Sandi Hallgren 🟦

We were fighting for a better Canada nearly 30 years ago, and for our efforts, we were called Nazis, extremists and every other insult imaginable. I was part of the Reform movement. We believed in fiscal responsibility, democratic accountability, individual freedom, sustainable pensions and leaving future generations a country better than the one we inherited. Preston Manning was raising concerns about intergenerational fairness back in the 1990s. We understood that governments couldn’t keep making promises without considering who would eventually pay for them. We weren’t trying to destroy Canada. We were trying to preserve what made it worth building in the first place. We worked hard, built businesses, raised families, paid taxes and contributed to our communities. We wanted our children and grandchildren to inherit opportunity, prosperity and freedom, not an ever-growing burden of debt and government obligations. Instead of debating our ideas, too many opponents chose to attack our character. Now, nearly three decades later, we’re still debating many of the same economic concerns. I don’t regret a minute of what we stood for. We weren’t motivated by hatred. We were motivated by responsibility, conviction and a genuine belief that Canada could do better. We wanted to leave the next generation a better Canada. I still do.