Cambridge candidates on jobs, homelessness, addiction and 'elbows up' mentality
5 candidates in Canada's federal election are running in Cambridge
Cambridge voters have five candidates to choose from in this federal election.
The five candidates are (in alphabetical order by last name):
- Lux Burgess, Green Party of Canada.
- Connie Cody, Conservative Party of Canada.
- Manuel Couto, Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada.
- José de Lima, New Democratic Party.
- Bryan May, Liberal Party of Canada (incumbent).
CBC K-W invited the candidates from the four major parties. The topics covered including the local economy, homelessness and addiction and Canadian sovereignty.
Burgess of the Greens is a manager at Comcor Environmental in Cambridge. He introduced himself by saying he feels the Green Party is about more than environmental issues.
"We stand for social justice, affordable housing, Indigenous reconciliation, and a fair economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few," he said.
Cody of the Conservatives did not respond to CBC K-W's invitation to take part in the panel. Cody ran for the Conservatives in the 2021 election and has also run for city council. Her website says she has a career in systems architecture and technology and she also volunteers in the city including at schools, Kiwanis Club and sitting on the city's environmental and accessibility advisory committees.
Couto of the Marxist-Leninist Party has run for this party in previous elections. In past elections, he has called for the need for political renewal, including changing the electoral process. He's also said the government needs to do a better job of safeguarding the economy and protecting workers.
De Lima of the NDP said he's a social services manager and a community advocate.
He said he was running in this election to "make sure that we have bold and community powered solutions at the table."
May, the incumbent, is the Liberal candidate who has held the seat since 2015.
"Since 2015, your Liberal government has delivered results, real results for Canadians, not with slogans, but with substance," May said.
LISTEN | Federal election candidates from Cambridge take part in panel discussion about top issues:
On jobs
The candidates were asked what they would say to Cambridge residents who are worried about the impact U.S. tariffs could have on their jobs.
De Lima said he's already heard from people who have received layoff notices and businesses that are about to lay people off.
"We need to understand that this is not a time for cuts. This is a time to make sure that community works for working, middle class families," he said.
"We need to make sure that the government is there to provide people with the supports that they need to provide people with [employment insurance] if they get laid off. But also to make sure that we have Canadian manufacturing and Canadian innovation as a tool to retrain and rehire and ensure that our sectors are able to survive."
May pointed to his experience as chair of the auto caucus in Ottawa, which he said "gave me insight into this industry that supports 8,000 jobs at Toyota, for example, in Cambridge and Woodstock."
"I completely understand the impact that these tariffs are going to have in Canada and the Liberal Party will not stand by as the U.S. imposes these unjustified and illegal and completely unnecessary tariffs on Canadian goods," May said.
He said the Liberals have announced $6 billion to protect workers and revenue from retaliatory tariffs will support people who lose their jobs.
Burgess said with the current political climate, "we can't just sit back and hope for the best."
"The Green Party has a plan to make sure that we stay strong, independent, and protected no matter what happens next. We plan to introduce a guaranteed livable income," he said.
"We'll strengthen protections for workers, raise the minimum wage and support small businesses, the backbone of our economy."
He said the Greens would stop giving subsidies to big corporations and "invest that money where it belongs, into the lives of everyday Canadians."
On homelessness and addiction
The candidates were also asked what needs to happen to address homelessness and people struggling with addictions in the city.
May said the Liberals recognize homelessness is a challenge and developed the National Housing Strategy, which has been used to build homes across Canada.
"But we are not blind to the fact that much, much more is necessary and we need to ramp up the work that's being done," May said, noting an early platform promise from the Liberals was to double the number of homes built each year and the introduction of the Build Canada Homes plan.
"We know that we need to have an approach similar to post World War II. And when we built a huge number of homes, entire subdivisions in communities across this country, that's the level of work that's necessary to get in front of this problem," May said.
Burgess said the Greens recognize the opioid crisis "is a national emergency that demands urgent action" because families are seeing loved ones die from overdoses.
He said the Green Party "believes in a compassionate, health-focused approach to this crisis, one that treats substance use as a public health issue, not a criminal one."
That includes decriminalizing drug possession for personal use and expanding harm reduction strategies.
For housing, he said the party wants to change how affordable housing is defined "so that it truly reflects what people can afford. No more than 30 per cent of their income."
Burgess added housing needs to stop becoming "a playground for investors."
NDP candidate de Lima said Waterloo region as a whole is struggling because the number of people who are experiencing homelessness continues to grow, point-in-time counts have shown.
"We have seen, over the last few years, supports given. But unfortunately, we have also seen that the affordability crisis that people are facing in our communities, the housing crisis, the increase in rents and the lack of rent control, which has increased homelessness in the province … has all contributed to an increase in homelessness," he said.
"When we look at the addiction and overdose crisis, we must understand that ending the toxic drug crisis means treating it like the emergency that it is."
He said the federal government needs to "get back in the business of building housing."
On sovereignty
Since U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs and said Canada should become the 51st state, many across the country have taken a "elbows up" attitude to champion this country. The candidates were asked what the role of a local MP is in the overall discussion around sovereignty.
"I would definitely stand up for Canadian sovereignty," Burgess said, noting the Green Party would "not stand idle while American tariffs threaten our workers, our economy and our shared future."
"I would push for fair trade guarantee, ensuring that all future trade deals include enforceable environmental and labour standards. I would support Canadian business through targeted subsidies and a Green transition fund, helping our industries in Cambridge modernize and compete in a low carbon world," he said.
De Lima said "elbows up is the sentiment that we're bringing to this fight into this election."
"I've spent most of my life I'm standing up to bullies and you have to do it from a place of strength and you can't back down. And so when we talk about elbows up in our role as individually as a member of Parliament in Ottawa, it is about standing up to bullies, but also making sure that the people that are being threatened and bullied by Donald Trump's actions are being taken care of."
He said that means standing up as a country, but also for things like a person's right to water, health care and jobs.
May said the candidates "are shoulder to shoulder on this issue" and everyone understands the U.S. administration is an "existential threat."
He said he spent time in July 2024 talking to state legislators to explain to them the relationship between their state district, the companies there, and Canada.
The Liberals "managed that relationship with the bully to the South for four years. I think we did a very good job doing that, getting a very good deal for Canada when it comes to NAFTA."
"But we know that it's not hyperbolic to say that the Trump tariff war that we're seeing today has made this the most important election of my lifetime. This threat of annexing Canada is not just unacceptable," May said.
Questions have been sent by email to Cody and Couto. When they respond, those responses will be added to this story.
Advance voting takes place 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday and Monday.
Voters go to the polls on April 28.