Candidates participating in the April 15 all-candidates meeting addressed a long list of issues raised by the voters. Conservative Party of Canada candidate Jeff Kibble did not attend the meeting.
Cowichan-Malahat-Langford candidates speak to the issues
In his closing remarks, Liberal Party of Canada candidate Blair Herbert said to the audience at the Chemainus Residents Association’s all-candidates meeting that Conservative candidate Jeff Kibble, who did not attend, may have been told by Party Leader Pierre Poilievre to steer clear of community meetings.
“I want to address the elephant in the room,” Herbert said. “Or rather, the elephant that’s not in the room—the empty seat right here next to me, this comes down from the top.
“Poilievre has told his people, ‘Do not attend all-candidates meetings, and do not talk to the press.’ And I think that sends a message to me, and it sends a message to everybody in this room, and everybody in this riding, that the Conservative candidate is not interested in what you have to say now, and he’s not going to be interested in what you have to say if you send him to Ottawa.”
Herbert said national polls suggest that the April 28 federal election will be a contest between two parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives. He quoted former NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair as saying, ‘Trump’s threat to Canada means that the choice for Canada must be between the Liberals and the Conservatives.’
New Democratic Party candidate Alistair MacGregor asked the audience to think about his experience and achievements as their MP when they cast their votes. “What I offer to you folks is my service, my track record as your member of parliament,” he said, pointing to his nine-and-a-half years as their MP.
MacGregor said he’s had tremendous success as an opposition MP: bringing grocery chain executive Galen Weston before the Agriculture Committee to “face questioning on high food prices”; advocating in Parliament for a study that led to the strengthening of Canada’s Competition Bureau, which “…led the House of Commons to finally confront the corporate greed that is driving so much of the cost of living.”
He concluded that a strong contingent of NDP MPs is essential because the Liberal and Conservative parties are tied too closely to Corporate Canada. “You cannot trust them to look after your interests, which is why it is so important to have a strong contingent of New Democrats there, to keep those parties honest, but also to ensure that the issues that matter to you are given voice, whether it’s health care, the environment, or workers’ rights.”
Facing ongoing upheavals from the Trump administration in Washington, MacGregor said an experienced representative is needed in Ottawa. “With the uncertainty we are facing, Parliament is going to be recalled pretty quickly, you need someone in there who knows what to do from day one.”
Green Party of Canada candidate Kathleen Code said the three ‘status-quo’ parties have to be held accountable for the situation Canada finds itself in a quarter of the way through the 21st Century, and that it’s time for change.
“Here we are in 2025, look at the situation that we’re in and consider that it’s the three status-quo parties that have brought us to this point, where we can no longer afford our own lives,” she said. “I think that’s a really sad statement for us, to be where we are in a country as rich as Canada.”
She said, “We are the party of the people; we are not the party of the corporations, we don’t have any baggage, we don’t owe anything to anybody, we speak purely from the heart out of compassion and kindness and believe that we need to raise everybody up.”
It’s important to have a Green Party perspective at the table, she said.
She pointed to her experience and success as the Chair of the Eco Forestry Institute Society. “I’m part of the strategic team that took three years, raised a million dollars, and kept most of the Eco Forest in the public domain.” Code also cited her involvement in the Fairy Creek movement, an experience that gave her a deeper understanding of “how indigenous sovereignty, title, and rights work.”
“I know how government works, I know communications, I used to write a lot of briefing notes, and I’m simply a policy wonk, and I believe we really need this voice.”
The Chemainus Residents Association identified and asked the community to prioritize questions that would be put to candidates at the April 15 all-candidates meeting…
