Knock knock: Local candidates take their message to people's doorsteps
CBC K-W joined 3 local candidates as they went knocking on doors to talk to voters
Héline Chow stands in the foyer of an uptown Waterloo, Ont., apartment building as the sound of her making a call comes through the speaker on the wall.
"Hi, I'm just trying to get access to the building to canvass on behalf of the election," Chow says when someone answers. "Would you be able to open the front door for us?"
The person on the other end of the call says yes and a moment later, a clicking sound indicates the door is unlocked.
"Voila! And we make it in," Chow says with a laugh.
The NDP candidate for Waterloo says apartment and condo buildings can be tricky when going door-to-door to canvass. If the door is locked, she has to call the landlord or a phone number so remote access to the building can be granted.
Chow says as part of the Elections Canada Act, candidates are allowed to enter apartment buildings with more than six residents to canvass between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. It's important to her to connect with people in apartment buildings.
"I'm a renter so I can understand their struggle trying to find affordable housing in Waterloo and making sure that there's someone out there fighting for them," she said.
With two universities, Waterloo has many students who can vote, but also a large international student population who can't. Still, she says it's important to talk to everyone.
"I feel it's important that we still represent those people and their needs, whether or not they can vote. They can also make great volunteers if they care about your cause," Chow said.
CBC K-W went along with three candidates as they went door-knocking during this federal election campaign. Candidates for the NDP, Liberals and Greens agreed to have a reporter tag along.
None of the Conservative candidates agreed to allow a reporter to join them, but Kitchener South-Hespeler candidate Matt Strauss said during a candidate panel on CBC K-W's The Morning Edition that he has spent much of the campaign connecting with voters on their door steps.
"I've knocked on 40,000 doors, just about every door in the riding," he said, adding in some cases, voters have reacted emotionally. "Some people have cried when they've described their frustrations with these problems to me."
Green Party
Kitchener Centre's Green candidate Mike Morrice is the incumbent after winning the seat in 2021 and he says going to people where they live to hear from them is critical, even outside of an election campaign.
"I just think accountability is important and folks deserve to know who their MP is," Morrice said.
"Sometimes it might feel like that person is distant or it might feel like a lot to send that person an email. So that's why I try to be out in the community at the market on weekends, but also door knocking."
During the hour that CBC News was with Morrice, he and a volunteer knocked on roughly 50 doors.
"It's about 45,000 doors and 110,000 people across Kitchener Centre," said Morrice, explaining the only way to reach every person is with the help of hundreds of volunteers.
Not too many people were home on a weekday at 11 a.m., but Morrice chatted with a handful of residents, some who indicated they planned to vote for him. Some people, he admitted, have expressed skepticism of the party's impact at high levels.
During his conversations, Morrice heard concerns regarding childcare restrictions and housing affordability.
The encampment located at 100 Victoria St. S., is also within his riding and Morrice says he tries to ensure that he's often touching base with unsheltered individuals.
"In that community, there may be more distrust of elected people and politicians," he said.
That's why he visits St. John's Kitchen, Ray of Hope or the House of Friendship.
"Often the case, it's just kind of going to the spaces where those folks are and making sure they're getting heard too."
New Democratic Party
Chow is a first-time candidate who did her PhD in environmental engineering at the University of Waterloo.
"That's why I came here around seven years ago and I did that degree because I care passionately about the environment," she said.
"My running in this election specifically is because I saw everything that was happening south of the border and really felt compelled to act to make sure that we keep progressive voices in the story."
Although it was her first time leading the door knocking brigade, Chow has been determined to knock on every door in her riding.
"I think we all understand that after the pandemic, how valuable being able to talk to someone is and people enjoy seeing the candidate and being able to tell me their issues directly and have me respond."
As CBC News tagged along, Chow and volunteers were able to hit 50 doors and had roughly 15 conversations with people. One of the top concerns she heard about was affordable housing.
Liberal Party
When CBC News joined Kitchener-Conestoga Liberal incumbent Tim Louis, he was door knocking at the New Hamburg retirement community Morningside, which has close to 300 homes.
Louis first won his seat in 2019 and, like Morrice, says he enjoys door knocking even when it's not a campaign.
"I think there's a connection there that you're meeting people where they're at and you can have those real conversations that you might not have online or even on the phone," Louis said.
Kitchener-Conestoga includes a mix of urban and rural voters.
"Out in the country, the doors are a little further away so you just have to have some patience," Louis said.
He and ten volunteers went canvassing at Morningside. It was a rainy and windy day but during a short election season, Louis said there isn't a day to waste when it comes to connecting with people.
Many of the concerns heard were about retirement security and maintaining stability.
"They might be less connected online and so coming to their doors and having those conversations is even more impactful," said Louis.
Bruce Gremo lives in the complex with his mother and was grateful for the opportunity to chat with Louis.
"I think the keyword for me is participatory democracy and meeting the candidate is a big deal," said Gremo.
"The federal scene is where it's really happening for me and the international scene is where it's happening too. So [we need] someone in a party that can sort of deal with all the complications."
Catherine Evenden echoed Gremo's sentiment about the importance of democracy.
"I believe in hearing from candidates so I am grateful for the opportunity to meet people face to face and hear what they have to say as well," said Evenden, who is also a Morningside resident.
"I believe in diversity and communication and that's not always easy when things are polarized but anything that can get us talking together, even in opposition to each other and listening to each and then making informed decisions, is great."
Voters go to the polls on Monday.
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