Winkler's Carrie Hiebert will be representing the Progressive Conservative (PC) party of Manitoba in the October 3rd provincial election in the constituency of Morden-Winkler. Hiebert beat out Josh Okello, Liz Reimer and Zahid Zehri for the nomination.

Shortly after the win Monday evening, Hiebert said she was amazed and in awe of the support received from party members.

"I am just so touched they have faith in me to do this, and I'm just really excited to lead and to meet with everybody," she shared. "I'm really excited to be part of growing our community, and just being here, and it's just something I've always dreamt of."

Hiebert admitted, the last couple months during the nomination campaign have been filled with a lot of hard work, and noted all the candidates did a great job during the race, pointing to how challenging, at times, it was for her and the others.

"One thing I will say is, if your dreams don't scare you, your dreams aren't big enough, and I have definitely been in that place the last few months," she said. "It's a great feeling when you can achieve something you have worked hard for."

Hiebert stressed she couldn't have accomplished this on her own, and pointed to the team of family, friends and supporters behind her that helped make it possible.

"I could not do this on my own, I could never do this without all the people around me," she explained. "I couldn't do this without the people that had faith in me, and that came to vote for me. I just want to say thank you to everyone who showed up today to vote."

Hiebert was ask to reflect on what about her message resonated with PC party members in Morden-Winkler.

"A big part of it, at least for me, has been I'm just a real person, and I do have so much experience in so many areas," she said. " I feel like I'm the complete package, and I believe just being a down to earth person, and being kind and just loving. Morden-Winkler, like the way I do, and how the community has been so good to us. I think people know that, they feel that, they know I'm going to be an incredible leader, and I saw that today with the vote."

Hiebert has been involved in local politics for 12 years at both the federal and provincial levels, working as Constituency Assistant and office manager in Morden for former MP Candice Bergen, and also working for former MLA Cameron Friesen in his Morden office. She also served on the local boards for both the MP and MLA for a total of eleven years, as well as assisting with campaigns at both the provincial and federal levels.

With the the provincial election less than six months away, Hiebert feels there are a number of issues facing the area.

"We are such a blessed area. We're so generous. We have so much to offer, and I think we need to get the word out how amazing our area is, and start attracting more people here," stated Hiebert who then shared her thoughts on the key issues at hand. "We need more healthcare. We need more skilled labor. We need a lot. I think as we grow, because our communities are growing so fast, we're diverse and we have so much to offer."

Hiebert noted the area is filled with resilient people who make up a resilient community, ready to move forward.

"That's what I'm really excited about is moving forward to the future, and not looking back, but looking forward."

Carrie and her husband Mike share a moment during the nomination meetingCarrie and her husband Mike share a moment during the nomination meeting

As for what's next, she's planning on taking some much needed time with family and friends, with the nomination meeting now behind her.

"Just appreciate the people around me that have put in so much time and effort for me," she said "I am touched by how much people around me have contributed to my dream, and making this happen for me, and I'm just going to really take some time and just appreciate them."