Vaccination a major election issue in Provencher riding: political scientist
Candidates in the Provencher riding are making a final effort to flip undecided voters just two days as the federal election nears.
The Provencher riding covers the province's southeast corner and includes several communities including Steinbach.
Kelly Saunders, a political scientist at Brandon University, said the riding's main election issue boils down to the COVID-19 vaccine.
"We know it straddles a number of communities that are hotspot when it comes to vaccine hesitancy, and some of the rates of vaccination are the lowest not only in the province but the country," said Saunders.
Incumbent Conservative Ted Falk was first elected in 2013 and has won every election since by a fairly wide margin.
Recently, however, Falk had to walk back some claims he made on the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine.
His campaign did not respond to CTV News.
Falk's position is something Liberal candidate Trevor Kirczenow is looking to capitalize on.
"It's very frustrating, his position on vaccines," said Kirczenow, "His position on vaccination has been unclear. He won't say if he's been vaccinated."
Kirczenow lives on a farm near Dugald and previously ran in 2019. He said this time around, he's talked to a lot of people who aren't sure who they're voting for.
"I think a lot of voters are looking for clarity," he said. “I've met a lot of undecided voters.”
This election also has another difference -- the People's Party of Canada.
PPC candidate Nöel Gautron has lived in the area his entire life and, according to his bio, is against vaccine passports.
He's a candidate that Saunders believes could steal some Conservative voters.
"And we know that the PPC has been making some inroads into Conservative territory, particularly in a place with vaccine hesitancy. So that candidate has been picking up some steam," noted Saunders.
Also on the Provencher ballot are the NDP Party's Serina Pottinger, the Green Party's Janine Gibson and independent Rick Loewen.
As candidates make a push to swing undecided voters, they'll have to wait until election day on September 20 to see the fruits of their labour.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.