Thursday, October 17, 2019 ~ COWICHAN-MALAHAT-LANGFORD
by Mary P Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
It’s been a non-stop campaign for NDP incumbent Alistair MacGregor to earn a second term in the House of Commons from voters in Cowichan-Malahat-Langford.
As soon as the campaign began September 11, MacGregor and his team have been out around the large south Vancouver Island riding that covers a vast territory of 4,749 sq km (1,834 sq miles) including Duncan, Cowichan, Langford, and the ‘top half’ of Juan de Fuca from Jordan River up to Port Renfrew.
“Federally this started as a ho-hum, slightly boring campaign, but now it’s anything but that,” said MacGregor in an interview with West Shore Voice News today. “More people are starting to see the qualities of Jagmeet Singh,” said the Cowichan-Malahat-Langford incumbent who has hosted the NDP leader in the riding a few times since last year. “People are warming up to him.”
With just a few more days until the October 21 election day, the fight continues for Alistair MacGregor to retain his seat. He stands on his record of solid legislative work in Ottawa and standing up for constituents in matter of affordability.
The riding that reaches from east to west on the south island includes a strong rural component which — depending on viewpoint — leans either right (Conservative) or left (NDP or Green). There is a strong force in Green opponent Lydia Hwitsum who readily rallies the indigenous and climate action voter contingent. Smack dab in the middle of the riding is Langford where a strong urban voter base is probably reliable for MacGregor’s NDP stripe, but to some extent also for the Liberal candidate Blair Herbert.
MacGregor will be at the ‘Jagmeet Rocks Victoria’ NDP Rally with Jagmeet Singh tomorrow night — Friday October 18 — at 2121 Cadboro Bay Road in Victoria. Ahead of that, Singh will meet with students at the University of Victoria at 3:20 pm, to garner the youth vote among students who hadn’t yet voted in the Advance Polls over the Thanksgiving long weekend.
In these last three days of the 40-day campaign, MacGregor and his team will “use every hour we have for canvassing by phone and on foot” around the riding. The goal is to identify as many supporters as they can for the big day on Monday. They will revisit anyone who is undecided, targeting anyone who is most likely to commit to the NDP vote.
MacGregor gets a positive reaction at most doors in the neighbourhoods. “Some people say ‘you’ve already got my vote’ and keep it short, while others want to discuss the issues more,” he told West Shore Voice News.
“People who were attracted to the Liberals in 2015 are coming our way,” he said, “as well as some people who have been pondering Green but are sticking with NDP in 2019”.
The NDP will stand up for people “who are falling between the cracks” in terms of the health care crisis and housing affordability, he said. He saw much of the angst of struggling constituents at both of his constituency offices (Langford and Duncan) over the past four years. The intensity of struggle that is borne by some people really stays with MacGregor, and it motivates him to return to the House of Commons to do more.
“The way people vote comes down to values,” says MacGregor, despite all the discourse in this campaign about strategic voting in light of neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives surging ahead in the opinion polls as the party of choice. The NDP party has been making gains nationally in recent days, as Singh’s popularity gains momentum.
As people head out to vote on Monday they may see Alistair MacGregor and his team out waving signs at the roadside, for that last reminder to vote and to vote NDP-orange in Cowichan-Malahat-Langford. On Monday evening before the results start rolling in, MacGregor will himself deliver food to the volunteers at their various locations. His victory party is set to roll at 7:30 pm on Monday October 21 at 2244 Moose Road in Duncan.