With the passing of a non-confidence motion in the House of Commons, the country is set to head to polls once again.
Yorkton-Melville MP Garry Breitkreuz is not pleased with the election call. He echoes statements made earlier in the week by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, saying that it would be better to be working in government rather than working on the campaign trail at this time.
"I didn't want an election now, and I'm actually shocked that the parties pressed for one. We're doing very well, our agenda in parliament has been well received and our budget was proving to be very popular," he explains.
One of the main issues that Breitkreuz sees in the coming vote is the budget, which he says the parties didn't allow to go to a vote, or be debated in the House of Commons. He sees one of the primary issues as being which party can put together the best budget and manage the economy in the most effective way.
The election call is something which the local MP says was prompted by the opposition being unwilling to allow the Conservative government gain momentum.
"I think that the opposition parties are not pleased with the fact that we're doing better and better, that we're being perceived by Canadians as a competent government the longer we're there, even in a minority situation we were doing fairly well," he suggests.
While he views the call as a "pointless election," he does say that there are potential upsides to the vote, and he hopes that his party can get a majority government.
That desire for a majority is driven by what Breitkreuz describes as opposition parties trying to throw "sand in the gears," of which he says this latest election is a symptom.
"In the last five years less government legislation has been passed than ever before in a five year period in Canada's history," Breitkreuz explains.
The campaign will be focused on the government's record managing the country and the economy, Breitkreuz states.
He believes that Canada is in good shape due to policies on low taxes and controlled government spending.
Locally, Breitkreuz says he's going to go on his own record as well. He says that there is strong support in the constituency, and that he will continue to be working in the same way he has in the past.
He points to large projects in the community and his continuing work dismantling the gun registry as points in his favor.
Canada will head to the polls once again on May 2, 2011.
