OTTAWA
— In case you dwell within the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, chances are high that Greg Kung has knocked in your door.
The 37-year-old has been campaigning since February 2024, after profitable the nomination to change into the Conservative social gathering’s candidate within the Liberal-held driving, one in every of many in and round Ottawa.
“I hate speaking about numbers,” Kung says, when requested what number of doorways he has knocked.
“In all probability by this weekend, I’ll have hit 22,000 doorways, personally.”
His marketing campaign has lapped the driving 5 occasions, he provides.
However for Kung, and each different candidate with their identify on a poll, this newest spherical of door-knocking can be an important one.
With voting in superior polls underway, marketing campaign groups have transitioned to the all-important job of constructing certain every voter they’ve recognized as a supporter truly goes to solid their poll.
And with lower than 10 days to go earlier than the federal election concludes, it’s also the final likelihood campaigns should persuade undecided voters.
Kung’s pitch is one in every of change
— a message Conservative Chief Pierre Poilievre is attempting to ship loud and clear as successive public opinion polls present his social gathering to be both tied with or trailing the incumbent Liberals.
It’s a far tighter race than the 20-point lead Conservatives loved for the 18-months earlier than Mark Carney changed Justin Trudeau as Liberal chief, and U.S. President Donald Trump launched his commerce warfare.
For Marc Toste, a Conservative supporter who not too long ago moved to the driving, the probabilities of the social gathering profitable had been prime of thoughts when Kung appeared at his door Friday. It marked the third time Kung had performed so.
“I truly requested Mr. Kung what he thought,” Toste instructed Nationwide Put up.
“He says inside polling seems to be good for us, however the mainstream media says it’s shut,” Toste says, “so he’s out gallivanting attempting to advertise himself and the voters domestically right here, and see what occurs.”
Whereas the suburbs round Toronto and Vancouver type the nation’s greatest battlegrounds, the suburbs round Ottawa can even swing with the prevailing electoral winds.
Over the last federal election, which was held underneath the driving’s former boundaries, the Liberals recaptured Kanata by slightly greater than 2,000 votes.
Prior to now the area has additionally elected Conservatives, reminiscent of former international affairs minister, John Baird, whose Ottawa West—Nepean driving included components of the newly-formed Kanata driving when he served underneath former prime minister Stephen Harper.
Close by can also be residence to Poilievre’s personal driving of Carleton, a few of which now belongs in Kanata.
Meaning if there’s a Conservative win nationally, Kung might discover himself in Parliament.
As a paramedic, he says he truly has a shift booked two days after the April 28 election. It’s one he nonetheless hopes to work, irrespective of the end result.
“It’s a terrific job,” he stated.
Earlier than the election was referred to as, Kung says he switched to nights so he might spend his afternoons campaigning.
Among the relationships he has constructed had been on show Friday as he walked the streets of 1 neighbourhood the place his Conservative-blue marketing campaign indicators dotted lawns.
“Don’t fear, I’m voting for you. I instructed you that earlier than,” one man says, after Kung knocked his door with a reminder that early voting was occurring.
“I do know,” Kung says with amusing again to him. “We simply wished to want you a cheerful Easter and simply say thanks for placing up the signal, as effectively.”
As he walks to different houses, Kung shrugs off the issues expressed by different Conservatives,
together with from Kory Teneycke
, a senior Ontario Progressive Conservative strategist and Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s final marketing campaign supervisor, about Poilievre not focusing sufficient of the marketing campaign on Trump’s tariffs and an excessive amount of on affordability.
The driving Kung is now attempting to flip didn’t go Ford’s means in the newest provincial election, because the Ontario Liberals held onto it after capturing it in a byelection from the Ontario PCs.
“It’s simply noise, frankly,” Kung stated of different Conservatives’ issues.
Poilievre’s message round affordably and crime are resonating, he says.
Regardless of his optimism, polling aggregator
to be doubtless in incumbent Jenna Sudds’ favour.
S
ome of her help may be buoyed by a weaker NDP vote, an element enjoying out in races throughout the nation, which poses a significant problem for the Conservatives, who’ve traditionally relied on New Democrats splitting the centre-left vote.
First elected federally in 2021, Sudds, a former metropolis councillor, was promoted to Trudeau’s cupboard because the minister for households in 2023. After Carney was sworn in as prime minister final month, he shuffled her out.
In a cellphone interview with Nationwide Put up, Sudds says she “respects these choices” and noticed Carney assemble a staff of ministers whose portfolios had been largely round Canada-U.S. relations.
She additionally notes the excitement round Carney, somebody whom she expects wants no introduction within the driving, given his time spent in Ottawa, in each enterprise and public service.
Distinction Carney’s background with Poilievre’s political model
—
which even some Conservative candidates and volunteers have stated is being perceived by some voters as too aggressive
— Sudds says that’s including to voters’ pleasure.
Not solely does the commerce warfare and Trump’s feedback about annexing Canada come up usually, she suggests it’s impacting how significantly Canadians are taking their vote.
“Individuals are actually paying consideration,” she says. “Primarily based on the conversations I’m having, I do anticipate the turnout can be fairly excessive.”
Suspicions that may very well be the case had been heightened when throughout the nation on Friday voters and native campaigns noticed hour-long lineups at superior polling stations. One complicating issue is the very fact early voting is going on over Easter weekend.
Which social gathering will profit most from Canadians who’ve already gone to the polls received’t be identified till the election concludes.
For her half, Sudds’ marketing campaign estimates having knocked on “tens of hundreds of doorways” from “each nook of the driving.”
For Kung, who labored on Parliament Hill the final time the Tories had been in authorities, one in every of his greatest takeaways from the transition to candidate from staffer has been the quantity of labor it takes.
“Folks care about this nation and the one means that you could actually discover out what they’re truly pondering is by knocking on their doorways,” he says.
He additionally suggests he can be open to operating once more, ought to he be unsuccessful this time round.
“I wouldn’t rule it out, for certain.”
Nationwide Put up
staylor@postmedia.com
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