These 905ers feel torn about who to vote for — but say they all want what's best for Canada
Voters in region around Toronto say they may not stick to old party allegiances
Jordan Wotten usually votes Conservative and might do so again, but says this election he feels torn between Liberal Leader Mark Carney and his rival Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
"I think there's a lot to be said for the progress that the Liberals have been making with climate change and being a world leader, so to speak," said Wotten, president of Walton Restoration, a company that helps homeowners clean up after things like floods and fires.
"That being said, I do think that we're heading into some tough economic times … and in that lens, Poilievre, I think, has the edge for me," he told The Current's Matt Galloway.
The Current is travelling across Canada ahead of the federal election, asking Canadians who they're voting for and why. Wotten lives in Whitby, Ont., one of the towns and cities surrounding Toronto in a region known as the 905, named for its area code. With a population in the millions and more ridings than some provinces, federal elections can be won or lost in the 905.
Wotten is among voters who say they feel conflicted about their choice this time around, particularly in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and threats of annexation.
While Wotten thinks he prefers Poilievre on the economy, he's also thinking about Carney's experience leading the Bank of Canada through the 2008 financial crisis, and the Bank of England through Brexit.
"That's another check box for Carney," he said, before adding that he thinks Poilievre and the Conservatives might be the right party to make the most of Canada's natural resources.
"I think bringing somebody in that's going to get pipelines built — to allow us to sell our crude oil to other countries except for the U.S. — is gonna be very important," he said.
"That's where I think you have a big check box for somebody like Poilievre."
Party allegiances, election priorities shift
As of April 11, the CBC Poll Tracker projects 199 seats for the Liberal Party, ahead of the Conservatives with 119. Some analysts say that Liberal surge is down to NDP voters strategically switching their choice to stop a Conservative victory.
"I'm an old NDPer, and I don't want the NDP to lose their status. But I see them in trouble here," said Margaret Rodgers, an artist, curator and former instructor at Durham College.
"I am torn, but I have an orange sign on my lawn," she said, indicating she will probably vote NDP, even if it won't lead to a win for the party.
Last month, former federal NDP leader Tom Mulcair urged voters on the left to consider this election a two-party race. Rodgers is hoping for a Liberal government, but with a strong NDP voice in Ottawa.
"If you look at how the NDP influenced Trudeau … we have dental care and more pharmacare," she said.
Jessie Johnson also supports her local NDP politicians, but is struggling to square that local relationship with the national picture.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh "has tried very hard for a number of elections now to get voted in," said Johnson, co-owner of Brew Wizards, a board game cafe in downtown Oshawa.
"When you look at [the] grand picture, it does feel like Carney would be a good leader for the country."
Johnson has also felt a shift in the issues she's prioritizing this election, such as climate change and the environment, which have taken a backseat to issues like affordability and tariffs.
"There's so much going on that is, at least personally, much more pressing than the environment — as much as I want to make sure we are protecting it," she said.
"I think what's at stake is our home, our country. I think we need to make sure we have a strong united front as a country saying this is who we are."
Building off shared Canadian values
Glen Peacock is a lifelong Conservative voter who's now feeling unsure about his vote, and hasn't fully made up his mind yet.
"I'm looking not just at the party, or the traditions of the party, but at the leader. And I think Carney's experience is superior," said Peacock, who owns his family business Peacock Lumber.
A key election issue for him is not just Trump's tariffs but the economy in general, including "the debt burden and not dealing with that and nobody talking about it," he said.
"As you get to a certain age, it's not really about you anymore. It's about your kids and your grandkids," he said.
He's also worried about protecting Canadian values and democracy, particularly as he watches the actions of the Trump administration south of the border.
"We don't want to see our values slip the way they have in the U.S. We've never seen anything like this since probably before World War II — it's scary," he said.
Wotten hopes this election is "a point of reflection for Canadians to say, 'Who are we as a nation?'"
"The four panellists that you have here sitting with you today, we may differ in our [politics], where we're going to vote," he said.
"But if we sat here for another two hours, a lot of the values would be the same. We may come to different conclusions, but the values underlying [them are] the same."
More from The Current's election series Crossroads: Coast to Coast with Canadian Voters
Audio produced by Julie Crysler and Arman Aghbali.
