The October federal election is a topic of discussion across the country, and the Ontario city of Guelph is no exception. Candidates from all national parties will be aiming to impress voters and score shots at their rivals in a pair of debates taking place this month.
While election ridings can sometimes be complicated, Guelph has its own single constituency, making things a little simpler. The riding is currently held by Liberal Lloyd Longfield, and has been in Liberal hands since 1993. Conservative Ashish Sachan and New Democrat Aisha Jahangir hope to change that pattern. Guelph is also known for having one of the strongest Green Party presences in Ontario, with Gord Miller earning 11% of the vote in 2015, and current Green candidate Steven A. Dyck looking to grow that number.
The candidates will look to get their message out to voters through a variety of events, as well as phone calls and door-to-door visits. In elections, printing services are often used for lawn sign and brochure printing – important in Canada’s parliamentary system, where parties have to campaign under the name of the local candidate instead of the better-known party leader.
There will be two debates for local Guelph candidates held in the crucial election month of October. The first, hosted by Emerge Guelph, will focus on the environment. It is part of 100 debates across the country organized by GreenPAC and Equiterre aiming to address environmental issues. This will take place this Thursday, October 3 at Centennial CVI. A more general debate will be hosted by the Guelph Chamber of Commerce at City Hall a week tomorrow, October 9, allowing candidates to make their final pitch to the public. Election day will be October 21, although early voting will be available in the preceding weeks.
