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The Campaign
Ridings to watch
Alberta:
- Edmonton Centre:This is Deputy Prime Minister Anne
McLellan's riding. She has won the riding of Edmonton West three times
before, but usually by a very slim margin. But had the Conservative
and
Alliance votes been combined in the last election, McLellan would have
lost by more than two thousand votes. The riding as it now stands was
created in the 2004 re-distristribution
since the last election. Some of the riding now includes other ridings
that elected Canadian Alliance MPs. McLellan has to fight against the
anger in Alberta over the sponsorship scandal, and the gun registry,
which is not popular in many parts of the province. For more on the
riding, listen to this report from Gareth Hampshire and check out our
riding profilesfor
Edmonton Centre.
British Columbia:
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Burnaby-Douglas: This riding was mired in controversy
before the campaign even began. First, NDP incumbent Svend Robinson
announced
he would not stand as a candidate because he had stolen a ring from
an antiques market. Robinson has been an MP since 1979, winning seven
consecutive elections. He was popular in his riding, and well-known
nationally. Bill Siksay will run for the NDP instead. The Liberals
are also having candidate trouble. Paul Martin appointed provincial
Liberal party president Bill Cunningham as the candidate for the riding.
Several other candidate-hopefuls held
a news conference to express their displeasure, and the riding
association resigned in protest. The riding has several higher education
schools, including Simon Fraser University, so education funding is
a concern there. There are also many senior citizens, so health care
and pensions are also big issues. Burnaby-Douglas is also home to
several large sports and recreation facilities, so funding for sport
is an issue locally. Check out our
riding profile for Burnaby Douglas.
- Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca: This riding is interesting
mainly for political reasons. MP Keith Martin was first elected as a
Reform Party member in 1993. In 2000, he was re-elected as a member
of the Canadian Alliance. But when the Alliance merged with the Progressive
Conservatives, Martin decided to sit as an independent, then run as
a Liberal. See our feature on politicians
who have switched parties or decided not to run. Martin won by more
than 12-thousand votes in the last election, but anger at the Liberals
may be too much for him to overcome this time. His former assistant,
John Koury, will be running against him as a Conservative. Our riding profile has more details on the riding.
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Vancouver East: New Democrat Libby Davies has won this
riding in the last two elections, but no one is assuming anything this
time. The riding is one with diversity, character... and some problems. Watch the Rosa Marchitelli item, and consult our riding profile for more information.
New Brunswick -
Fredericton: This riding was solidly Tory from
1957, until Andy Scott claimed it for the Liberals in 1993. He has
held on to the seat since then, and is again running, this time as
Minister of State for Infrastructure. But the newly merged Conservative
and Alliance parties may put an end to vote splitting that benefited
Scott in the 2000 and 1997 elections. The CBC's Deborah Nobes took
the political
temperature in the riding. Also, check out our
riding profile for more on Fredericton.
Nova Scotia
Kings-Hants: PC MP Scott Brison crossed the floor to join the Liberals last December. Brison said he wasn't sure if the newly merged party would reflect his values, or the values of Canadians. The CBC's Sa�a Petricic reports that Brison is facing lots of questions about the switch. But polling suggests he is well ahead of the Conservative candidate, Bob Mullan. The riding profile has more on Kings-Hants.
Nunavut
Nunavut: This riding, of just 27,000 voters, has been Liberal for more than 20 years, but CBC reporter Patricia Bell says it's not because residents vote along party lines. She says it is often more personal than that. Patricia Bell has sent along her assessment of the politics in Canada's biggest riding.
Ontario
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Brampton-Springdale: Liberal leader Paul Martin installed a so-called "star candidate" in the riding, despite protests from the local riding association and potential candidates. Ruby Dhalla will be running for the party, but the riding association has decided to support the NDP candidate instead. Our riding profile has more on the riding.
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Halton: This riding west of Toronto is worth watching, as an indication of what Ontarians are thinking. It encompasses parts of Oakville, Burlington and Milton, areas where the population has increased by leaps and bounds over the years. About a fifth of the homes in the riding were built in the last four years. The riding itself has been altered since the last election leaving it hard to determine which way voters will lean. The race is very close, and could go either the Liberals or the Conservatives. The area has gone both Tory and Liberal in the past. Now, the Liberal incumbent, Julian Reed, is not running. Instead, Gary Carr, former provincial Conservative, is running for the Liberals. The Liberals are feeling the heat for decisions made by provincial Liberals, but are reaping the benefit of announcements on cities and day care. The NDP took about four per cent of the vote in the area in the last election. But the NDP says it shouldn't be ruled out yet. Workers on Anwar Naqvi's campaign say many of their volunteers are former members of the other parties, who now want to work for the NDP. Check out our riding profile for more on Halton.
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Trinity-Spadina: This large riding encompasses a huge part of downtown Toronto. Over the years, the riding has gone to each of the three major parties, although it hasn't been Conservative since the portion called Spadina went PC in the 1950's. It was one of the few ridings to resist the Conservative wave in 1984. Now, with issues such as funding for cities, and a bridge to the Toronto Island airport on the table, the battle between the Liberals and the NDP is heating up again. Liberal incumbent Tony Ianno has held the riding since 1993. He has faced his NDP challenger Olivia Chow before, defeating her in 1997 by 1,800 votes. But her profile as a Toronto city councilor has increased considerably since then. She is also well known as the wife of NDP leader Jack Layton. The city's popular mayor, David Miller has endorsed Chow. Check out our riding profile for more on Trinity-Spadina.
Saskatchewan
Palliser: This riding is too close to call, as are so many in this campaign. Two-term NDP MP Dick Proctor won it by only 204 votes in the 2000 election. Although he has a good reputation locally, the area is not an NDP stronghold. A recent Compas poll suggests that Conservative candidate Dave Batters is ahead by about five per cent. However, the poll's small sample size (300) means that it is accurate only within 5.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Check out our riding profile for more on Palliser.
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What Today's Papers are saying about the election. more » |
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Cartoon gallery more » |
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Campaigning for Canada: From King to Chrétien. more » |
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Spin Cycle: Pollsters in mourning. more » |
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What an election costs more » |
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AUDIO