The Morden Chamber of Commerce and Winkler and District Chamber of Commerce hosted a Federal Election Forum Wednesday night at the Morden Activity Centre.
All five Portage-Lisgar candidates were invited, with Conservative Branden Leslie, Liberal Robert Kreis and People's Party of Canada candidate Kevin Larson participating. Also on the ballot are the Green Party's Janine Gibson and the NDP's Lisa Tessier, both of whom who did not participate in last night's event.
Some of the topics and questions asked by those in the crowd included:
- The importance of family doctors
- How tariffs will affect manufacturing in the Pembina Valley
- Local journalism vs big journalism, and getting news back on social media
- Water systems
- Farmer's needs being heard
- Abortion
According to Elections Canada, about 7.3 million electors voted during the Advance polling period April 18th through 21st, a 25% increase compared to the last general election. Yesterday, Elections Canada released a further breakdown of the numbers, dividing things up provincially. In Manitoba, the estimated turnout was 229,379, up 41,419 voters from the 2021 general election, equaling an approximately 22% increase. Electoral District numbers are expected to be released today.
Below you will find the opening statements of each participating candidate in the order they presented. The moderator for the evening was Peter Cantelon.
Election day is Monday, April 28th.
Robert Kreis - Liberal Party of Canada
"Thank you very much, and thank you everyone for coming and showing interest in this election. This election is one that is probably the most pivotal in my lifetime. I don't know that we've ever had one quite this important. It, of course, is important because we have someone to the south of us who has chosen to first refer to our Prime Minister as the Governor of the 51st state, and has never walked back those comments. He then took it upon himself to try and hurt us economically by putting unfair, unwarranted tariffs on Canada, despite the fact that we do have a free trade agreement with the United States that he proudly took credit for negotiating in 2019 and now cannot understand what idiot negotiated that."
"We need right now, in order to protect this country's sovereignty and our economy, we need a strong leader who is not only willing to stand up to Mr. Trump with self-confidence. Someone who has the knowledge, the skills to leverage the resources that we have. To attract the financial wherewithal of the private sector by investing Canadian government dollars to attract those investments, and utilizing his relationships with other world leaders to facilitate things like improving our defense. Rearranging our defense agreements, because we once relied on our partner to the south, but that is no longer the case that we can rely on them. We can no longer rely on them for defense, nor as a reliable trading partner. So Mr. Carney, who I have chosen to support, I've chosen to come out of my retirement, because this election is so important to me. More the ramifications of having it go the wrong way. I fear for my children and my grandchildren's life in this country. I am the son of immigrants from Europe, from the Second World War, so I've heard some stories of what things were like under fascism. What has happened in the last three months south of this border is truly frightening, and I see that coming here just with the vitriol and rhetoric that floats around from some during this campaign."
"We need a leader in Mark Carney, who is the past Governor of the Bank of Canada, past Governor of the Bank of England, who was actually asked to stay there for another two years in that position, but refused and went off and did pro bono work. He believes, and I believe him, that he owes everything that he has to being Canadian, being raised in Canada and he feels that it is his duty as a Canadian and in respect for what he's achieved through this country that he wants to give back. He has skills and talents to do that, and believes that he can take us through this. He is looking to build, to protect and to unite this country with a positive future. He does not believe that this country is broken. He wants to rebuild it. Build Nation building projects in the way of infrastructure, which can be things like water, which is in short supply here in Morden/Winkler area as well as in Portage la Prairie. There are a number of issues that are facing this riding that need good representation, and I think his plan has an awful lot of avenues for us."
Kevin Larson - People's Party of Canada
"Thank you very much. So, while driving here, I have in my back pocket kind of a normal speech laid out, and you know I am a bit of a realist, and there's some facts that you know I have to put forward. Do I think our party's economic policy is better than the other ones? Yes, I do. Cutting down to no immigrations will help our housing develop better, or catch up better than cutting down to just half of the immigrants we normally take in. Balancing the budget in one year is better than saying, 'Hey, you'll have to vote us the second time' as both the Liberals and Conservatives have said they cannot balance the budget in their first term."
"But let's face it, People's Party of Canada will not be forming a government. You know, it's a wishful dream to even think we'll be forming opposition. So what point is there to put me ahead of, you know, the incumbent or anyone else? Well, the thing that I'm able to do that no one else is, that no other party will allow their candidates to do, is I can be your conscience. I can speak for what the values are. Now, it's very clear, you know what your values are because you've all reached out to me, or many of you have. I tell. and without exaggeration, 19 out of 20 people who have reached out to me, and it's dozens and dozens, are what are you going to do about abortion? Well, I'm gonna fight to end it. I'm the only one who will do that that's on your ballot. I'm the only one who's able to be pro-life on the ballot. Pierre Poilievre has double down on that this election cycle. They've had a a party platform for 21 years that they will not do it. They had a majority in 2011, and Stephen Harper did not do that. That's why I left the Conservatives.
