Green Party Leader Elizabeth May can’t recall an all-candidates meeting she’s missed in Saanich-Gulf Islands since 2011, when she defeated Conservative incumbent Gary Lunn, who also attended all the public debates.
Shift to this federal election and while May says she has attended every all-candidates meeting in the riding to date, her Conservative rival has so far attended just one private meeting.
Other Island ridings have also seen Conservative candidates skipping all-candidates meetings.
Political scientists say the reduction in all-candidates meetings and decision by many Conservative candidates to bow out is not a development that serves Canada’s democracy or voters well.
Michael Prince, a University of Victoria political scientist, said Conservative candidates across the country are declining to participate in the events, suggesting a national strategy.
“Forgoing such meetings is more than not playing the democratic game; in my opinion, both as a political scientist and Canadian citizen, it is a disrespectful and troubling stance taken by a national political party of its controlled relationship with the voting public,” he said Tuesday.
All-candidates’ forums are important for electors who wish to compare various candidates, said Prince — especially those “who give weight to the quality of local candidates and to the value of local representation.”
May, who is in a dead heat with Conservative Cathie Ounsted, according to poll aggregator 338Canada, estimates she attended a total of around 30 all-candidates meetings during the last four federal elections.
She calls an election campaign “a long job interview,” adding “when a candidate does not show up, why would they think they would get hired?”
“In an all-candidates meeting where the Conservative who is running neck-and-neck with me right now doesn’t show up, it’s insulting to the voters. I think Pierre Poilievre has told his candidates quite clearly, ‘don’t go,’ ” said May, who calls it a move in the style of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Ounsted said Tuesday the Conservative party would prefer that its candidates not participate in all-candidates forums, and while it’s not her preference, she needs to abide by the rules of the party, which means she will not attend an all-candidates meeting hosted by the North Saanich Residents Association at the Saanich Peninsula Presbyterian Church from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday.
Ounsted acknowledged “it’s been really tough,” but said the party has hosted at least six town halls in the riding, each attended by 100 to 200 people, and she’s available to meet individual voters and groups of any size, any time.
Victoria Liberal candidate Will Greaves said Tuesday he’s attended the only two all-candidates meetings hosted in Victoria so far and hasn’t seen Conservative candidate Angus Ross at either.
“I think it’s disgraceful for any candidate to ask for people’s votes without even having the courtesy to show up to public events and answer people’s questions,” said Greaves.
Victoria NDP incumbent Laurel Collins also noted there are fewer all-candidates meetings this election, adding that in 2019, she attended more than 15.
Prince said the shorter campaign period has likely reduced the number of all-candidates meetings. In some ridings, the large number of people running can be a factor, he said.
Isabelle Easton, director of campaigns and community relations, said while the University of Victoria Students’ Society usually organizes all-candidates meetings during elections, the sudden nature of the election call meant that her group didn’t have enough time to even book a place.
Instead, the student union invited candidates of the three South Island ridings to make their pitches directly to students on April 9 outside the Student Union Building.
North Island Powell-River NDP candidate Tanille Johnston released a statement on Tuesday calling out Conservative opponent Aaron Gunn — who is leading the polls in that riding — after he cancelled his attendance at a Campbell River all-candidates meeting that night.
“This means that Mr. Gunn has not attended a single candidates forum during this election,” Johnston said. “He’s allowed himself to be muzzled by his own party, and I worry that means he would make a very weak representative for the people of North Island-Powell River.”
Michael MacKenzie, Vancouver Island University’s Jarislowsky chair in Trust and Political Leadership, said a few all-candidates meetings are happening in his riding of Nanaimo-Ladysmith, including one hosted by the university’s political studies department on Tuesday night.
All parties were invited and agreed to attend, but Conservative candidate Tamara Kronis did not indicate she would be there.
MacKenzie said he understands there’s limited time during campaigns for such forums and candidates may want to stay away from certain events, but when a candidate is elected, they need to represent the whole constituency and not just those who voted for them.
“They have an obligation to engage in discussions with both supporters and voters who didn’t vote for them, and they should be doing that before they are elected as well as afterwards,” he said.
MacKenzie said most of what is known about candidates comes from radio, television, newspapers and social media, but meeting somebody in person is a “qualitatively different experience” from watching them on TV or reading their online comments.
Mackenzie’s position, one of five such chairs at universities across the country, is focused on strengthening democracy, part of a Canada-wide effort to improve the quality of political leadership in the country.
As part of his job, he’s met with elected representatives and former politicians across the political spectrum and said most are energetic, passionate and committed to making their communities better.
MacKenzie said politicians can’t meet with everybody in person in their ridings, so all-candidate forums allow them to meet with 100 to 200 people at a time, and maybe even chat afterwards.
“I think they’re very important for these reasons,” said MacKenzie. “It gets us out of those online social media or mediated spaces, and that changes our perception of the people who are vying to be our representatives.”
- With files from Michael John Lo
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