Tory candidates missing in action
Posted Apr 18, 2011 3:41 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Hundreds of Albertans are planning to attend one of the many all party forums being held in the coming days, two weeks in advance of the May 2nd federal election. But in a lot of cases, Tory candidates won’t be on hand for the interaction with the public.
Mount Royal University Political Scientist Duane Bratt says the reason for Conservative candidates snubbing the public forums is simple: there is no need to show up in a province as Tory blue as Alberta.
“It doesn’t matter if they arrive or not, they will still win by about 10,000 votes,” says Bratt. “The fact of the matter is, they don’t have to go. They’re not going to be punished for not attending and they just don’t want to engage the electorate.”
Bratt adds it’s unfortunate some of the candidates feels so confident that they don’t need to make an effort to meet the people in their ridings.
“It is disappointing,” says Bratt, “because in my view, even if you’re going to win the election, you should still be out to attend these to meet with your constituents.”
He says for some candidates, attending a forum could do more harm that good, pointing to Calgary West MP Rob Anders who has a reputation for saying the wrong thing at times.
