Member of Parliament roasted in Strathmore

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

When the Bow River riding was re-established by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution, it proved a double-edged sword for the residents of Strathmore and Wheatland County. While the electoral boundary changes resulted in six additional Alberta seats to the House of Commons, it also – much to the dismay of local politicians and community members – separated the southern portion of the constituency from its long-time and highly regarded Member of Parliament.
While Minister of State Kevin Sorenson was often praised by community members and life-long friends for his honesty and dedication to the area, the mood turned comical over the weekend, when residents recognized the Crowfoot MP during a farewell roast – a bittersweet moment for the politician.
“The evening was a lot of good laughs, but I’m losing a great part of my constituency and I’ve made some amazing life-long friends over the years,” Sorenson said.
“That part is bitter. The sweet part is we get to go out on our own terms and it’s boundary changes that made the difference. It’s not that I was defeated or that I’m walking away. It’s also sweet because I know Martin Shields will do a good job in representing that constituency.”
Third-generation Albertan Martin Shields, who is in his third term as mayor of Brooks, has served on Alberta Municipal board, and comes equipped with 40 years of knowledge about the Bow River riding area, won the Conservative nomination for the new rural riding back in September.
“Kevin is a great guy and filling his shoes is something that I probably can’t do but it’s a great riding with lots of good people,” said Shields. “As he explained his concern about all these people in the south that he didn’t know and as he found they were tremendous people. We’ve known each other for a while because he’s the guy that’s the leader out there that we’re all trying to catch up to.”
While Shields opted for a speech rather than participate in the roast, he joined many local politicians including Strathmore Councillor Bob Sobol, Wheatland County Councillor Berniece Bland and Strathmore-Brooks MLA Derek Fildebrandt who attended the event.
Strathmore councillor and former mayor Steve Grajczyk, who has known Sorenson for 14 years, didn’t hesitate when asked to take part in the roast, but quickly realized the challenge.
“It was going to be hard, because how do you roast a guy that really doesn’t have that many faults?” said Grajczyk. “And here’s a guy that’s roasting a guy, who was pretty wild all his life and you could roast me fairly easily. But he’s probably one of the most honest politicians I’ve ever met. His work ethic comes right from the heart… and we’re sorry to see him leave.”
Grajczyk added that while he is disappointed in the turn of events, he is looking forward to the possibility of Shields representing the riding if he were to win in the upcoming election.
Sorenson was first elected as the Member of Parliament in 2000, and since then continued to be re-elected with more than 80 per cent each time. Aware of the endorsements and over 10 years of working with the area, Sorenson knows that his farewell celebration did not mean goodbye.
“It’s been very rewarding and I’m going to miss it,” said Sorenson. “The good thing is that I will be there beside Martin Shields as he represents Strathmore. I’ll come back. If he hosts meetings, on occasion, I’ll certainly want to come back.”