Local candidates shy away from the spotlight

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Blake Desjarlais admits that he is strange in his re-election campaign for Edmonton Griesbach.

NDP MP defeated conservative Kerry Diotte in 2021, who has been defeating former city councillors and Edmonton Sun Columnist in the rematch. No free candidates have been nominated or officially named.

Desjarlais said he was surprised at how quiet his opponent was.

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“I feel like I’m the only one fighting for people’s votes,” Desjarlais said. “When I come to the door, I’m often asked: ‘Is there anyone else running on the ride?’ Transparent

During the first week of the event, a pattern is emerging. Liberals are messaging through Prime Minister Mark Carney. Conservative comments came from leader Pierre Poilievre, and local candidates did not provide their services to the media.

Meanwhile, the green of NDP candidates is what they want.

Trisha Estabrooks, who runs for the New Democratic Party at the Edmonton Center, said the party has not issued a substitution order on local candidates.

“We are here to speak to the people without the New Democratic Party,” she said.

NDP candidates are making their contact information public on their campaign pages. But liberals and conservatives only offer the public the option of donating or getting signs of the front lawn.

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Edmonton Strathcona Liberal candidate Ron Thiering spoke to the media earlier this week, but Edmonton Center candidate Eleanor Olszewski did not respond to multiple attempts to contact her. There are only two other candidates for liberal Edmonton. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi in southeast Edmonton and former Alberta NDP MLA Rod Loyola at Edmonton Gateway. The other five bike rides, including Grisbach, did not have formal candidates for courage.

The Conservatives have lost from tradition and have not provided any space for the media on campaign flights or buses by leader Pierre Poilievre.

Feodor Snagovsky, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Alberta, said in modern politics that not only in Canada, but in many Western democracies – the party leaders are stronger than ever. Party discipline is the key. He noted that liberals quickly rebounded in polls after Mark Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as prime minister because most Canadians used to be Trudeau’s brand, not the party itself.

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He said people often reside in the current parliament behind leaders rather than parties with the “Harper government” or the “Trudo government.” Therefore, when the leader is replaced, the party will be reset. New leaders are in the spotlight.

“Right or wrongly, Trudeau’s own feet blamed a lot,” Snagovsky said. “The party’s message has now been consolidated around leaders.”

Snagovsky calls it “political personalization” and what the party leaders say or do is more influential than anything local candidates can do.

“From the beginning, leaders are more important. They have a lot of ability to do what they like. They have a lot of political capital. Local candidates may influence five To 10% vote. The rest are the leaders of the party, so it makes sense that the party does not want to waste a lot of time. ”

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And keeping local candidates quiet ensures that they don’t say anything that violates party discipline.

Nicole Estomo is Vice Chairman of Communications of the Undergraduate Association of Political Science. This is a non-partisan group that holds discussions every Friday where students can share their political views. As a dedicated follower of the political stage, Otero echoes much of what Snagovsky says – the party’s message outweighs everything.

“The most important thing for me is the parties and policies they provide and are aligned with my own morals and values,” she said.

Estomo said that what is important among local candidates is that they “reflect accurately the parties they represent.”

But Desjarlais believes that the centralization of party news is a problem.

“What we see in many democracies is the centralization of party control, the centralization of messaging,” he said. “But in Canada, it doesn’t work. There are 343 rides nationwide, and we have a range of mini-TVs all over the country. And, voters hope to represent people in their communities.”

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Desjarlais’s perspective was shared by Dr. Chaldeans Mensah, associate professor of political science at Meswan University. He said it was confusing that the Liberals did not get all nine Edmonton candidates in the nearly week of the campaign. He said that if the idea was to let the candidates “fly under the radar”, it would be a wrong calculation. He believes that any party that wants to challenge the province’s Conservative dominance needs to have strong, visible local candidates.

“Perhaps liberals want to have a ‘wave election’ that will put them in power without having to focus on the quality of local candidates,” Mensa said. “I think it’s a mistake.”

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