History was made at the Glengarry Sports Palace in Alexandria on the afternoon of Sunday, April 13. On that date, for the first time ever, an all-candidates meeting was held for the brand new federal riding of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell. Gone are the days when Glengarry was cleaved in two at the federal level. After the April 28 election, all of Glengarry will be represented by one Member of Parliament.

On April 13, four such candidates appeared before the general public at the GSP to answer questions and to provide reasons why their party’s vision is the best for Canada. The candidates were the incumbent Conservative candidate, Eric Duncan, Sarah Good for the Liberals, Mario Leclerc for the NDP, and Gordon Kubanek for the Greens.

Here’s what the candidates said about various issues.

Transparency, specifically the amount of Canadian revenue that is send overseas. The questioner wanted to know what the candidates would do to keep the public aware.

Mr. Leclerc adopted a globalist view to this question, saying that no one is safe unless everyone is safe. He said that in 2022-23, Canada spent $15 billion in international assistance, three quarters of which went to disaster relief. “Canada has contributed $400 million to Haiti to promote stability and democracy,” he said, adding that Canada should live up to its responsibility and provide more in foreign aid.

Mr. Duncan said that our national debt has doubled to more than $1.3 trillion and that the average Canadian family pays $10,000 more in taxes than they did in 2015. While he said that Canada has a role to play in foreign aid, he said that our accountability needs to be better. “We have an access to information program that is broken; the timeframe to get responses [to inquiries} is months and maybe even years.”

Ms. Good said that Canada needs to play a role in ensuring safety. Closer to home, she pledged to present annual expense reports and to hold public meetings so she could explain everything to her constituents. She took a bit of a potshot at Mr. Duncan here, claiming that people wouldn’t have to come looking for her at spaghetti dinners and golf tournaments.”

How do we increase voter turnout, especially among younger people?

Mr. Kubanek said that people are more likely to participate in democracy if they feel their vote matters. “We need some form of proportional representation,” he said, adding that the Liberals promised it at one time but didn’t deliver. “If we had it, voter turnout would go up.”

Mr. Duncan said that getting young people to run for office is a great way to increase voter turnout among the young. He even used himself as an example, talking about he ran as a Councillor for North Dundas when he was only 18. He added that he spends a lot of time speaking to students in high schools and colleges. “Young people will vote, I predict, because they are concerned about affordability and home ownership.”

Ms. Good said she was disappointed that electoral reform didn’t go through and promised to push for it.

Gun crime. How will it be addressed.

Mr. Duncan said that according to Statistics Canada, violent crime is up 50 per cent while gun and related violence is up 116 per cent. “The problem is not law-abiding firearm owners, Toronto police say that 85 per cent are illegal firearms brought in from the United States.” He added that SDG is a hotbed for smugglers and that only one per cent of containers are scanned. “We will end the open bail system and start a 24/7 border integrity unit,” he promised.

Ms. Good said the Liberals would hire 1,000 more RCMP officers and 1,000 more Canadian Border Services Agency workers. She said she would revoke gun licenses for those convicted of violent crime, particularly intimate partner violence, though she also stressed that there are social determinants that sway people toward criminal activity, particularly poverty and homelessness.

Mr. Leclerc followed up on that, saying that the NDP will address the roots of violent crime by dealing with poverty, instituting living wages, and expanding mental health and dental care. “People’s basic needs must be met if they are to live in peace,” he said, adding that the NDP would allow for stricter border control. He also claimed that the Conservatives slashed border funding 10 years ago.

Mr. Kubanek looked at crime rates globally, saying that violent crime went up in 2023 but it’s still at the same level as it was in 2009. “Why did it do that?” he asked somewhat rhetorically before offering a pragmatic solution. “Mexico is suing the arms company directly. We should do the same thing.”

As a follow-up, Mr. Duncan said that Bill C-75, which altered the Criminal Code regarding bail and preliminary hearings, has created a lot of problems. “Violent offenders get arrested and they are out the next day committing more crimes,” he said.

Ms. Good took issue with this, saying that crime has been around for a long time and that the government needs to do more to help people so they don’t resort to crime.

Mr. Kubanek agreed with Mr. Duncan, saying that 30 per cent of homicides are committed by people out on parole, but he also said Ms. Good had some salient points. “Glasgow used to be the European capital of violent crime,” he said. “Then they instituted mental health programs and crime rates went down 50 per cent. We can be tough and compassionate at the same time.”

Mr. Leclerc said that crime is mostly a result of poverty and unemployment.

How do we deal with the housing crisis?

Ms. Good said that the Liberals will increase prefabricated housing.

Mr. Kubanek said Canada needs to change how it does affordable housing and warned about falling into the “third world trap” of having a population that grows faster than its infrastructure. “The idea of immigration is good if we have the infrastructure but we have not been able to keep up with it when it comes to housing,” he said, adding that the problem started I the 1980s when former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney canceled housing programs.

Mr. Duncan said that two million people are using food banks each month, twice what it was five years ago. Real estate prices have gone up, mortgage rates have tripled. “We need more houses,” he said. “We want to eliminate the GST on new home builds, whilch will save $3,000 a year in mortgages.”

Ms. Good countered this by saying that under the Conservatives, life will become more unaffordable as the CBC voted against such programs as $10 a day childcare and dental care. “Their solution is to privatize and let the private market figure it out.”

Mr. Duncan replied that the Liberals will bring back carbon taxes.

Mr. Leclerc said that the government needs to stop predatory housing practices.

What will your government do to ensure access to health care for trans and other gender diverse people?

As a gay man who came out in 2017, Mr. Duncan said the government needs to combat hate against anybody. After talking about how the government ended the “discriminatory blood ban” against men who have sex with men, he said that parents need to play a role in the care of their children, even when they are trans.

“Many trans people have been under attack and [Conservative leader] Pierre Poilievre said that there is not more than two genders,” Ms. Good said. “People should be allowed to be who they are. When it comes to accessing health services, we will continue to bolster healthcare so that all members of the LGBTQ community and beyond are kept safe and supported.”

SDG is on the northern edge of the St. Lawrence River with the US on the south. How will you ensure the sovereignty of our border water?

Mr. Kubanek pined for the days of the past when Canada had a good relationship with the US. “Now it’s a disaster and we are at war with Donald Trump,” he said. “We will have to stand firm.”

Mr. Duncan said that the real problem is that the United States can make decisions about water much faster than Canada can. He noted that Canada has a whole bunch of ministries that touch on the river (ie. Fisheries and Oceans, Energy) but not one single ministry that is responsible for the waterway.  He advocated for one Ministry that will take a lead role on the river.

Ms. Good said that fresh water is our most important resource and that the government needs to protect its waterways.

The federal election is slated for April 28.