Your Home Your Vote — Tuesday summary

The polls have been more or less steady for the last week.  So the question is — can tonight’s debate move some potential voters from their current path?

One riding has picked the winning provincial party 22 times in a row. They call them ‘bellwether ridings’ because they usually point the direction in which the province as a whole, is headed. And there are a few of them around our coverage area. Davenport, Kitchener-Centre, Niagara Falls, and London West. But there is a riding that’s pretty much in the centre of them all.

Along the tranquil banks of the Speed River, a tumultuous political race is reaching its crescendo, in a key bellwether riding. In every election since 1985, the voters of Guelph have picked the winning party. And this time they are leaning slightly toward the Liberal incumbent, Liz Sandals.

Sandals won by 79-hundred votes in the last election, and looks to be ahead in this one. But behind her is a relatively tight race where the Green Party is second, the Tories third — and the NDP trailing the field. All, however, are within the polling margin of error — which means tonight’s leaders debate could lose, or gain valuable support for all three, and possibly reel Sandals back, within reach.

So what are the voters looking for from their leaders tonight? Here in the geographical centre of the riding — we got some answers.

“I’d like to hear a positive message for a change.”

“Some kind of vision for the future.”

Several took aim at Tim Hudak’s math skills

“I would like to hear Tim Hudak speak on all of the jobs that they say that he’s going to be shutting down on, particularly our teachers. I think public education is extremely important.”

“Not taking away jobs that are already existing and maybe coming up with better ideas on improving — maybe having more jobs in our province rather than getting rid of them.”

Some were interested in a different branch of mathematics.

“I want to see some restraint, when it comes to spending money.”

And some, were fed up, with the whole thing.

“No. No. I don’t vote at all. Like for me it’s just — there’s no change!”

“It’s just more of the same stuff.”

But then, there was this — from a woman who believes that a ballot is the only weapon available, to spur change: “I’m just hoping that more people tune in. That more people pay attention, and — just don’t look at the surface, but look below it.”

While it may sound like the Tories are under fire in Guelph, there are a couple of other factors playing into the vote in this riding. The strong campaign of Green party leader Mike Schreiner is stealing a lot of NDP support, and inflating the Liberal lead. And then there is the issue of apathy which could actually help Conservative candidate Anthony MacDonald. Of all the parties, Conservative voters are the most likely to actually make it to the poll on voting day. Meaning — if Liz Sandals doesn’t get her supporters out for the Liberals — this could be a very close contest indeed.