The Ridge interviews Angie Rowell, Liberal candidate for Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge

The Ridge interviewed Angie Rowell, who is running for the Liberal party in Pitt Meadows Maple Ridge.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Ridge: What is your background, and why did you decide to get into politics?

Angie Rowell: So my background is finance. I’ve been in banking for almost 40 years, or financial services. And I got into—I was inspired by Mark Carney. I mean, that’s it. I just think he is the right person. I think he’s the most qualified to be leading the country, and I wanted to do what I could to help support getting him into office.

The Ridge: Was this in January, that you made the decision, or had you thought about it prior?

Angie Rowell: It was not January. It was February, like I’d have to look—probably mid February, that I even put my documents in and I didn’t know I was a candidate until the Thursday after the election was called.

The Ridge: In your whole 40 year career, you never considered politics before?

Angie Rowell: Well, I’ve been involved in supporting municipal campaigns, like in my 20s. I mean, I’ve helped with other people’s campaigns. I’ve helped with a couple of provincial campaigns. I’ve helped behind the scenes in a number of campaigns. And, yeah, no, I didn’t see myself being the person out front. I really didn’t. But again, Carney changed that for me, because I just think he’s so qualified, and I wanted to make sure our riding had a voice in getting him to Ottawa.

The Ridge: And if you were elected, how would you support the people in the Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge riding? 

Angie Rowell: So I’ve already met with both mayors. I have reached out to our provincial representatives or MLAs. My first order, I’ve already spoke with headquarters—so the Liberal Party in Ottawa about resources we need for infrastructure. So I’m already doing that. I’m just saying, ‘Hey, we need this to that and this like,’ based on that, conversations with the mayors with regards to infrastructure and services. So I would—I mean, how I’m going to help, or what I’m going to do—is be a very strong voice in Ottawa for the things that we need in Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows. And with us forecasting a liberal majority, we need a liberal MP to make sure that we can get some of the money that’s being committed. 

There’s $5 billion—Carney has announced $5 billion in funding for transportation and Trade Corridor Improvement. And so that includes things like highways, roads and changing things to accommodate interprovincial trade. It includes railway crossing. It includes access to the industrial park. So large infrastructure projects that require multiple levels of government are at the table. And so in this case, I mean, primarily, we’d be talking about the federal government, provincial government, in some cases, the [Vancouver Fraser] Port Authority.

The Ridge: So what are some of the specific needs that you’ve seen in your riding, you’re hearing from people? 

Angie Rowell: So, I would say infrastructure, so roads and transportation infrastructure. We need improvements and changes. And then obviously affordability. Mark Carney is saying we’re going to build upwards of 500,000 homes a year, then we need all levels of government assisting with that to identify land where we can build those. How do we increase the inventory of affordable homes? And that’s going to be done again, in partnership with all three, well, at least three levels of government. 

The Ridge: And so the Pitt Meadows Maple Ridge riding has been Conservative—they voted for a Conservative candidate the past two elections. What’s your pitch for voters to vote for you this time around?

Angie Rowell: Well, I think it’s Carney’s commitment to affordability, infrastructure in support of trade, financial dollars committed to apprenticeships, so to trade, to people in the trades. So things like, let’s say you’re a pipe fitter and you travel out of town for work, one of the things the Liberal government will do will increase your taxable benefit. So you can deduct off your taxes for moving away from home or your travel costs of getting to say you’re going to Bella Coola—I don’t know, Williams Lake, wherever the place may be, increasing that. Supporting the trades, getting more people into the trades is very important to the Liberal government, and obviously that helps our area in increasing and supporting skilled workers.

The Ridge: And then in this election, there’s a lot of uncertainty because of US President Donald Trump’s trade war and threats to Canadian sovereignty. So why are you the best person for the job Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge?

Angie Rowell: The answer would be, why I’d be good, is my decades of experience in financial services, in the financial services industry has led to many strong relationships and partnerships that will be useful in trade negotiations.  

The Ridge: One never knows how the election will play out. So if either the Liberals didn’t win, or if they won with a minority government, how would you work with other parties to create policies? 

Angie Rowell: So my success in my career has been built on collaborative work. I’d say collaboration is probably my favourite word. So for me to put a deal together, it requires multiple partners to do so in the job that I do, and it’s a skill that I have honed and really focused on for a very long time. And the best deals I find are deals that are based on collaboration and all parties being at the table.

The Ridge: So you would work with other parties—like you would sit down with the Conservative, NDP and—? 

Angie Rowell: 100 percent, I would. And it’s like I said, something I do every day in my day job is working with multiple partners and collaborating to find the best solution for all parties.  

The Ridge: Affordability and housing are huge issues in this election, but also about climate change—because it affects everybody everywhere—what are your, or the liberal plan for climate change? 

Angie Rowell: So one of the things is providing incentives for Canadian households to do home retrofits so to make homes more efficient. Electric vehicles. From an environmental perspective, the Liberal government is committed to 10 new national parks and marine conservation areas. 15 new national urban parks. So real focus on parks and green space contributing to lots of beneficial climate as a result of more green space and mental health for people to be out in park spaces.  So climate policies in support of driving investments and reducing emissions, I guess, is the best way to say that. 

The Ridge: Those are all my questions, Angie, but is there anything else you wanted to add? 

Angie Rowell: So, there’s one thing I think for Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows. We can’t afford, in our region, to have an MP, I think, that doesn’t have a voice in Ottawa. We need a voice in Ottawa, I guess is what I’m trying to say. That’s what our region needs, and we haven’t had that for the last while. And it’s tough when you’re in opposition. I mean, that is tough. But we needed a voice in Ottawa. 

Read the rest of the candidates interviews.

The Ridge interviews Marc Dalton, Conservative candidate and incumbent for Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge

The Ridge interviews Daniel Heydenrych, NDP candidate for Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge

The Ridge interviews Chris Lehner, PPC candidate for Pitt-Meadows- Maple Ridge

The Ridge interviews Peter Buddle, Rhino candidate for Pitt-Meadows-Maple Ridge