With Election Day 2019 on Monday, federal candidates in Halifax spent Sunday campaigning in a final bid to garner votes. Heading into the vote, there are four federal ridings in the Halifax area – all with Liberal incumbents.
In the riding of Halifax, Liberal incumbent, Andy Fillmore is knocking on doors hoping to be re-elected as MP for a second term.
“I actually have a callus on my knuckle from knocking,” says Fillmore. “Today, the last day, I actually split the callus.”
After a turbulent campaign for Liberal leader, Justin Trudeau, Fillmore says he's focusing on his own riding.
“I am working hard to do the job that people in Halifax asked me to do four years ago,” says Fillmore. “That's where my focus remains right up until tomorrow night – and hopefully for four more years after that.”
There is a full slate of candidates running in Halifax; including for the People's Party. However, it’s a riding once dominated by the NDP, beginning with Alexa McDonough in 1997, and then Megan Leslie in 2008 – who lost the seat to Fillmore in the 2015 election.
“It feels really great at the doors when you meet people who say, 'yeah, I've voted NDP for many decades,’“ says NDP candidate, Christine Saulnier.
An anti-poverty advocate, Saulnier says she's also hearing concerns about health and dental care, housing insecurity and climate change.
“People are absolutely receptive to the platform, to our leader – it's been great,” says Saulnier.
For the Conservatives, former provincial MLA, Bruce Holland hopes to accomplish something that hasn't happened since 1984 and win for his party.
“I try to stay on the positive side of things and just let people know who I am and what I'm about,” says Holland.
Holland’s leader, Andrew Scheer, has faced his own controversy in recent days, but similar to his Liberal counterpart, Holland is keeping his focus local.
“There's lots we can do with the port, there's lots that we can do with health care, there's all kinds of issues here to deal with – that's what I'm focused on,” says Holland.
At Green Party campaign headquarters, Jo-Ann Roberts has been working to make inroads.
“People in Halifax know the Greens came to play this time – and we're in this,” says Roberts, noting the focus on climate change during the federal election campaign has been encouraging.
“We've been able to put climate on the agenda, we forced everyone to talk about it at every debate and we're getting a really good response at the doorstep,” says Roberts.
Meanwhile, whether or not any of Sunday’s campaigning efforts will translate into votes on Election Day 2019 remains to be seen.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Heidi Petracek
