With under two weeks left in one of the longest election campaigns in modern Canadian history, we stopped the candidates on October 5 in Dwight, their last public debate in Muskoka, to ask them how they’re faring and what they think is the single most important issue in this election.
Conservative MP Tony Clement says it’s job creation
“Job creation, which has been one where again I’ve proven myself in terms of local jobs being created either through the infrastructure that we’ve done or the small businesses that we have supported, and I’m very proud of my record.”
This is the incumbent’s fourth election campaign in Parry Sound-Muskoka. How is he faring?
Clement said he’s been able to get to lots of “nooks and crannies” in the riding that sometimes you don’t have time to in your usual five-week election campaign, although, he noted, he does knock on doors year-round as the representative for the area.
“I’ve been able to knock on a lot of doors. I passed my millionth step of door-knocking, which is about 714 kilometres.” Tony Clement
Clement said the reception has been great. “People seem to appreciate the amount of work I’ve done in the riding, my commitment to the riding and that, combined with policies that they think are on the right track, makes me feel very hopeful.”
Liberal Party candidate Trisha Cowie says it’s the economy
“That continually comes up at almost every single door that I’ve knocked on and it’s been thousands of doors. People are either concerned for their own economic sustainability or they’re worried about their kids being able to live here and find jobs here… just all around something needs to be done to help the people on the ground at a grass roots level to find jobs and help grow the economy.”
In terms of the campaign, Cowie said it’s been a long campaign but she’s still stoked.
“You would think that by this point I’d be getting a little bit tired, but actually it’s done the opposite for myself. You know we’ve stuck it out for so long and worked this hard for so long, that now it’s time to kick it up a notch,” she said.
“We’re in the last legs of the race, so to speak, and the team is getting re-energized.” Trisha Cowie
Green Party candidate Glen Hodgson says it’s climate change.
“We have talked about all these other issues but at the end of the day climate change and our changing environment is going to have a huge impact on our future, the future of our country, the future of our province and the future of Parry Sound-Muskoka.”
Can you imagine what would happen if people couldn’t swim the lakes in this region, if the fish started dying and if people couldn’t come up for those recreational opportunities, questioned Hodgson.
“Can you honestly tell me, knowing that those are possibilities with climate change, that climate change does not affect the economy? Can you honestly tell me that if we have trouble drinking the water or if it makes us sick, that climate change doesn’t affect healthcare? It is definitely the number one issue. It’s the biggest threat facing our future. It is the biggest threat facing us in Parry Sound-Muskoka and we need to have real leadership on this.”
In terms of the election, he said it has been a long campaign but at the same time it has enabled him to get around to talking to a lot more people.
“I think it’s the second longest in history and that’s certainly been a challenge, but it’s not a challenge that we as Greens would back down from.” Glen Hodgson
Hodgson said the reception from the public has been great, people are always respectful and appreciative of the democratic process, which is one of the reasons he loves the Parry Sound-Muskoka riding. He did say a long campaign definitely favours the incumbent and makes it harder on the other candidates, who may not be able to take eleven weeks off work.
“Certainly a party like the Green Party with a more limited budget – and a philosophy that says we don’t want to spend all of those taxpayer dollars, we think that’s ridiculous – can be disadvantaged by a long campaign,” he said. “I think it was clearly done for a reason and that is unfortunate, but, that being said, we’re not letting it stop us.”
NDP candidate Matt McCarthy says it’s healthcare
“People everywhere in Muskoka are concerned about where’s our local hospital going to be. I don’t believe we should be in that situation where we’re making excruciating choices like where’s our local healthcare going to be. The federal government is only providing 20 per cent of the healthcare funding in the provinces,” he said. ”We need to make sure that the federal government steps up to its original commitment to provide its fair share of healthcare funding.”
In terms of the campaign, he said while Canadians deserve a chance to think thoroughly about what the parties are proposing, it does not need to be done with so much time leading up to an election.
“People should be getting a chance to discuss what the government is doing between elections.” Matt McCarthy
McCarthy said this lengthy election campaign is putting an enormous burden on not only candidates, but Elections Canada “which has seen its costs double throughout this election campaign and now Canadians are going to have to pay for it.”
Canadian Action Party candidate Gordie Merton says it’s the people
“The poverty, the voices, the way that the parties corral the people during election time and then ignore them the rest of the time. I’m a simple kind of person, even off the campaign, when I’m at home people come by my house, I try to help them as much as I can but I don’t like these facades that these parties put up… because once you vote them in you never see them again,” he said, adding, “The whole system has ignored the people.”
Asked how the campaign is going, he said It wasn’t long enough. “In order to produce the right information you need a long time… there are a lot of things,” he said.
Calling an election really early, I think they did it strategically because they know that everybody is going to scramble. I had to scramble.” Gordie Merton
Merton added that candidates should be getting to know the people they represent and talking to them more regularly, not just during an election.
Marxist-Lenninist Party candidate Albert Smith discusses his ideas with a member of the public at the Algonquin Theatre, before the start of the debate there.
Marxist-Leninist Party candidate Albert Smith says it’s the renewal of the democratic process
“By that we mean getting rid of the first-past-the-post system in the election and having members of Parliament represent their ridings rather than represent their parties to their ridings.” He also lamented the divisiveness in Parliament as a result of parties “going at each other,” which contributes to “inaction,” along with the bickering between the provincial and federal levels of government.
He said a lengthier campaign has given the candidates an opportunity to really discuss ideas and get to know one another. “I enjoy that. I think that’s a good idea and so far so good,” he said.
Election Day is October 19. You should have received your voter information card in the mail with the location of your polling station. If you haven’t, and you’re not sure where to vote or whether you’re registered, check out the Elections Canada website here.
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