This is an opportunity for ordinary people to be heard.


We asked six people to be our citizen commentators during the campaign. Each chose an issue they believe in passionately. You'll hear from them between now and the week of the election, and we encourage you to react by adding your comments.

Tick, Tock...

October 4, 2011

Like most Manitobans, I've been eagerly waiting for the end of the Manitoba election. Not with excitement, like how I wait for Christmas to come each year, but more like the way I wait for the end of a long, boring movie that is 30 minutes too long.

But at least it appears the election will go out with some zeal, as a poll released Friday shows the NDP and Tories were still neck-in-neck with just days left on the campaign trail.

A poll completed by the Winnipeg Free Press/Probe Research found that NDP are leading with 46 per cent of decided voters, with the Tories in a close second with 43 per cent of the vote.

While I'm not super confident in my ability to predict the outcome just yet, I think it is perhaps more likely that Manitobans will send the NDP into their fourth term rather than take a chance with the Conservatives. The Tories campaign seemed to focus on consistently attacking the NDP's record over their past 12 years in government but lacked innovative, exciting ideas for how to improve life in the province. This, I think, will likely not be enough to steer voters away from the tried-and-true NDP at the polling station.

All eyes may be on the NDP and Tories' battle for the premier's office, but results for the Liberals and Greens should be equally intriguing to watch on election night. As we've all seen the Liberals struggle to avoid being wiped out entirely, the Green Party has put up an equally vigorous fight to claim their first seat in the Manitoba Legislature, hoping that leader James Beddome will oust incumbent NDP candidate Rob Altemeyer in Wolseley. How the outcomes of these uphill battles affect the political landscape in Manitoba will be just as interesting to observe.