment to youth: “I want to continue to hear what [youth] have to say, because they have a voice, and they need to know that their voice makes a difference,” she explained. “I want to get them involved… it has to come from them… we need to know how to engage them.”

Fenske was also candid about her biggest fear during the campaign — as she put it — “that I was going to lose.”

“When you have all these people supporting you… you don’t want to let them down in any way, shape, or form,” she explained. “So, you want to make sure you’ve turned over every rock and worked hard for them, because it moves beyond you as time goes on.”