Data from 338Canada suggests the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo may see another term from incumbent Conservative MP Cathy McLeod.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED / 338Canada

KAMLOOPS - There are still a few weeks left until you have to decide who to vote for in the federal election but a quick look at the 338Canada interactive map that was updated Oct. 2 reveals that the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo may see another Conservative term.

The Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo riding, which is currently held by Conservative MP Cathy McLeod, may see more McLeod in the coming years.

The current breakdown is 40.3 per cent in favour of the Conservative candidate, 23.3 per cent support for the Liberals, 19.1 per cent in favour of the NDP and 12.2 per cent for the Green Party. 

The 338Canada project is a statistical model of electoral projections based on opinion polls, electoral history of Canadian provinces and demographic data.

Throughout the 338 federal electoral districts, city centres are mostly leaning red (and orange), while rural districts generally tend to lean blue.

Given that there’s still time to decide we want to offer you a bit more insight into what these candidates have to offer.

How tuned in are local candidates to the issues you are dealing with every day?

Do they understand what it is that’s causing your neighbourhood to flourish or suffer?

We wanted to know, so we asked what they believed to be the biggest issue in their riding and what, if anything, they could do about it? 

Cathy McLeod, the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo Conservative candidate and incumbent MP

What is the biggest issue you see in your riding and what, if anything, can you do about it?

It’s a two-pronged issue rooted in the natural resource sector: the forestry crisis and the Trans Mountain pipeline.

We need a strategy to support the industry itself, workers and communities. For industry, this means a softwood lumber agreement; for workers, a more responsive EI system; and for communities, this support could come in the form of Western diversification, focus from our economic development agency, accessible broadband for all, and by having a minister who actually lives in the West.

In terms of the Trans Mountain pipeline, the Conservatives have a plan that will get pipeline projects built. This includes cancelling the carbon tax, repealing Bill C-69 (the no-more pipelines bill), ending the ban on shipping traffic in B.C., asserting federal jurisdiction when necessary, establishing clear timelines and getting Indigenous consultations right the first time.

Iain Currie, Green Party candidate for the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo

What is the biggest issue you see in your riding and what, if anything, can you do about it?

We must transition to a greener, more sustainable economy away from the boom-and-bust cycle of extracting resources, shipping raw materials overseas and buying back finished products.

I can fight for federal government funding for retraining laid-off forestry workers and promote federal incentives for small businesses to create jobs in (for example), local food production, manufacturing with local wood, and eco-tourism. I can push for the federal government to start retrofitting buildings to achieve carbon-neutrality thereby creating hundreds of local jobs in the construction trades.

Kira Cheeseborough, Animal Protection Party of Canada candidate for the Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo

What is the biggest issue you see in your riding and what, if anything, can you do about it?

Climate change, but we can address other issues such as affordability, economic and job sustainability, food insecurity, poverty, etc. hand in hand with it. Primarily, we must critically assess our current systems, such as agriculture, natural resource extraction industries, the energy sector, housing, and transition out of harmful practices into those that are environmentally sustainable. This means redirecting subsides in coal, animal agriculture and forestry to support workers and their families transitioning to wind or solar energy sectors (it’s cheaper than coal), plant-based or biocyclic vegan agriculture and retraining workers for more permanent artisan jobs creating high quality finished products. We must end all subsidies and funding going into the oil industry, increase the taxes on the wealthiest and impose higher tariffs on goods imported from countries with not as aggressive carbon taxing.

The NDP, Liberal, Communist Party of Canada and People’s Party of Canada have yet to respond to their questionnaire. 

To contact a reporter for this story, email Jenna Wheeler or call (250) 819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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