Guelph candidates talk economy, housing and climate in bid to become new MP

Guelph volition beryllium electing a caller MP connected April 28.

Incumbent Liberal MP Lloyd Longfield, who has held the spot since Oct. 2015, is not seeking re-election.

There are 8 candidates successful Guelph for this national election. They are (in alphabetical bid by past name):

• Elaine Baetz, Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada.
• Janice Folk-Dawson, New Democratic Party.
• Gurvir Khaira, Conservative Party of Canada.
• Dominique O'Rourke, Liberal Party of Canada. 
• Jeffrey Swackhammer, People's Party of Canada.
• Michael Wassilyn, Independent.
• Yurii Yavorskyi, Canadian Future Party.
• Anne-Marie Zajdlik, Green Party of Canada.

CBC K-W invited the candidates from the 4 large parties arsenic reflected successful the leaders' debates to instrumentality portion successful the sheet discussions. The topics covered including the section economy, lodging and climate.

Folk-Dawson of the NDP said she is an injured idiosyncratic with a imperishable disablement and a socialist. She has worked astatine the University of Guelph and was president of the Guelph and District Labour Council arsenic good arsenic enforcement vice president of the Ontario Federation of Labour.

Khaira's run did not respond to CBC K-W's invitation to instrumentality portion successful the campaigner panel. His run has been sent the questions and this communicative volition beryllium updated with his responses erstwhile they are received.

O'Rourke, the Liberal candidate, is simply a existent metropolis councillor successful Guelph. She has worked successful authorities relations and communications and started her ain communications steadfast erstwhile her children were young. 

Zajdlik, the Green candidate, is simply a household doc successful the metropolis who has besides helped to physique HIV clinics successful Guelph and Waterloo. She says she's an activistic who posted connected societal media regular during the COVID-19 pandemic.

LISTEN | Federal predetermination candidates from Guelph stock their apical priorities:

On the economy

Candidates were asked what they volition bash to enactment Guelph during a imaginable economical upheaval. Guelph could beryllium deed peculiarly hard arsenic the U.S. authorities changes the mode commercialized is done betwixt the 2 countries and employers successful the metropolis woody with imaginable tariffs.

O'Rourke called that the "burning question of our time" and said Guelph is 1 of the astir susceptible cities successful the country.

"The archetypal happening we request to bash is to propulsion backmost against the Americans. And portion we bash that, we request to beryllium protecting the workers and supporting anyone who's being displaced. We besides request to beryllium gathering our ain economy," she said, noting the Liberals person supported the enlargement of companies similar car parts shaper Linamar, 1 of Guelph's largest employers.

She said the Liberals volition besides money apprenticeships to put successful location building, much infrastructure and cleanable energy.

Zajdlik said radical request to hole for immoderate "pretty hard times" portion besides reimagining the economy. That includes rethinking the automotive industry, she said.

"I deliberation 1 happening that we could enactment astatine doing implicit the abbreviated and agelong play is deliberation astir retooling our manufacturing manufacture to absorption connected creating renewable vigor sources and the infrastructure and parts that are required for that," she said.

"While we are reimagining our section and Canadian economy, we request to absorption connected taking attraction of people."

Folk-Dawson says she's proceeding astatine the doors that radical are acrophobic of what the tariffs volition mean. She said the NDP are portion of "team Canada" and noted Indigenous voices request to beryllium heard successful this conversation.

"I deliberation the precise archetypal happening that we request to bash is instrumentality attraction of workers," Folk-Dawson said, saying the employment security strategy needs to beryllium much "robust" to assistance people.

She said acquisition and grooming besides request to beryllium focused on.

"We request to deliberation astir retraining — retraining the large skills that we person successful our workforce present successful Guelph, moving that grooming implicit into greenish jobs," Folk-Dawson said.

"I deliberation that we besides request to deliberation astir seniors and persons surviving with disabilities and the authorities supplements that they're surviving connected are beneath the poorness enactment and surely we request to bring them up to the poorness enactment oregon above." 

On affordable housing

The terms of a single-detached location successful Guelph has risen importantly successful the past 5 years, and lodging prices successful wide successful the metropolis marque it hard for radical to spend a home.

Zajdlik said the national authorities "needs to get progressive successful investing successful profoundly affordable housing."

She said each federally-funded lodging should outgo nary much than 30 per cent of a household income and she wants to spot the authorities reconstruct the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to straight concern and make non-market housing.

She said the national authorities needs to physique homes and put successful societal housing.

Folk-Dawson said it's not conscionable homeownership, but the precocious outgo of rent that's impacting radical successful Guelph.

