The first few days of Canada’s 44th general election have already set the tone for what’s ahead, and the question on nearly everyone’s mind is, will Canadians be willing to engage with politics in the waning days of summer, and at the start of a fourth wave of the pandemic?
Cambridge MP Bryan May thinks so.
“We’re literally hitting the ground running,” said the incumbent on a phone call between stops in Preston and Ayr, less than three hours after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the snap election Sunday.
CambridgeToday reached out to local candidates to get an early sense of how they’re feeling heading into a campaign like no other.
“It’s got the feeling of more of a sprint-type election as opposed to a marathon,” said the second-term MP as he and his team cautiously knocked on a few doors and prepared for more virtual outreach with constituents interested in the Liberal platform that launched with a goal to create a national $10-a-day-childcare program.
So far, eight provinces have signed on to the proposal that May said will be “an absolute game-changer” in kickstarting the post-pandemic economy.
In response to the wedge issue of vaccine mandates, May said he was happy to see the feds move forward on proof of vaccination for foreign and inter-provincial travel, and mandates for federal workers.
He believes the mandates will expand as provinces realize it's a necessary tool to move forward.
Earlier this week, Ontario implemented mandates for healthcare and education workers, despite criticism from federal Conservatives, who are calling for an “alternative” approach to getting the unvaccinated minority to roll up their sleeves.
“To me it’s a race to the bottom. It’s a race to appeal to a very small, fractured percentage of the country,” May said, adding the overwhelming majority of businesses and groups want this to protect their employees and customers.
He’s hearing the same on the campaign trail, buoyed by “solid” support and even mild enthusiasm for the election, despite hearing some initial criticism around the prime minister's motivation for getting Canadians to the polls.
Signs are springing up all over town.
— Bryan May (@_BryanMay) August 17, 2021
Feels great to be back on the campaign trail. #ForwardForEveryone pic.twitter.com/74d8DvhNGS
“I think I’d be lying if I said people want to go to the polls,” May said.
“Obviously people are asking why and, it’s a pertinent question, and the answer to that is it’s an incredibly pivotal moment not just for political sake, but really for the history of this country.
“We have spent the better part of two years dealing with COVID, which we did not campaign on.
"We really have to give the public an opportunity to have their say. Are we heading in the right direction? Have we done a good job? Do you agree with the measures that we’ve taken to support Canadians, individuals as well as businesses? And making sure that they also agree with what we have to do over the next two to four years, because quite frankly, the decisions that we’re going to make, that we want to make over the next two years, are going to affect the next 20.”
The election marks May’s fourth run for the federal seat in Cambridge and he knows this campaign is going to be different from anything he’s been through in the past. Connecting with people will be the biggest challenge, and the usual “fellowship, camaraderie, the sharing of war stories,” won’t be part of the next four weeks. But he’s optimistic his team will find a way.
“I think we have a really good story to tell,” he said. “We’re going to have to rethink and just lead by example.”
With just five weeks to generate name recognition and talk to constituents, Michele Braniff enters the campaign with the advantage of experience.
It’s her third go-around as the Green Party candidate in the Cambridge, North Dumfries federal riding.
But this time, Braniff admitted the situation will make for a “really challenging campaign” as the Green Party tries to figure out ways to reach residents safely, leading up to what could be a historically-low voter turnout on Sept. 20.
Braniff is hoping that’s not the case and is encouraged to see Cambridge residents displaying a “big upswing of support” for issues like proportional representation.
A growing desire to change the electoral system and fears we've reached a tipping point in the climate crisis could end up resulting in a bigger voter turnout than expected, she said.
“I have a huge regret for seeing us so far behind on our targets for the Paris Accord and it’s just tragic,” Braniff added. “You know the words ‘I want you to act as if your house was on fire?’ Well, Canada is on fire.”
And while many politicians may have been able to ignore the impact of climate change in the past, “sadly the climate crisis has reached a proportion that it’s very hard to ignore,” she said.
“I think lots of people are worried about the world we’re leaving for their children and grandchildren.”
But even with such heavy issues up for discussion, she’s worried it won't be enough to motivate people to vote.
Braniff said democracy was well represented in the last federal election and Canadians aren’t eager to return to the polls so soon.
“If the people of Canada voted for a minority government, the people of Canada want the parties to work together and collaborate,” she said. “It doesn’t line up with my notion of democracy to vote for a new mandate two years later, in the midst of a pandemic.”
Braniff also believes calling an election now has an unfair impact on the country’s most vulnerable voters; those who are struggling to make ends meet, or taking care of families as the spectre of COVID-19 continues to loom over our lives.
In these circumstances, people in a position of privilege have more opportunity to get to the polls and that's unfortunate, she said.
