Citizens in southern part of the city speak their minds on a possible election call

By Staff

August 15th, 2021

BURLINGTON, ON

Part 1 of a two part story on what the people of Burlington feel about an election call

With the whiff of an election in the air, the Gazette decided to send a team of reporters out into the streets to hear what the public had to say.

The team, made up of Max Bowder and Ryan O’Dowd, covered all six wards and approached people asking:

Do you think there should be a federal election?

Depending on the answer they followed up with:

Why or why not.

We asked the team to get as many responses as possible – we wanted some depth to what people thought – thus the length.  Some people didn’t want to give names; some locations were better than others.

If you want to get a cross section of opinion in Burlington Brant and Lakeshore is as good a place as any.

Ryan O’Dowd covered the southern part of the city to learn how the public felt about an expected election call.

In a separate story we published the results of what Max Bowder learned in the area north of Fairview.

Here is what Ryan O’Dowd learned:

I’m fairly ambivalent about it but it’s clear Trudeau is trying to get the election in before the economy tanks.- Roy

I think the tail end of a pandemic is a bad and weird time for a power grab. But it gives me a chance to vote out a Prime Minister I quickly soiree on after initially voting for him.-Alex

This isn’t the time to focus on an election, I worry about what will happen if a fourth wave is handled poorly.-Jira

I get what he’s trying to do, he’s trying to present a united front on COVID and get everyone on the same page. But the countries debt is already an issue before election spending.-Cathy

No, it’s just a power grab.-Bruce

Seems like an election call right now would be a power grab by Trudeau. But we’re all screwed anyway so who cares.-Kevin

Any other politician would do the same, I’m not a Trudeau fan but this is hardly reason why.-Lisa

I support it, it’s a bit soon but people have been revisiting their values during the pandemic, so people may want something else from their government.-Gabriel

No, I don’t trust any of the candidates and were in a pandemic.-Drew

I think it’s wise on his part considering people following his guidelines and being financially supported outweighs people who challenged his direction. Although the dark parts of Canadian history recently brought to light and alot of people aren’t agreeing with his response. I personally wouldn’t vote for Trudeau but if it happens he’s got a good shot.-Taylor

I wouldn’t support an election and I don’t think they will go through with the plans. No one is happy about it and COVID numbers are up.-Mark

There’s a lot of reasons to criticize Trudeau, that he’s calling an election when he thinks he can win is not one.-Michelle

Finding people to interview led reporters to shopping locations – Appleby Mall proved to be very good place to meet people.

There is no good reason for an election, I can’t support a power grab during a pandemic- Kim

No, I don’t like any of the candidates and probably won’t vote- anonymous

I don’t support a federal election call at all because it’s a waste of resources that could be used in a more productive manner.-David

I do, we need to vote Trudeau out to stop more lockdowns and vaccine passports-Jean

If the election takes place during a fourth wave it will blow up in Trudeau’s face- Megan

No, Trudeau is threatening people’s health to win- Mike

It’s irresponsible to have an expensive election given our debt and it will be dangerous- Karen

Opposition to the election is partisan, if conservatives thought they could win they’d be all for it, but they aren’t confident- Raheem

No and I hope all parties lose.- anonymous

Yes. People criticize Trudeau for calling it as a power grab but how Canada does post-COVID is incredibly important. It seems like a good time to reevaluate the countries leadership.-Ed

No, it’s a waste of time, there are much more important things to focus on right now.-Jacqueline

I don’t support the election, people are still scared of COVID, it’s their number one priority. Trudeau is using that as a power grab and it’s not right.-Mina

Why not? Conservatives want to lift mandates, they want the country to be open just not for an election they’ll likely lose. Making this an issue of safety now is convenient. It’s a power grab but that’s nothing new.-Carol

No. I’m worried the election will politicize the pandemic even more. I don’t want people to think being anti-vax or mask is a political stance as opposed to just being anti-science. I’m worried this will come up alot.-anonymous

No. Things are hard enough right now, I don’t have time to pay attention to politics.- Devon

I think it’s a pointless election but I can’t blame Trudeau for capitalizing on weak opposition. That these other parties have poor leadership is something they should worry about rather than complaining about the election.-Austin

No. He’s just trying to get people on CERB to vote to keep it going, and we can’t afford that.-Sam

No, mostly because I don’t like any of the candidates. Trudeau never follows through on anything and the current conservative party is a mess.- Mark H.

 Across Burlington reactions to the election call were mixed. Many were unhappy about the election citing economic issues and safety concerns, but above all people were put off by the optics with what many dubbed an opportunistic power grab. And while many found the calling of the election unnecessary, most recognized it’s importance.

Ryan O’Dowd is a Sheridan College journalism student who is part of a federally funded Local Journalism Initiative that will have him reporting for the Gazette well into 2022.  He is a Burlington native who plays the guitar.

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