On October 21, Canadians will once again get a chance to exercise their right to decide which political party will guide the nation for the next four years. So I emailed each of the candidates in our riding, requesting an interview. Hopefully their answers will help each of us decide, who should I vote for?
Click here to access all the podcasts for 2019 election quotes
Why should We Vote For Your Party?
CKTZ Broadcast for Sept 25, 2019: “Why Should You Vote Liberal?” – Peter Schwarzhoff, Liberal candidate for Powell River -North Island.
CKTZ Broadcast Sept 21, 2019: “Conservatives Refuse to Participate in Cortes Island All Candidates Meeting” (& do not respond to any of CKTZ’s requests for an interview).
CKTZ Broadcast: Sunday, September 8, 2019 – “Why Vote NDP?” – NDP candidate Rachel Blaney
CKTZ Broadcast: Monday, September 9, 2019 – “Why Are So Many Vancouver Island Voters Turning Green?” – Green Party candidate Mark de Bruijn.
What Is The Most Significant Issue?
CKTZ Broadcast for Sept 24, 2019: “What is The Most Significant Issue of This Election” – Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer
CKTZ Broadcast: Tuesday, September 10, 2019 – “The Most Significant Issues of This Election” – NDP candidate Rachel Blaney
CKTZ Broadcast: Wednesday, September 11, 2019 – “What is The Most Significant Issue Of This Election?” – Green Party candidate Mark de Bruijn.
CKTZ Broadcast for Sept 23, 2019: “What is my greatest concern?” – Peter Schwarzhoff, Liberal candidate for Powell river – North Island.
The 2019 Campaign
This will be the second election in which I interview NDP candidate Rachel Blaney and Liberal Peter Schwarzhoff. In the 2015 election, Brenda Sayers was running for the Green party. Now their candidate is Mark de Bruijn. The Conservative candidate, Shelley Downey, has yet to respond to my invitation. (This does not come as a total surprise, her party declined in 2015.)
One of the biggest surprises of this election is the Green Party’s surge on Vancouver Island. As of September 8, 2019, the CBC’s Poll tracker suggests they could win four seats. It is probably not a coincidence that 338Canada shows the Greens currently leading in four Vancouver Island ridings: Sanaach-Gulf Islands, Nanaimo-Ladysmith, Victoria and (narrowly) Equimalt-Sanaach-Sooke.
This is a great upset for the NDP, who took all of Vancouver Island except Sanaach-Gulf Islands in 2015. At the moment the NDP are not leading in a single riding! However Rachel Blaney, our current Member of Parliament, is in a virtual tie with her Conservative challenger Shelley Downey.
One of them is Powell River – North Island, where our current Member of Parliament, Rachel Blaney, is locked in a very tight race with her Conservative challenger Shelley Downey. The Green Party’s Mark de Bruijn trails closely behind, followed by Liberal candidate Peter Schwarzhoff.
Interviews With The Candidates
- Interview with Green party candidate Mark de Bruijn – was broadcast on CKTZ, 89.5 FM, at 9 AM on September 4 and repeated September 10 at 5 PM.
- Interview with ND candidate Rachel Blaney – was broadcast on CKTZ 89.5 FM at 9 AM on September 4 and repeated September 10 at 5 PM.
- Liberal candidate Peter Schwarzhoff – has been available for short interviews on specific topics.
- Conservative candidate Shelley Downey – has not responded to my requests for an interview, so I went to party leader Andrew Scheer’s YouTube channel.
Links To Party Websites:
- Canada’s NDP
- Conservative Party of Canada
- Green Party of Canada
- Liberal Party of Canada
- Mark de Bruijn Nominee for the Green Party of Canada …
- Peter Schwarzhoff | Team Trudeau
- Rachel Blaney for North Island–Powell River « Canada’s NDP
- Shelley Downey for Member of Parliament | North Island …
Top photo credit: Parliament Hill in Ottawa by tsaiproject via Flickr (CC BY SA, 2.0 License)