Familiar faces in race for Winnipeg's Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley seat
3 of 7 candidates in western Winnipeg riding have previously won races in federal, provincial, city politics
It's a story of familiar faces.
Three of the seven candidates in the race to claim the Winnipeg riding of Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley in the upcoming federal election have previously been elected to office in some capacity.
That includes Liberal Doug Eyolfson, the riding's incumbent MP; former Charleswood-Tuxedo city councillor Marty Morantz, now running for the Conservatives; and Steven Fletcher, a former Manitoba MLA and past Conservative MP, who is running this year for the new People's Party of Canada.
Two other candidates have made past political runs.
NDP candidate Ken St. George made an attempt for the Charleswood-Tuxedo city council seat in the 2018 civic election, and the Greens' Jennifer Lauhn-Jensen ran in Tuxedo in last month's provincial election.
So there's no shortage of political experience in the riding — but only one of these candidates will head to Ottawa after Oct. 21.
Doug Eyolfson (Liberal)
Liberal incumbent Doug Eyolfson hopes to win the seat for a second term. The emergency medicine physician was elected during the Trudeau red wave in 2015, with 52 per cent of the vote.
"We have a record over the last four years that I'm very proud of," Eyolfson said.
"If I wasn't proud of this record, I probably wouldn't have offered to run again and would be going back to my previous profession."
Due to the dipping popularity of his party's leader in polls, some analysts predict it'll be no easy feat for the Liberals to hold this western Winnipeg riding.
"I always consider every political fight a tough fight," said Eyolfson.
"I have a very good Conservative challenger who's very hardworking and known in the community, but at the same time, I'm very confident in my record of what I've done as an MP."
Marty Morantz (Conservative)
After being elected to Winnipeg city council in 2014, Marty Morantz announced in May 2018 that he was ready to step up from civic to federal politics.
He's no stranger to other races, either. Morantz ran in River Heights for the Progressive Conservatives in the 2011 provincial election, losing to Liberal Jon Gerrard.
Morantz's old civic ward of Tuxedo-Charleswood sits within the federal riding he now hopes to win. After winning the Conservative nomination a year ago, the former city councillor immediately started working to ensure other neighbourhoods knew his name.
"Politics is all about personal relationships," said Morantz.
"I can tell you on a federal riding, the one thing that's different is they're a lot bigger [than my old civic ward]. So there's a lot more homes and a lot more people to talk to, and that's why I've been on the doors for almost a year."
Steven Fletcher (PPC)
The most experienced politician running for this riding is People's Party of Canada candidate Steven Fletcher.
He held the riding from 2004 to 2015 as a Conservative MP.
When he lost the seat to Eyolfson in 2015, he joined the Manitoba Progressive Conservatives and became the MLA for Assiniboia in 2016.
But after a series of public disagreements with the party, he was kicked out of the PC caucus and sat as in Independent MLA.
He didn't seek the seat again in last month's provincial election, instead announcing earlier this year that he'd return to federal politics as a candidate for Maxime Bernier's People's Party of Canada.
- People's Party candidate Steven Fletcher accused of taking voter data from Conservatives
- Steven Fletcher expelled from Manitoba PC caucus
"The people of the riding asked me to run," he said.
"They appreciate the fact that I'll stand up and put people before a political party … and sometimes pay a high political price for that."
Ken St. George (NDP)
Ken St. George is running for the NDP.
The licensed practical nurse ran in the civic election for Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood in 2018, losing to Kevin Klein.
He says an NDP MP would be the "fresh face" the riding needs.
"I have a large wall to climb, because not only the folks here in this community but abroad feel for some reason that we are just a two-party system like the Americans, when it's actually not the case," said St. George.
Green, CHP and Independent
Winnipeg-born environmental lawyer Jennifer Lauhn-Jensen, who is running for the Green Party, ran unsuccessfully for the Tuxedo seat in last month's provincial election, losing to PC incumbent Heather Stefanson. Lauhn-Jensen was unavailable for comment.
Also running in the riding are Christian Heritage Party of Canada candidate Melissa Penner and Independent Brian Ho.
Flipped between Liberals, Conservatives
Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley has gone back and forth between the Liberals and Conservatives since its creation in 1996.
There have only been three members of Parliament in this riding since then.
Liberal John Harvard became the first in the 1997 federal election. The broadcaster-turned-politician held the riding until 2004, when Fletcher picked it up for the Conservatives.
Large seniors population
According to 2016 census data, about 21 per cent of the population in the riding is 65 years old or older. That compares to a Canadian average of about 17 per cent.
Here's what the candidates said they'd do for seniors, should they be elected.
Liberals:
Eyolfson said of his work in his first term, he's most proud of his efforts to create a universal pharmacare program for seniors, as well as those who need the extra coverage.
"There are somewhere between one and three million Canadians that aren't taking their medications because they can't afford them," he said.
- Liberals aren't setting aside enough cash yet for pharmacare, says advisory panel chair
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The Liberal candidate would continue his efforts with the House of Commons health committee if re-elected, he said.
"It's the missing part of medicare," he said.
People's Party:
For Fletcher, it's all about not taxing fixed incomes.
"Many seniors collect Canadian Pension Plan, disability and other taxable income," he said.
"That just shouldn't be taxed. I want to stop taxing seniors. That's something the federal government can do directly."
Fletcher also said he wants to reducing interprovincial trade barriers — a file he says he was working on for years as a Conservative MP — to get Manitoba out of what he describes as an "economic mess"created by Manitoba Hydro.
Conservatives:
Morantz says seniors' needs align with the Conservative Party's platform. The party has promised tax breaks for seniors, including increasing the Age Credit for each senior by $1,000 per year.
"That's going to save every senior about $150 on their income taxes," Morantz said.
"All of our policies — from the universal tax cut to taking the GST off of home heating to making any parental benefits tax-free — are all designed to help people get ahead a little bit."
NDP:
As an LPN, St. George also wants to focus on making health care more affordable for seniors with universal pharmacare.
He said it's taking too long because the Tory and Liberal representatives haven't taken a strong enough stance against pharmaceutical lobbyists.
- Impeccable timing turns the fall election into a referendum on pharmacare
- The NDP's misleading claim about Trudeau and 'big pharma'
"As the New Democrats, we need to take a stand to these lobbyists."
The federal election is Oct. 21.
- CBC Party Platform Tracker
- What you need to know to vote in Canada's federal election
- CBC Poll Tracker
CBC Manitoba is hosting an Operation Vote block party with free hot dog supper on Thursday, Oct. 17 from 4:30 - 7:00 p.m. in the heart of Winnipeg's North End at Powers-Selkirk Park South at 470 A Selkirk, across the street from the Bell Tower. Come meet the candidates from the four main parties in your riding as CBC's afternoon radio show Up To Speed and CBC News Winnipeg at 6:00 happen live on location.
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