NDP candidate Taneen Rudyk is a four term Vegreville town councillor and former president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. She was also raised in a politically active family - her father Derek Fox, served two terms as NDP MLA for much of the current constituency’s area.

Rudyk and her husband Andrew have four children and operate a pipeline welding business. Rudyk has been an active volunteer with the local Hospital Board and Health Advisory Council, as well as supporting Ukrainian and Syrian newcomers’ settlement.

Rudyk feels our area needs more and better roads, bridges, schools and health services. Little has been done here under the UCP or former Progressive Conservatives governments, she says. The NDP gave Fort Saskatchewan two new schools, but nothing has been built or even promised since the UCP took government.

“I will fight for sustainable long term strategic infrastructure investments for municipalities and not just the current inconsistencies of the boom-and-bust approach. Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville deserves more, and I sincerely believe that Rachel Notley is the leader to make our future better.”

Rudyk also wants to see much more done to improve rural internet service, noting how even cell phone service can be spotty anywhere outside Fort Saskatchewan or Vegreville.

"Access to high-speed internet is not a luxury; it is a necessity. It is essential for our businesses, our agricultural operations, our students and our communities," Rudyk says. The NDP are proposing $400 million in funding and a special act to speed up permits and ensure access to right-of-ways, as well as a policy to ensure fibre internet lines are included as part of any road build or upgrade.