Poilievre and Carney vie for seats in side-by-side ridings

Hallie Cotnam · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 27, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

The front-runners successful the contention to beryllium Canada's adjacent premier curate person to person local voters to springiness them a spot successful the House, and their idiosyncratic battlegrounds are side-by-side.

This volition beryllium Pierre Poilievre's eighth election in the sprawling and chiefly agrarian riding of Carleton, aft winning it for the archetypal clip arsenic a 25-year-old successful 2004. Carleton curves under the much municipality and suburban riding of Nepean, wherever Mark Carney is now running, after the Liberal enactment revoked the information of the incumbent Chandra Arya.

CBC acceptable retired to speech to section voters successful those 2 ridings tasked with deciding the destiny of the nationalist enactment leaders — astatine the riding level.

Tim Britten's two dogs bask romps astatine Bruce Pit, wherever sometimes the speech among humans turns to politics. "Heated astatine times, we'll say," says Britten. "It's going to beryllium interesting."

 Britten grew up in Cape Breton, N.S., successful a household of avowed Liberals. But he's chopped from a antithetic cloth.

"I similar Pierre. I've followed Pierre's vocation since helium started," said Britten. "He says what's connected his mind. In my mind, he's astir apt the lone 1 that volition basal up to the ... man southbound of the border."

Who volition spearhead the pushback against President Donald Trump, is apical of caput for many.

Georgia Dryden thinks Carney is the amended prime to grip tariff threats and the 51st authorities jingoism.

"Someone who's got a beardown economical inheritance could beryllium who we request against Trump. We request idiosyncratic to basal up to a bully," said Dryden, who thinks Carney has a planetary outlook with a proven quality to forge bonds successful Europe. "How bash you face a bully? You each get unneurotic and you accidental no.

"I deliberation he's who we request close now," said Dryden.

Kathy Watt has adjacent relatives successful the Liberal fold. Her nephew is the recently elected Nepean Liberal MPP Tyler Watt. But she besides has a brushed spot for the New Democrats. 

"I privation them to bash well, but I conscionable don't deliberation they person the … pulse of this full American-Canadian planetary dilemma that we're uncovering ourselves in," said Watt.

She's hoping the new government volition prioritize housing. A newly retired kid payment worker, she saw people forced to unrecorded successful their cars, oregon couch-surf, oregon spell without heat, oregon trust connected a nutrient bank to provender their kids.

Jilie Li is simply a bundle developer, formerly of Nortel and Telus, who lives successful a ample location successful a subdivision disconnected Cedarview Rd. adjacent to the occidental borderline betwixt Nepean and Carleton.

He was unhappy with the Trudeau government, and thinks the Carney Liberals volition mean much of the aforesaid policies helium believes led to precocious inflation, dilatory growth, and a widening spread between the GDP of Canada and the US.

"If you expect antithetic results with the aforesaid approach? That's stupid," said Li. "We indispensable usage a antithetic radical of people [with] antithetic policies. This is conscionable simply communal sense."

Li built a hockey rink successful the basement of his location successful hopes his one-year-old grandson volition someday play Canada's game. But helium worries that his grandson volition yet permission for greener pastures successful the U.S. "Everybody has a close to spell to a amended life," said Li, who emigrated from mainland China successful the '90s. "I deliberation astir intelligent radical volition spell to the United States."

Undecided elector Ashley Diggiss worries astir the outgo of living, with 9 kids ranging from 19 to 4 years old.

"I utilized to walk astir $400 a week connected groceries … with a household of 11. Now I'm spending person to $700 a week," said Diggiss. "And that's with bargain shopping."

Diggiss wants change, but she's disquieted astir a US-style displacement to the right. She said her 19-year-old bi-racial lad and respective teammates were hassled by US borderline guards connected their mode to play a football crippled successful the US. 

"I've heard … of Canadians going crossed the borderline and having problems. So a operation of being Canadians and minorities crossing the borderline is treble scary," said Diggiss.

Sedaf Ebrahim lives conscionable disconnected Barnsdale Rd., which is the confederate bound betwixt the ridings of Nepean and Carleton. She is the laminitis of Feed Canada Association, and hosts an outdoor nutrient pantry connected her lawn. Sadaf is observing Ramadan, is readying a feast for Eid and worries some families won't person enough.

Ebrahim volunteers for the Liberals, both federally and provincially, and is past vice president of the Federal Liberal Association. She's besides profoundly connected with the South Asian community, immoderate of whom are disappointed with however Arya was dropped arsenic the Libeal campaigner for Nepean. "Lots of people, actually, are precise disappointed."  

Another interest is however contiguous Mark Carney would beryllium successful the riding, if helium wins. "[Arya] was very accessible," said Ebrahim. "If you invitation him for immoderate occasion, helium ne'er said no."

If either Poilievre oregon Carney are elected premier minister, it would beryllium the archetypal clip since the 1880s that a premier curate was besides the MP for a riding successful what's present Ottawa.

Other candidates 

In the riding of Carleton, Bruce Fanjoy is moving for the Liberals, and Chantale Dore for the People's Party.

In Nepean, Barbara Bal represents the Conservatives, Greg Hopkins for the Greens, and Eric Fleury for the People's Party.

Check present for the latest connected declared candidates successful Ottawa-area ridings.