Voters, candidates talk election issues at London Chamber of Commerce meet and greet

Matthew Trevithick · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 17, 2025 7:03 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

At a occupation fair, usually it's the attendees looking for work, not the different mode around.

But connected Wednesday, astir a twelve London-area politicians looking to get a occupation successful Parliament paused their door-knocking efforts to acceptable up store successful the downtown lawsuit hallway of Goodwill Industries for a two-hour conscionable and greet with the radical who volition determine whether they get the gig.

Organized by the London Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors, the commercialized show-style lawsuit was described arsenic an "informal networking opportunity" for voters, concern leaders, and candidates. 

It's a departure from the debates the enclosure has hosted previously. CEO Graham Henderson said difficulties persuading candidates to debate, and getting voters to attend, played a relation successful the change. Other statement organizers person faced akin challenges. 

Compared to a debate, which tin look artificial, meet-and-greets fto voters and candidates speech in-depth, said Bronagh Morgan, a erstwhile statement moderator, national and provincial Green Party candidate, and self-described non-partisan.

Morgan had 1 cardinal contented successful caput — grief and bereavement support. She wants to spot a nationalist strategy to assistance those suffering and forestall related intelligence wellness impacts. "It truly serves everybody. Everybody, astatine the extremity of the day, is going to acquisition decease and loss."

Davon Michel, a selling and plan strategist, came to perceive however the candidates would attack U.S. President Donald Trump and commercialized with different countries.

"Also, I'm looking astatine the younger generations. How are you incentivizing them to adjacent travel retired to ballot and recognize what's going connected with politics?"

Of the 16 candidates moving successful London's 3 main ridings, 10 participated successful the event, including each from London Centre. Absent were the Conservative and Liberal candidates from London—Fanshawe, and the Canadian Future Party, Green Party, and United Party of Canada candidates successful London West. Liberal Arielle Kayabaga was listed arsenic attending but didn't marque it.

Most candidates told CBC News that President Donald Trump's tariffs, annexation threats, and the precocious outgo of surviving were the main issues astatine the lawsuit and astatine doorsteps.

"Ninety per cent of the conversations are focused connected the Trump issue," said Peter Fragiskatos, the Liberal campaigner successful London Centre, formerly London North Centre, of what he's heard portion canvassing.

"Our portion is peculiarly affected. Windsor directly, but besides jobs successful London, possibly arsenic galore arsenic 10,000 jobs could beryllium mislaid if this goes immoderate further."

For Conservative Adam Benni successful London West, it's tariffs and affordability. "The 2 are tied with each other," helium said. "What I accidental to everybody is if you request to tackle Trump, (you) request a beardown economy."

"I've knocked connected truthful galore doors. I person adjacent seniors who are present going backmost to enactment due to the fact that ... life has go truthful unaffordable," helium said. 

Affordability was apical of caput for Yvonne Spicer, a section advocator for radical with disabilities, on with questions astir the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB), Guaranteed Income Supplement, and housing.

Spicer wanted to cognize however candidates would amended the CDB. "It launches successful July. We lone get $200 to unrecorded on. How tin unrecorded idiosyncratic unrecorded connected $200 a month, which is $9.76 a day?"

In summation to Trump, voters person besides brought up electoral betterment and frustrations astir strategical voting, said Mary Ann Hodge, the Green Party campaigner successful London Centre.

It was unfortunate clime alteration — the party's raison d'etre — had taken specified a backseat, she said. "We did person a large crystal tempest conscionable astatine the extremity of March, which is different wake-up telephone we request to beryllium reasoning astir exigency preparedness and (making) communities much resilient."

In London-Fanshawe, voters are disquieted astir a batch of things, but namely tariffs and the imaginable for occupation losses and a weaker economy, said New Democrat campaigner Lindsay Mathyssen.

"That's linked, of course, to each the issues that were determination earlier Trump, with affordability, with market prices, lodging prices, the societal information nett arsenic well," she said.

"The main happening I perceive is the outgo of living. Taxes, a batch of taxes," said Daniel Buta, Mathyssen's rival with the People's Party of Canada.

The meet-and-greet format, helium added, was beneficial for unfastened conversations with voters astir their concerns. "We're connected opposing sides, but we each person the aforesaid mentality," helium said of different candidates. "We privation to service our constituents."

It besides served as a accidental for the Canadian Future Party, the incipient, self-described centrist enactment that formed successful August, to get its sanction out.

"We're not expecting to signifier government, but we decidedly privation to alteration the statement and however argumentation is developed successful Canada," said Bruce Lamb, its London Centre candidate.