Chewing on politics in the produce aisle

Customers at an Ottawa grocery store fill their carts with exotic produce from around the world, but as they make their way through the aisles CBC also asked them to chew on the politics here at home.

Yvette Skaff is the manager at Mangosteen Fruits & Vegetables, a small grocery store off Bank St. in the city's south end. 

She says as Canadians get set to head to the polls her customers are mostly talking about the cost of living. As a mom of three, it's something Skaff is thinking about as well. 

"I always look for the future for our kids, so for me it's the biggest thing right now. Are they going to be able to afford a house? Are they going to be able to live on their own? Are they going to be able to make ends meet?" she asked. 

Skaff sees the impact of rising food prices first hand, but is glad the owner of the store (her brother-in-law) is able to keep prices reasonable. 

Hassan Al Husseini also owns a wholesale fruit and vegetable business, which he uses to stock the shelves.

"He buys everything by pallets so ... it's a lot easier to keep your markup down," Skaff explained. 

Al Husseini says he plans to vote for the Conservatives and would like to see the next government give Canadians more tax breaks. 

"We've been paying a lot of taxes, take it easy on us ... personal income tax, capital gains tax, there's a lot more but I mean they should take it easy," he said.

Voters disenfranchised 

Rahim Mohseni appreciates the effort to keep food costs down as he works to maintain his own restaurant business nearby. 

Mohseni is the owner of House of Greek and says he's lost faith in all parties and this time around will not be voting at all. 

"What can I say, it's too hard, I lost all my trust to be honest with you, with Conservative, Liberal, NDP, all of them," he said. 

"There is no trust, look at the economy today," he added.

Mohseni says as the cost of living goes up, the budget for dining out goes down. 

"I used to have sales like $1,000 a day, barely right now I'm making $200 a day, imagine how hard it is," he said. 

Mohamed Ahmad is also feeling disenfranchised after what he says was a lack of action by the government to support civilians in Gaza. 

"To be honest I feel nobody care about us," Ahmad said, referring to the Muslim community. 

"I'm proud to be Canadian but I want somebody to listen to us,[to] hear our voice," he added. 

Ahmad came to Canada in 2008 from Egypt and said his 18-year-old daughter may still be able to change his mind about heading to the ballot box. 

"She said, 'No, come with me, this is first one, I'm going to vote and you have to come with me ... and we're going to change our society by voting'," he recalled. 

Voters undecided

Other customers, like Khadiza Islam, say they plan to vote but are still undecided as the campaign rolls on amid the uncertainty of a trade war with the United States. 

"This year we are a little bit confused about which one. Always we vote Liberal but this year we are a little bit confused which way we have to go," Islam said. 

Kamel Younis said he too is watching closely before making a decision. 

"I'm not a politics guy but we need something best for Canada and best for our people, people that live here, you see now everything [is] expensive," he said. 

• Compare the election promises of Canada's major parties

When it comes to cost of living voters can compare the election promises of Canada's major parties here in an CBC feature that will be updated as parties add to their platforms ahead of the April 28 vote.