In a welcome display of respect and clarity, three of the four candidates hoping to represent Cowichan-Malahat-Langford in Parliament met with Chemainus voters on Tuesday evening.
Incumbent Alistair MacGregor, Liberal hopeful Blair Herbert and Green Party candidate Kathy Code fielded questions on issues ranging from housing to U.S.–Canada relations to health care and other matters.
The Conservative candidate, Jeff Kibble, did not attend the meeting.
The crowd of about 100 people in the Chemainus Legion reacted positively to what they heard and showed their appreciation with polite applause.
The three candidates agreed that it is important for Canada to stand up against Donald Trump and the threat he poses to our sovereignty.
“We can’t roll over,” Code said. “We have to reciprocate, tariff for tariff. It’s time our assets and resources be used for our citizens.
“There are ways of building strategic partnerships around the world. We don’t have to just trade with the U.S.”
MacGregor said the current situation opens opportunities for Canada.
“Our closest friend and ally has turned on us,” said MacGregor who has been in Parliament since 2015.
“At this point in time this is an opportunity for our country to create a national industrial policy,” MacGregor said.
“In a tariff war, there are losers on both sides of the border. We’re suffering because of the whims of one man.”
Liberal candidate Blair Herbert said Prime Minister Mark Carney is “the most qualified person to go up against Trump” in the coming months.
“Trump has not only declared economic war on the rest of the world but also on his own people,” Herbert said.
Herbert says Canada must “build its way” out of the problem it faces with the U.S. and called for the dismantling of barriers to inter-provincial trade within Canada.
The challenge of creating affordable housing for Canadians will be addressed by a Liberal government Herbert promised.
“The Liberal plan is to build 250,000 homes across the country,” he said. “This will bring rents down.”
MacGregor said people are “going through a brutal time” when it comes to housing.
“Housing has turned into a vehicle for investment,” he suggested. “We’ve forgotten what its original purpose was. We need a reset.”
Code said the Green Party would like to see “generational housing” that is built using ecologically and environmentally safe materials.
“There are housing units being built but people still can’t afford them.”
The all-candidates meeting was organized by the Chemainus Residents Association. A video of the entire meeting will be posted on the Association’s website.
Election day is Monday, April 28.