Former Conservative leadership candidate Rick Peterson recently moved from Vancouver, B.C., to Rona Ambrose’s former riding in Alberta – but won’t say until next week whether he plans to run for Ambrose’s old seat. 

Speaking with iPolitics from Spruce Grove, Ambrose’s former district, the venture capitalist said he and his wife — and their two golden retrievers — should have their new house by tomorrow. 

Peterson went to the University of Alberta and said he has family and friends all over Alberta.  He was coy, however, about any plans to seek the Conservative nomination for the vacant seat. 

“We’re looking at it.  I will make a decision early next week,” Peterson said Wednesday. 

“We’re focused on the move.  This is a family move, this is moving back to Alberta.  You don’t make a move like this lightly and if I do run in the nomination contest – win or lose – we are going to stay and live in Spruce Grove.” 

He said he’s focused on “planting our family roots here” and then he’ll turn his attention to the nomination race. 

“I’m spending lots of time right now speaking to local Conservatives, business leaders, finding out what the issues are and if I get to the point where I think I can offer a compelling candidacy again I will take that step, but we’ll know early next week.” 

So, why Spruce Grove? 

Peterson said it’s an area he knows well and he has a large client base there.  The dogs played a role in the decision to move as well. “ My wife and I have two golden retriever dogs and we love the outdoors for them, and the proximity to Edmonton, but at the same time it’s a mix of suburban and rural so it’s just a wonderful community.” 

Peterson ruled out running provincially for Alberta’s new United Conservative Party; he insisted his political aspirations stop at the federal level. 

“I’m focused on helping Andrew Scheer and the Conservative party in any way that I can and there are lots of ways I can help even if I’m not a candidate … I’m very happy to step up and do anything I can to help the party,” he said. 

So has Peterson spoken with Scheer about running in Spruce Grove? “ Oh, I’m at the point where I’m just turning my attention to that, so really for me to say who I’m talking to or what I’m doing … It’ll take less than a week to figure out where I’m going.” 

Peterson said he still wants to advocate ideas he raised during the leadership race, such as boosting foreign investment and cutting corporate tax to zero, with a 15 per cent flat tax for everyone else. 

“At the next policy convention I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that the Conservative party election campaign policy platform includes the elements that I championed … Maxime Bernier and I are very close to each other in terms of the need for tax cuts and I’m going to be the strongest advocate for a very aggressive tax cutting program as part of our policy going into 2019.” 

Most recently, Peterson attended the Pride Parade in Vancouver alongside Conservative MPs John Brassard and Karen Vecchio. 

“We had a very, very, very good day at the Pride Parade and one of the things that I spoke to the party leadership right after the parade is how important it is for us to increase our exposure at that event.” 

He said there were 500,000 people at the parade, and he and his fellow Conservatives were “welcomed, we were applauded, cheered, and it was tremendously heartening.” 

Peterson said he’ll do what he can to help the party make inroads in Vancouver. “ But my roots and my home and my future are here in Alberta.”