By Nadya Bell and Matt Hartley
For the first time in more than two decades, Canadians are talking politics over the holidays after opposition parties pulled the plug on the federal Liberal government.
Heading into the third week of the campaign, all the major party leaders are rattling their sabres, making promises on a range of issues from sweeping tax cuts to health care reforms. Between now and election day on Jan. 23, politicians across the country, as well as here in Ottawa Centre, will be working hard to promise Canadians what they want.
But many national debates are playing themselves out here in Ottawa Centre.
With the retirement of the iconic and popular NDP MP Ed Broadbent, there is no clear leader in the race to represent our riding.
Among NDP candidate Paul Dewar, Liberal Richard Mahoney, Conservative Keith Fountain and Green David Chernushenko, the competition is fierce.
In the following pages, we present for you our take on the federal election.
While politicians are campaigning with their policy platforms across the country, we went looking for the issues that are most important to the people of Ottawa Centre.
The NDP withdrew their support for Paul Martin’s Liberal government in November after the Liberals failed to meet NDP leader Jack Layton’s request for health care reforms, reigniting a battle over private health care that will likely become a focal issue in the campaign.
For many Canadians not born in this country, this election will mark their first opportunity to cast a ballot.
But what do the residents of Ottawa Centre, one of the most ethnically diverse ridings in the country, want from their political representatives?
While immigrants are often enthusiastic about voting, youth voters are becoming more and more disenfranchised from the political system, and simply not turning up at the polls.
Low voter turnout and the prospect of another minority government have some people considering proportional representation as an alternative electoral system, another hot topic for politicians.
The election campaign also showcases the growth of Canada’s newest fourth political party, the Greens. Thanks to changes in the way political parties receive funding from the government, the Green Party will begin the next election with their deepest pockets ever.
Many bills — some leftovers from Jean Chrétien’s last term — died before they could become law this session. When the government falls all bills are scrapped, although the Liberal government has often reintroduced old bills after elections.
Parties are taking up these unfinished issues as part of their platforms and incorporating positions on the decriminalization of marijuana and tighter restrictions on gun violence.
Childcare has proven to be a divisive issue, with parties disagreeing over how much the government should be involved, and daycares and parents feeling caught in the middle.
Although many people in Ottawa Centre do not have children, social issues are still very important in a riding that has voted exclusively Liberal or NDP for the past two decades.
But talking politics doesn’t have to be all business — it’s just one big circus to some Ottawa comics who shared with us their thoughts on the election.