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See information, reaction and views of Manitobans about the election in Brandon-Souris »

Infrequently Asked Questions

Brandon-Souris

"I got into politics, realistically, because I'm fed up."

Dave Barnes (Green)

What is a pressing issue unique to your riding, and what would you do about it?

Fuel costs.

"That’s definitely an agricultural issue," Barnes said.

"Our riding is agricultural. We’ve got people riding tractors and using big machinery all the time, and that’s how farming is done these days. We’ve got incredible costs that producers are facing.

"You’ve got to admit that fuel pricing is kind of like running into a wall," he added. "What are you going to do? Tell somebody to lower the price? You can't. But I think that what it does is that it forces us to re-examine the way that we are farming."

What do you like least about politics? Why?

Barnes said he dislikes "partisan foolishness, and what I would call deliberate deceit on the part of major party leaders.

"It's like they'll do anything for a vote. How foolish do they think we are? We've been told many things many times," he said.

"I wish other politicians could, like Elizabeth May, deal with issues straight on. You know, I got into politics, realistically, because I'm fed up."

What is your riding's best-kept secret?

The community spirit of collaboration and mutual caring.

"When large events come to Brandon -- let's say to our Keystone Centre -- the community will just well up with volunteers," he said.

"We just like to get out and support things because we're passionate about them, not because there's payback."

What is the best advice you've ever received?

Barnes said his mother's wish for him was to "have a clear eye, a strong spirit, and a pure heart.

"It tells me that I need to live my life honestly and I need to be genuine. It's what I try to do."

What book could you not finish?

Walt Whitman's Song of Myself.

"It's a beautiful poem, but it's many, many hundreds of pages long and I would need a one-month vacation in a very quiet place to finish that."

What is your usual mode of transportation?

"I ride my bicycle to work basically 365 [days a year]. I rode my bicycle every day last winter," he said.

"It's what the planet and my community require. Cycling is the single-most important mode of transport there is. It's the most efficient for humans to get around on bikes, and it's good for one's health, and it's good for community spirit because you meet people on bikes."

View Dave Barnes' Canada Votes Profile »

By Melody Rogan, a student in the Creative Communications program at Red River College.

"A lot of MPs get to Ottawa and they all of a sudden forget where they came from."

John Bouché (NDP)

What is a pressing issue unique to your riding, and what would you do about it?

The price of fuel is the biggest issue, Bouche said.

"It's hurting our farmers and breaking the pocketbook," he said. "This is supposed to be a good year for crops, but with the cost of fuel it's just unbelievable."

What do you like least about politics?

"A lot of MPs get to Ottawa and they all of a sudden forget where they came from, and then they don't fight for our issues," he said.

"Ontario and Quebec have issues, and that's understandable, but you know what, Manitoba has issues, right in Brandon-Souris. We have issues and we need to address them. We need a strong voice in Ottawa that's going to represent this riding and its problems."

What is your riding's best-kept secret?

The Brandon Folk, Music and Art Festival.

"At the end of July we have a three-day folk festival," he said. "There are some local acts and there are also some from out of province."

What is the best advice you've ever received?

Bouche says his father told him: "'If you really believe in something, don't give up. Keep going.'

"You have to keep going. Sometimes you have to take a couple of steps back, but you just can't give up. And that's who I am: I don't give up."

What book could you not finish?

"I don't read much," Bouche said.

"Most of the time I read the news, and that's the thing I'm really interested in. I read the newspaper and magazines like Macleans. Most of the time, I don't have time anyway."

What is your usual mode of transportation?

Bouche usually drives a 2007 Dodge Ram 4x4 truck

"I live out of town and I have a small hobby farm, so I have a truck," he said. "I drive it to work, too. You need a truck when you're on a farm."

View John Bouché's Canada Votes Profile »

By Melody Rogan, a student in the Creative Communications program at Red River College.

"There's a lot of decisions being made based on what politicians feel are popular, and it's not necessarily what's best for the country."

Jerome Dondo (Christian Heritage Party)

What is a pressing issue unique to your riding, and what would you do about it?

The Canadian Wheat Board.

"Some farmers want to be able to market their grain outside of the wheat board because they feel they can get a better price for it. Other farmers want to keep the wheat board as it is because they feel that it's a valuable resource," Dondo said.

"As a party, our position is that we would like to disband the wheat board."

What do you like least about politics?

"There's a lot of decisions being made based on what politicians feel are popular, and it's not necessarily what's best for the country," Dondo said.

What is your riding's best-kept secret?

Tourism potential.

"Just this past weekend, I crossed the Souris bridge with my family," he said. "There's the Daly House Museum in Brandon. There's also the sand dunes just outside of Carberry. There's lots of things to do just inside the riding itself."

What is the best advice you've ever received?

"The best advice that I can think of wasn't given to me personally, but it was something that was said by a public figure, and it was if people don't stand for something they'll fall for anything," he said, attributing the advice to former U.S. Senate chaplain Peter Marshall.

What book could you not finish?

The Case for Christ: A journalist's personal investigation of the evidence for Jesus, by Lee Strobel.

"It's just a lot of reading and it's time-consuming. It's not because I don't want to read it, I just can't get myself to sit down and actually do it," he said.

What is your usual mode of transportation?

The family's 1998

"I have a family of seven -- that's the only reason we have that type of vehicle," he said.

By Melody Rogan, a student in the Creative Communications program at Red River College.

Lisa Gallagher (Communist Party)

Declined to participate.

Merv Tweed (Conservative)

Declined to participate.

View Merv Tweed's Canada Votes Profile »

"It always helps to have your dad's approval."

M.J. Willard (Liberal)

What is a pressing issue unique to your riding, and what would you do about it?

Child care is pressing, "because there's such a variety of people in the riding," Willard said.

"Some stay-at-home moms only need part-time care, some moms are only interested in early childhood education, others use family members [as caregivers]. The sense I'm getting from them is that they want a variety of options that all have equal value.

"Child care spaces definitely need to be created because there's not enough spots for people who need them."

What do you like least about politics?

"The negative backbiting that goes on at the higher levels," Willard said, adding that she thinks campaigns are fairly civil at the rural level.

"Another big issue I have is how the media puts their interpretive spin, and it's almost as though you can tell which party they are supporting. I think during political campaigns the media need to report the facts, they need to report the parties' positions, but they don't need to put their spin on it."

What is your riding's best-kept secret?

"The vast differences between the areas [in the riding] and how the topography and the people from one corner to the other are completely different. It's like you've gone from Arizona to the Atlantic," Willard said.

"Some of the areas really do look like the southern United States. Some of the areas look like your standard issue Canadian prairies, and other areas look very rugged, mountainous and look like they could be in B.C. It's a great place to travel around in."

What is the best advice you've ever received?

Willard said her father told her to follow a political career.

"It always helps to have your dad's approval," she said.

What book could you not finish?

The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne.

"I just could not plod through it. [It is] just too philosophical," Willard said.

What is your usual mode of transportation?

2007 and 2008 BMWs

"Rural areas don't have a lot of public transit, and they certainly don't have rapid transit," Willard said, though she noted she will take VIA Rail between Saskatoon and Winnipeg.

"The reason I drive a car is because it's got all the creature comforts and it has the ability to accelerate and decelerate on the steering column."

View M.J. Willard's Canada Votes Profile »

By Melody Rogan, a student in the Creative Communications program at Red River College.