"I will fight against MAID. I have heard some tragic, terrible stories of people being pushed with terminal illnesses, give up. let's put you down. it will be better for your family. You'll no longer have to suffer. That's terrible. That's disgusting. I will fight against that. I'll fight against Bill C4, that doesn't even allow a parent to tell the children that they are perfect in the body that God gave them, and they do not need to be a different gender. They don't need to change anything about themselves. To teach them how to accept themselves. Right now, that bill is in place, and you can't do it. I've heard of stories of people who are de-transitioning, they are not able to seek help in Canada because of this law. They have to go to the U.S. and the cost is exorbitant. So that's the difference."
"Let's face it, on a lot of economic stuff, I'll be pushing Pierre Poilievre's view over Mark Carney's, because I agree with the Conservatives, we cannot afford a fourth Liberal term. We cannot afford to have the last decade come again. But for this conscience thing, that would be the only one to be a light on Parliament, be speaking out. I'll be putting before the media. I'll be putting before voters. I'll be putting before people that we need to reach and speak up for these people who can't speak up for themselves, stand up for themselves and we will embolden people to say, 'Hey, that's not a crazy thing.' All over Europe, they're allowed to do this. Why can't we?"
Branden Leslie - Conservative Party of Canada
"Thank you, Peter, and thank you to the Winkler and Morden Chambers of Commerce, as well as my fellow candidates and all of you for being here tonight. My name is Branden Leslie, and I've had the privilege of being your Member of Parliament for nearly two years now. As mentioned, I'm a farm kid from Portage, but more importantly, I am a husband and a father and someone that shares your values. And like all of you, I grew up in a country with the belief of the promise of Canada, that you work hard, you play by the rules, you get an education, you pay your taxes, you could get ahead and you could have a decent quality of life. And I've talked to so many people at doorsteps that have told me that that promise is slipping away. But it doesn't have to be this way.
"There is nothing wrong with our country that cannot be fixed, and I have been proud to run on a Conservative platform full of solutions to the many challenges that our country is facing, and the unjustified Trump tariffs are certainly one of those challenges, but they are not the totality of those challenges. We've become a country that stopped thinking big. We've punished our hard working individual workers and entrepreneurs instead of rewarding them. We've had a liberal government that has called our small business owners tax cheats, and looked at them as a bottomless pit of government tax revenue. We've become a country that can no longer build things thanks to Bill C69, and attacked our agricultural producers trying to limit how much they can grow with fertilizer caps. Sir John A. MacDonald built this country, united it by building the National Railway. Think to yourselves, could we build a railway in this country in today's and age? The answer is absolutely not."
"Now, I've knocked on thousands of doors throughout this campaign, and I've talked to seniors that can't afford to heat, eat and house themselves and are making very difficult decisions each and every day. I've talked to young people who've said to me that the dream of home ownership is simply vanished for them. I've talked to middle class folks who thought they were middle class, but are now working poor or living paycheck to paycheck, just trying to get by. And of course, we have seen the unleashing of crime and chaos and drugs flooding our streets. When I'm at these doorsteps, I try to remind people to not give up hope, that we cannot and we must not give up hope on the promise of Canada, and that's exactly what this election is about. It is who can restore that promise of Canada.
"A few ways we plan to do that as Conservatives is by a 15% tax cut across the board to the lowest income tax bracket, so that everybody can benefit. We're going to axe the carbon tax, not just right before an election to try to trick people into voting for them, but for everything for everyone and for good. We're going to repeal Bill C-75, the terrible catch and release bail system that has allowed dangerous criminals to roam free on our streets, and we're finally going to put criminals behind bars where they belong. The question that everybody will be thinking when they go to vote in this election is. 'Who has the plan, who has the will and the commitment to put Canada first and to restore that promise of Canada? Who can protect and grow our economy? Who can make our community safe again? And who can stop the wasteful and inflationary spending?' And of course, secondly, does the Liberals really deserve a fourth term with the same MP's, the same ministers, the same staff, the same advisors, the same plan. Will things be different this time? I think it's time for change. I think it's time for hope, and I think it's time for a new Conservative government."
- With files from Alexander Peters -