“In terms of doing a cost/risk analysis on even calling the election, the safety of Canadians should’ve been paramount.”
Instead, she said, Trudeau made made a decision to “gamble with the safety of Canadians” in the pursuit of a majority government. And she thinks voters in Cambridge are sophisticated enough to recognize that.
“I don’t expect a lot from Justin Trudeau, but I keep on being disappointed,” Braniff said.
“It’s kind of up there with buying a pipeline. I don’t know what his motivation was, I don’t know what his strategy was, but in my calculation of putting Canadians first, it’s not how I would do it.”
NDP candidate Lorne Bruce agrees this election call was for “all the wrong reasons” and said the people he’s spoken to so far figure the Liberals were simply looking for an opportunity to gain enough seats for a majority.
“They might wear it. Quite often when you get into the campaign you get into other issues, but I think this one might stick,” Bruce said.
An election during a national health crisis is one thing, but “what about British Columbia? Those folks are under fire advisories,” he said. “How do you run a federal election during that?”
Locally, Bruce sees himself relying a lot on social media, signs and name recognition from his 2019 effort seeking support for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union where he’s vp of the executive.
This election marks the first time Bruce is running on the NDP ticket in Cambridge after making a 2015 bid for Kitchener-South Hespeler.
The riding change comes after Bruce said he experienced first hand the lack of housing in the city when his landlord gave him 30-days notice so she could move her elderly parent into his apartment.
“People realize the housing crisis in the region. I was getting no vacancy, no vacancy and I needed something fast. It kind of hit me sideways,” he says.
The housing crunch hit home again when his 25-year-old daughter’s excitement about a house for sale in Cambridge disappeared when the sellers were met with five offers, all above asking price.
Bruce said the NDP plan to tackle the issue with a 20 per cent foreign buyer’s tax, a crackdown on speculators, and a plan to build 500,000 new units of affordable housing.
Kitchener-South Hespeler
Over in Kitchener-South Hespeler, NDP candidate Suresh Arangath, said affordable housing is a top-of-mind concern for almost everyone he’s spoken to.
“Some of them have houses but they’re looking at their kids and wondering how they’re going to afford a home,” he said.
Arangath is also hearing from people who want help with student loans, national pharmacare and dental care programs, and more support for mental health.
When he tells them it’s all a priority for the NDP, the first question he gets is ‘how is your party going to pay for it?’
That’s when Arangath explains NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s plan to implement a one per cent tax on anyone with more than $10 million in the bank.
They like that plan, he said, but they’re less agreeable to the need for an election.
“All of them are wondering ‘why is this guy coming back to us when we’re in the midst of a crisis?’” Arangath says.
But despite hearing initial reluctance at the door, he doesn’t see it playing out in terms of voter turnout.
“I think people will go to the polls,” he said.
Liberal candidate Valerie Bradford, who is making her first run for the federal seat in Kitchener-South Hespeler, knows this election was necessary.
“I agree with what the Prime Minister said the other day. This is a pivotal time in Canadian history,” she said.
“The last election that we had was October 2019. Think of what the world looked like back then and what the concerns were versus now. It’s totally different,” says the former economic development professional.
“I think the federal government has done a pretty good job ... getting the vaccines here, keeping the country safe, getting the vaccines deployed to the provinces, bringing in the army to deal with the very unfortunate and concerning situation in some of our long term care homes. So now we need to bring a plan forward for the economic recovery phase.”
Part of that plan for recovery will focus on families with young children.
“It’s been such an emotional struggle for parents and children,” she said. “Women in particular have been more adversely affected” because in many cases women chose to leave their jobs to stay home with their children.
As a mother of three, Bradford says she can sympathize with the struggles of juggling a career and childcare. That’s why she thinks the Liberal’s childcare plan is essential to restoring the economy.
As for the notion that an election risks the safety of Canadians, Bradford said it’s simply not the case.
The seven provincial elections that have been held since the start of the pandemic prove it can be done safely, she said. The difference now is close to three quarters of the population is fully vaccinated.
“There’s no way Theresa Tam or any of the other public health officials, or Elections Canada would have considered an election if we couldn’t do it safely.”
Reached Monday by email, incumbent Kitchener-South Hespeler MP Marwan Tabbara says he still hasn’t made a decision on whether to run as an independent in this election.
Tabbara will be in a Guelph courtroom on Sept. 1 where he is facing charges for break and enter to commit an indictable offence, assault and criminal harassment following his arrest in Guelph on April 9, 2020. A publication ban prevents details of the case from being released.
Tabbara left the Liberal caucus to sit as an independent MP last year.
Cambridge Conservative candidate Connie Cody and Kitchener-South Hespeler Conservative candidate Tyler Calver did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
The Green Party has not yet named a candidate for the Kitchener-South Hespeler riding.
.png;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)