One of the longest federal election campaigns in Canadian history is now underway.
Governor General David Johnston formally dissolved Parliament on Sunday, marking the official start to an election campaign that will span 78 days. Canadians will go to the polls on Monday, October 19.
Two candidates have been nominated in Souris-Moose Mountain as of the Mercury’s press time. Estevan chiropractor Dr. Robert Kitchen will try to keep the riding in the hands of the Conservative Party, while Weyburn health-care worker Vicky O’Dell will be challenging him with the New Democratic Party (NDP).
The Liberals and the Green Party have yet to announce their candidates.
Ed Komarnicki, who has been the Souris-Moose Mountain MP for the Tories since 2004, has announced he won’t seek another term.
Kitchen said he’s been preparing for the election since he became the Conservative candidate last November. But he wasn’t aware of when the federal election would be called until a few days before the writ dropped.
He has spent the last few months building a team for the campaign.
“We have our team ready, and it’s up and running,” Kitchen said. “We have a plan in place, and we’ve set our priorities.”
He has been attending community events, and he said he would visit every urban and rural municipality in the vast riding so he can meet as many constituents as possible.
Kitchen said he will be promoting the Tories’ efforts to reduce taxes and guide the economy. He said the tax burden in Canada has been reduced to its lowest level in 50 years.
“We want to see that we continue with the best job creation record that we’ve had among the G-7 (countries),” said Kitchen.
There are two other issues he said he’ll be promoting during the campaign: health-care and veteran’s affairs. Kitchen has been in the health-care sector for nearly 30 years.
And he’s from a military background, as his father and other members of his family have served with the Canadian Forces.
“Veterans are very important people to us, and to the community, and we want to make certain we always respect what they’ve done for this country,” said Kitchen.
He is optimistic the federal Conservatives will be able to maintain their majority government status following the October 19 election. He isn’t concerned with the current polling numbers – many of which show the NDP has a small lead over the other parties – and he says he is focused on this constituency.
Kitchen said he will have an office in Estevan during the campaign, and it should be opening soon. He doesn’t know if he’ll have an office in another community in the riding.
Vicky O’Dell said she was ready for the election call. She has been visiting community events, particularly during the summer months. She has also been door-knocking in several communities.
“I have been quite busy,” said O’Dell. “I am working full-time, of course, so weekends and days off … I’ve been out.”
O’Dell has already spoken with all the First Nations reserves in the constituency.
Health care is among her biggest issues during the campaign. When she is speaking to constituents, she says it’s the topic they bring up first.
“People know that our health care is facing difficulties, and our present government isn’t going to be investing in health care the way we have been seeing,” said O’Dell.
An NDP government will assist municipalities with issues such as roads and infrastructure, she said.
O’Dell criticized the government for their handling of the economy, pointing to recent job losses. And she is concerned about the measures in the Bill C-51 anti-terror legislation.
“I haven’t heard anyone say they like it,” said O’Dell.
Child care is also a big issue. She touted NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair’s plan to have affordable child care, saying that if child care costs less, then families will be more willing to go to work.
“There are people out there who would like to work, but know it doesn’t pay them to go to work,” said O’Dell.
She also took exception with statements from the Tories that the NDP would raise taxes for all Canadians. The party would increase corporate taxes, so they can fund their child care plan and restore funding to health care.
“We’re going to put the money where Canadians need the money, provide the best service for Canadians that we can, and bring Canada back to where we used to be four years ago,” said O’Dell.
O’Dell said she is looking forward to the debates that will happen during the election campaign.
As of the election call, the Tories had a majority government with 159 seats. The NDP were the official opposition with 95 seats, and the Liberals had 36 seats. The Bloc Québécois and the Green Party each had two seats. There were eight independent MPS and four vacant seats.
