(Photo by Barry Gray.)
I had a coffee the other day with one of Carleton’s federal election candidates and I asked him what he’d learned during the course of the campaign.
His answer: “Don’t take anything for granted.”
That’s worth remembering when you cast your vote on Monday. No candidate is ever guaranteed a win, especially in this year’s close race.
We’re lucky to have four strong candidates to choose from. They have different ideas and different approaches but they all care deeply about our country and our community. They’ve spent a lot of time in Stittsville, attending community meetings, ringing doorbells and visiting events.
They probably deserve a couple days of rest too, after 78 days of door-knocking and debating. This riding is massive: nearly 90,000 people in a big horseshoe surrounding southern Ottawa. One campaign volunteer told me they spent hours one day driving around the perimeter of the riding, just to get a sense of the neighbourhood and geography.
Given all the work the candidates and volunteers have put into their campaigns and getting voters engaged on important issues, the least you could do is spend a few minutes to cast a vote on Monday.
If you’re looking for more information about the candidates, start by reading through our election coverage over the past few months. We also have individual q-and-a’s with each of the candidates: Coyne, Larocque, Poilievre, Rodgers.
Not sure where to vote? Visit Elections.ca to find your voting place and to see how to register.
Anything can happen, and your vote does make a difference.