My desire to serve

My desire is to serve the people of South Okanagan – West Kootenay and the people of Canada.

Service has always been important to me. I have volunteered with the homeless in Vancouver’s Downtown East side and volunteered in South America helping those less fortunate.  Penticton has always been home to me and over the years I have volunteered at the hospital’s Extended Care Unit and been a fundraiser and board member of the Penticton Christian School.  

This desire to serve led me to my first career choice – to work in health care.  I worked in rehabilitation, first at Lions Gate Hospital and then at the Village by the Station seniors home in Penticton.  During my two years at Village by the Station I also volunteered with our local MP, Stockwell Day.  After winning the 2006 election Stockwell asked me to serve as his Parliamentary Assistant.  

Throughout my time volunteering with Stockwell and the subsequent two and a half years on Parliament Hill, I saw firsthand how an effective MP can help their constituents. Whether that is helping an individual who has become frustrated working through the government bureaucracy; or advocating for the funding of worthy local projects; or making sure that legislation under consideration remains in line with the wishes of your constituents. Stockwell set an example I intend to follow in Parliament as your representative.

I left Ottawa in 2008 to continue the family real estate business with my father Chuck Neufeld that my grandfather Neil Thiessen started in Penticton in 1949.  As I left Ottawa, I knew I wanted to stay engaged in the country and continue to speak up for the concerns of individual Canadians.  On my return to Penticton I re-engaged in politics at a local level, becoming Stockwell’s riding president and later representing BC on the National Council of the Conservative Party.

My interest in politics began in my youth on October 30, 1995 – the night of the Quebec referendum.  I was shocked to see that our country had nearly broken apart.  I started following the news closely and learning as much as I could.  Four years later, with the sponsorship of the Royal Canadian Legion in Penticton I went to Ottawa to lay a wreath at the National War Memorial on November 11th.  During my visit I was able to tour Parliament and meet with the Leader of the Opposition, Preston Manning.  These experiences cemented my desire to serve and be engaged in our country.

If you, as a resident of South Okanagan - West Kootenay, choose me to represent you in Ottawa come October 19th, I will endeavour to serve you – advocating for our region in Parliament through the maze of government bureaucracy, serving you by speaking up for legislation which continues to put you first, allowing for individual choice and less regulation by government, and seeking to keep taxes low. I hope to build on the conservative principles of providing strong economic leadership, expanding free trade, and keeping our communities safe.

Marshall Neufeld
Conservative Candidate in South Okanagan - West Kootenay