DANIEL GREEN
NEWS REPORTER
EMILY INNES
LIFE REPORTER
While most candidates in the federal election are going door-to-door to win votes, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff has made only a few token stops in his Etobicoke-Lakeshore riding, which includes Lakeshore Campus.
Last Friday, he appeared at the grand opening of his campaign office, a former car dealership on Dundas Street West, to rally the troops.
He has had to play to the national media tracking his every move. He thanked the people who run the office – in French – while the cameras were rolling.
When an Et Cetera reporter asked what he would do for colleges like Humber if he becomes the next prime minister after the May 2 vote, the 63-year-old former university professor had only a general answer: “When I think about a great college that is opening up doors to Canadians, I think of Humber.”
Ignatieff is likely to be re-elected MP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore, since the riding has been Liberal red since 1993.
He also won by a comfortable margin when he first ran for the House of Commons in 2006, and again in 2008.
But the polls indicate his party won’t defeat Stephen Harper’s Conservatives in the larger battle, which is the main selling point of his Tory opponent in Etobicoke-Lakeshore, Bernard Trottier.
The first-time candidate, a 46 year-old business consultant, is quick to point out what the Harper government has done to help Canada weather the recession, including the $5-million infrastructure project for a performing arts centre at Lakeshore Campus.
Trottier said voters in Etobicoke-Lakeshore should consider the influence he could bring. “There’s something to be said for being at the caucus table when negotiating for resources.”
Ignatieff’s last Tory challenger in this riding lost by nearly 6,000 votes, while the NDP and the Green party showed poorly, with 12 percent and seven percent of the votes, respectively.
This time, Michael Erickson, a 36-year-old high school teacher, is carrying the NDP banner and trying to persuade voters that his party can make a difference for students in the next Parliament.
“The NDP has pledged to make sure that colleges, like Humber, would have money for capital costs to make sure they stay competitive both in the country and globally,” he said.
David Corail, second-time Green candidate, said he wants to address youth unemployment rates in the area.
“I think it’s really important for us to build new jobs for young people,” said Corail, 30, a warehouse worker.
“That way we can keep them out of trouble.”