Local riding most-contested in province

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This article was published 02/10/2019 (2348 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Voters in Brandon-Souris will have plenty of choices at the ballot box come Oct. 21, with eight candidates registered with Elections Canada — the most out of any riding in the province.

The deadline to register passed on Monday and candidates from all major parties have registered, including two independent candidates. The only other time eight candidates ran federally in Brandon-Souris was in 1993, when Liberal candidate Glen McKinnon won the riding, but only kept it for one term.

Brandon University associate professor and chair of political science Kelly Saunders said she is unsure why there are so many candidates in this particular riding. Brandon-Souris is historically a strong Conservative riding, but it could be reflective of several issues on the national level.

“We are seeing a lot more over-volatility,” she said. “Voters are a little frustrated, a little unhappy in terms of the ways in which politics is unfolding and some of the choices that we might have and that’s why we’re seeing things like decreased voter turnout.”

She said more voters are willing to flip their votes between political parties from one election to the next. Despite this, the issues in the riding are largely the same as on the national stage, including climate change, the carbon tax, tariffs and healthcare.

It is “curious” that so many people are running, Saunders said, given that the province just wrapped up a provincial election on Sept. 10. Generally, people are tired of elections after voting day.

In an emailed statement, Conservative incumbent Larry Maguire said he doesn’t believe the number of candidates running changes the dynamic of the election. He criticized the Liberals for waiting until after the writ was dropped only to nominate a candidate who lives outside the riding.

“I take absolutely nothing for granted, and we’ll work hard to earn every vote,” he added.

Terry Hayward, the riding’s Liberal candidate in this election, said the record-matching number of candidates shows the broader public is taking a greater interest in politics this election. He said it could be indicative that people are looking for a change.

“I have no idea how the results will come out, but I can see as in 1993, when there ended up being a big change in Brandon-Souris, that people are very much taking an interest in the election and who they were going to vote for and what they wanted out of this election themselves,” he said.

Bill Tiessen, who is running under the Green party’s banner, said the number of candidates reflects people’s interest in the democratic process.

“Evidently, people think that there should be choices to the status quo — and I’m all for it,” he said.

“I think there’s a significant pool of people who have sat on the sidelines for a long time feeling possibly that their concerns are not being addressed by the people that are running, so with more options and choices I think people will have a closer look and feel there’s a place they can mark their ballot.”

In the 2015 general election, when there were four candidates in Brandon-Souris, Maguire took 50.27 per cent of the vote. Liberal candidate Jodi Wyman came in second with 37.31 per cent of the vote.

NDP candidate Ashley Duguay said the number of candidates shows that people are tired of alternating between Conservative and Liberal federal governments.

“A lot of people in this riding and across the country are very fatigued from the same sound bites and the same messages of Conservative and Liberals particularly,” she said. ”I think people are tired of the same thing and no results out of it.”

The large number of candidates in 2019 is also a reflection of a new political party in Canadian politics, the Peoples’ Party of Canada. Rob Lussier, the new party’s candidate in Brandon-Souris, said he’s glad to see NDP and Liberal candidates in the riding, who were not nominated until after the writ was issued on Sept. 11.

“It’s best for democracy and it’s best for the people of Brandon-Souris when they have a wide-open choice. Without candidates running, the people might not vote. … If the Liberals or NDP had no one to vote for, would they even bother? Now at least they’ll be getting out and exercising their democracy,” he said.

“It can only be a good thing for all of us.”

He said his strategy hasn’t changed since the new candidates arrived on the field, and that he still plans to go to rural communities to meet with the voters living there.

Christian Heritage Party candidate Rebecca Hein agreed that it is positive for the area, but added vote-splitting is a concern. She is encouraging voters to vote for what they truly believe in, as she is running on biblical principals.

Independent candidate Rob Eastcott, who said he was at the hospital in Dauphin when reached by The Brandon Sun on Monday, said he sees “power trip after power trip” at the federal level and said he hopes to bring a business-oriented perspective to the riding.

Eastcott pleaded guilty in April 2016 to causing an explosion that blew out the windows of his house. As reported in The Brandon Sun at the time, on Nov. 15, 2015, Eastcott and his girlfriend were in their kitchen using butane to extract cannabis resin.

He was fined $2,000 on the charge.

If elected, he said he would like to re-open the pools in Brandon and work to reduce poverty by feeding homeless people.

Independent candidate Vanessa Hamilton said it is good to see so many voices running. Her campaign is more “grassroots,” so the number doesn’t change her strategy, but the options mean voters are engaged.

The federal election is set for Oct. 21.

» dmay@brandonsun.com

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