The federal election campaign is underway, and one local Member of Parliament is looking to build off the success from two years ago.

Conservative Incumbent for Regina-Wascana, Michael Kram says while he expected Prime Minister Trudeau to trigger an election, he doesn’t think it’s at all necessary.

“I was surprised, and I was disappointed, I think that it’s a very cynical play on the part of Mr. Trudeau to call this unnecessary snap election less than two years after the previous election,” said Kram. “So, I was immediately disappointed, but not so surprised.”

With COVID-19 obviously going to be a big issue this campaign, he hopes people focus on what comes next.

He adds economic recovery will be a main priority for the Conservatives as they hope voters think about the future.

“The Conservatives are all about getting back to balanced budgets in 10 years, and getting infrastructure such as pipelines and energy projects built,” said Kram. “So I would say the economic recovery post-pandemic is going to be a distinguishing feature between the major parties.”

The last election in 2019 saw a blue wave across the Prairies under Leader Andrew Scheer, as the Conservatives won all the seats in Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

Kram is hoping for similar success under new Leader Erin O’Toole, despite the pandemic resulting in O’Toole not receiving the usual face time with voters.

“People are going to like more, and more of Erin O’Toole the more they see of him, he has a good head on his shoulders, he has a military background, he has a business background,” said Kram. “And I think when Canadians ask themselves, do we want Justin Trudeau leading us out of the pandemic and into economic recovery, or do we want Erin O’Toole? I think Canadians are going to vote for Erin O’Toole.”

Kram says his goal if re-elected would be to help make sure Regina, and Saskatchewan as a whole, gets a fair shake in Ottawa. He points to the example of how the Regina International Airport has been treated by the government.