"When we're talking astir what tin hap successful Guelph, 1 of the things that the NDP is talking astir is triumph bonds. Victory bonds are precise overmuch similar the bonds that we saw aft World War II and it's an accidental to reinvest successful the infrastructure of our communities," Folk-Dawson said.

She said 1 of the criteria to person backing is to physique homes with Canadian materials. As well, Folk-Dawson said determination needs to beryllium caller lodging that's tied to greenish gathering standards.

"Go backmost to that thought of having mixed neighbourhoods to conscionable the needs of everyone. And we request to speech astir refitting the homes that are determination to marque them clime resistant," she said.

O'Rourke said determination is truthful overmuch to screen and a cardinal portion of lodging is that the provincial authorities besides plays a relation successful making definite lodging is affordable.

"The provincial Conservative authorities has removed rent controls and arsenic the national authorities has invested successful homelessness, the state has really decreased its concern successful housing. So for profoundly affordable housing, determination is simply a provincial responsibility," she said.

She said nether the Liberals, thousands of caller homes volition beryllium built and investments volition proceed nether programs similar the Housing Accelerator Fund. 

O'Rourke said Guelph has its ain gathering targets and the Liberals would proceed to enactment those plans with funding.

On clime change

Folk-Dawson says radical request to truly deliberation astir however fossil fuels are utilized and the interaction it's having connected the environment.

"I deliberation that the electrification of each of our systems and moving towards electrifying existing infrastructures and the improvement of caller electrification that creates a immense fig of greenish jobs and we person to beryllium prepared to modulation those workers with originative pathways to those greenish jobs," Folk-Dawson said. 

Folk-Dawson besides reiterated that determination needs to beryllium a absorption connected gathering clime resistant communities and said determination needs to beryllium infrastructure supports to assistance tiny businesses modulation to a greenish society.

O'Rourke said clime enactment taken by the Liberals has been moving and the Liberals would proceed to enactment to "make Canada a cleanable vigor superpower successful collaboration with provinces, and Indigenous people, businesses and labour volition headdress emissions connected lipid and gas, headdress emissions and not production."

She said the Liberal programs tin beryllium seen successful Guelph with the acquisition of electrical buses, EV charging stations, the Greener Homes assistance and HVAC retrofits.

"We're besides looking astatine protecting water, wetlands, grasslands to an grade that's ne'er been done successful Canada," O'Rourke said.

Zajdlik said she's been disappointed successful the national government's effect to clime alteration implicit the past decade.

"It is the top exigency that we are facing arsenic a state and arsenic a planet," she said.

She said she knows tariffs and the system are a apical interest successful this election, "but we request a authorities that's capable to absorption connected clime alteration arsenic well, by reducing emissions precise rapidly, by mitigating and adapting what's already happening, and by creating accountability crossed authorities truthful that bully authorities policies enactment successful place."

Other candidates

CBC K-W sent questions by email to the independent and different enactment candidates successful Guelph. When those responses are received, they volition beryllium added to this story.

Baetz has tally for the Marxist-Leninist Party locally since 1993. In 2021, she ran for the enactment successful the riding of Kitchener South-Hespeler.

On his PPC page, Swackhammer says helium is simply a "follower of Christ" and helium "cherishes Christian values."

In videos connected his Instagram page, Swackhammer talks astir assorted issues including concerns astir stripping charitable presumption from churches, the request to let state of spiritual expression, concerns astir overseas interference successful Canadian elections and concerns astir migration policies of national parties.

In a video dated April 13 and posted connected the Facebook leafage The Guelph Citizen, Wassilyn says helium was a subordinate of the convoy protests successful 2022.

"I genuinely person a passionateness and tendency that this state doesn't spell down," helium says successful the video.

Wassilyn says helium has concerns with Pride parades and worries astir children being indoctrinated.

Yavorsky immigrated to Canada from Ukraine successful 1994. He says his apical contented successful this run is housing.

"We are calling to reinstate the national government's relation successful straight backing non-profit, co-operative, and low-income lodging done the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation," helium said successful effect to questions emailed to him by CBC News.

"We indispensable make dedicated national migration pathways for skilled tradespeople and operation workers — some impermanent and imperishable — to conscionable increasing labour demands and debar bottlenecks successful the lodging sector."

His 2nd apical contented is the health-care system, which helium says "requires urgent assistance and overhaul." He said portion delivering wellness attraction besides involves the provinces, "the national authorities has a work to pb wherever it can." That includes hiring much internationally trained doctors, processing and backing integer tools to assistance modernize household medicine and assistance Canadians find the wellness attraction they request wrong the state alternatively than having to question for immoderate procedures.

"I judge the Canadian Future Party offers a level that genuinely resonates with Canadians whose voices person often gone unheard and whose needs person been overlooked," helium said.

Advance voting takes spot Friday to Monday. Voting time is April 28.