WATCH ABOVE: The race is on. Federal election candidates in the Lethbridge riding prepare for one of the longest campaigns in Canadian history.
LETHBRIDGE- Almost as soon as the federal election was called, the race was on.
Stephen Harper announced Canadians would go to the polls October 19th, beginning one of the longest political campaign in Canadian history.
Candidates in the Lethbridge riding all say they were ready and waiting.
Cheryl Meheden with the NDP says she has been expecting this for quite some time.
“We were prepared, we’ve been campaigning hard for over a year. We took a bit of a hiatus during the provincial election and then we immediately got back at it. So, we are ready for this.”
Mike Pyne with the Liberals was in the same boat, ready to kick his campaign into high gear.
“Before the election was called we had our campaign office set up, we have all our volunteers in place, we are ready.”
Green Party of Canada candidate Kas MacMillan says he knew the election call was coming, but didn’t think it would this far out.
“I was expecting it in August but not quite this soon, I’m definitely prepared for it though. Just in case, but this early is a bit ridiculous, I’d say.”
For Conservative candidate Rachel Harder, she says the election date was no secret and the early kick off will give the public a better insight to candidates.
“The election was called a bit earlier than we anticipated. The reason for that is simply because it allows us the opportunity to be accountable to a greater extent by the public, and if we are all being completely honest, we’ve all been campaigning all summer long, so we might as well invite the public into the scene with us.”
Four of the five local candidates are taking their first run at a federal seat. Only Geoffrey Capp with the Christian Heritage Party has been on a federal ballot before – this being his sixth attempt at securing a seat. So far, all of the early focus for the first-timers is connecting with voters on a personal level.
“Face to face contact is very important because at the end of the day, I’m a public servant, which means I need to go where the public are and understand their views and make sure they are well represented in Ottawa,” added Harder.
The one-on-one conversations and door knocking approach is shared by all of the candidates.
Meheden says now that the campaign is underway, they will make every moment count.
“Every opportunity we can take to get out and meet the public and hear from them, we are going to take.”
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