'Do the right thing': Pressure to avoid vote-splitting intensifies in Waterloo region
2nd Green candidate endorses rival, Liberal asked to step aside
A second Green candidate in Waterloo region has endorsed their NDP rival, while a Liberal candidate says he won't step back from his campaign after his car was defaced at a debate Monday night.
During the Kitchener-Conestoga debate hosted by the New Hamburg Board of Trade Monday night, Green candidate Brayden Wagenaar started the night criticizing the job done by Progressive Conservative candidate and incumbent Mike Harris Jr. and then offered his support to NDP candidate Jodi Szimanski.
"We need a candidate that cares, and we need a candidate that's going to put in the time and energy and work to take care of you guys. And the only way that's going to happen in our current, not great democratic voting system, is to create a candidate that we can all get behind," he said. " And that's why tonight, I'm proud to say that I'm supporting Jodi as the candidate for this riding."
It was the second local Green candidate to throw their support behind an NDP rival on Monday. Earlier that day, after a candidate panel on CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition, Green candidate Shefaza Esmail told CBC K-W reporter Karis Mapp she was telling her supporters to consider voting for NDP candidate and incumbent Catherine Fife.
Esmail said she was concerned people splitting their votes between the other candidates could mean Progressive Conservative candidate Peter Turkington could win the riding, "and that is a real concern for me."
"If you really like the Green movement, send me a message, tell me I'm doing great, tell me I can earn your vote for next time, but this time, vote Catherine Fife, vote NDP," Esmail said.
WATCH | Waterloo's Green candidate endorses NDP:
In an interview on CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning Tuesday, Green Party of Ontario Leader Mike Schreiner said the endorsements by the two Green candidates were "news to me."
"I have always said that when you elect Greens, I'm not their boss. The people of the riding are their boss. And if these two candidates decided that's what the people of their riding want ... I respect their decision. But I can guarantee you we are running strong candidates across this province," Schreiner said.
Graffiti on Liberal candidate's car
After the Kitchener-Conestoga debate in New Hamburg, Liberal candidate Joe Gowing returned to his car to find a message asking him to step down.
Someone had written the results of the 2018 election on the window of his car with the words: "Step aside now. Do the right thing."
Gowing, who ran for the Liberals in 2018, came in third in that race.
He told CBC News he has no intention of stepping down.
"The 2018 results, the Ontario Liberal Party lost around Ontario, so we cannot use the 2018. This is a different climate for an election," Gowing said.
"I'm not gonna pursue it with police. I'm just gonna focus on my campaign, keep pushing, keep talking to people ... get as many votes as I can and show them that I am the person that should be elected," Gowing said.
"My message is clear I show up. I'm not a one-issue candidate and I have support from all parts of the riding. I will not step aside."
Strategic voting rarely works: Prof
Andrea Perrella, a political science professor at Wilfrid Laurier University whose main research areas are political behaviour and participation, says asking candidates to step aside or candidates supporting rivals isn't new, although it's uncommon.
"I don't know the context that is perfect for strategic voting because it requires a lot of voter engagement and most voters are not that engaged to calculate their votes in that precise detail," Perrella told CBC K-W's Craig Norris, host of The Morning Edition.
He noted it can be particularly difficult to know how well candidates are doing on a local level.
"Yes, there are polls that do sample voters in particular districts, but polling these days is a bit difficult and it's hard to tell whether the polls are accurate or not in terms of the local races," he said.
"There's not a whole lot you can do if you want to be a strategic voter. That's why most people, the most comfortable choice is to ... vote for the party that they prefer. Sometimes they vote for their second choice if they know that their first choice does not have a chance."
Perrella says rather than trying to vote strategically, people should focus more on learning about their candidates and doing their homework before casting a ballot.
"I've always believed that voters should pay close attention to the candidates and to ask who's likely to function as an effective professional manager of the province as opposed to these other issues that come up in a campaign." he said.
"It's less about party politics and more about electing someone that you know will do a good job, work hard, and not just for the the district, not just for the riding, but for the province a whole."
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With files from Joe Pavia and Karis Mapp