With less than a week until the federal election, candidates are shifting the campaign into high gear – and no one's taking anything for granted in western Manitoba.
The riding of Brandon-Souris has been a Tory stronghold since 1997, but a recent byelection proved a very close race.
In a riding that's been Tory-blue since before some university students were born, Brandon-Souris candidates took part in a debate at Brandon University Wednesday, focused on the future.
"For me as a student, money is one of the biggest things,” said Brandon University student Teague Luhr.
Student leaders said Wednesday nearly 100,000 students across Canada have already voted at special polling stations on campus and believe their voices are becoming more important.
"Politicians are seeing it's a group of the population they need to be answering to and they need to be devoting their policies towards,” said Michael Barkman, chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students in Manitoba.
Green Party candidate David Neufeld said by 2020, the Greens will abolish tuition fees for a student's first two years of college or university and offer more bursaries for low-income students.
"Definitely we need to reach towards equal access for all to post-secondary education," said Neufeld.
NDP candidate Melissa Wastasecoot said the NDP would create more affordable housing and improve access to child care for mature students.
"We have to make sure that our students are taken care of," said Wastasecoot.
Liberal Jodi Wyman said her party won't make students repay student loans until they're making at least $25,000 per year.
Incumbent Conservative candidate Larry Maguire said the key is making sure there are jobs for students when they graduate.
"That goes back to making sure we've got a strong economy and making sure we're able to expand on the growth of small businesses here,” said Maguire.
In a 2013 federal byelection, Maguire defeated then Liberal candidate Rolf Dinsdale by just 391 votes.
Brandon University Political Science professor Kelly Saunders said “a perfect storm” of factors lead to that close race including soaring popularity for Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and controversy with the local Conservative nomination process.
Saunders doesn’t expect the same close race this time around.
"I think Mr. Maguire will win the riding fairly handily, but I think there has been deeper more fundamental changes happening in the riding,” said Saunders.
Saunders said the Liberals have developed a solid base in southwestern Manitoba, but not enough to topple the Tories.
However, the liberal candidate said anything's possible.
"The Harper government doesn't seem to be getting any more popular, we've had a lot of support here and we've had people from other parties join us,” said Wyman. “Reaction at the door's been very good, so there's a mood for change here."
Wyman said her team is working hard to rally last-minute support.
The last time a liberal won Brandon-Souris was 1993.
Glen McKinnon held the seat until 1997 when he was defeated by Rick Borotsik of the Progressive Conservatives.
