A Winnipeg riding with an extraordinary number of candidates produced a comparatively ordinary debate Thursday night, with only four of the 48 registered contenders appearing to speak ahead of the upcoming federal byelection.
Winnipeg South Centre has been inundated with candidates, courtesy of a group of political activists advocating for the end of Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system.
However, none of those associated with the Longest Ballot Committee participated in the public forum, leaving representatives from the Liberal, New Democratic Party, Green Party and one independent to lead the conversation.
JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Ben Carr represented the incumbent Liberals, with the NDP’s Julia Riddell, Green Party’s Doug Hemmerling and independent Tait Paulson also taking part.
The speakers fielded an assortment of questions from a crowd of roughly 20 people who gathered at the Riverview Community Centre.
Ben Carr represented the incumbent Liberals, with the NDP’s Julia Riddell, Green Party’s Doug Hemmerling and independent Tait Paulson also taking part.
Conservative Party candidate Damir Stipanovic was absent due to another commitment, a spokesperson for his election campaign said.
Long-time residents Ruth Cameron and Daniel Rickey said they attended the debate to sort out who the candidates were, citing confusion over the unusually large ballot.
“I just don’t understand how this is an effective political protest,” Cameron said. “This makes our electoral system less democratic for people in our constituency.”
The couple were less interested in political parody, and more interested in discussing the environment, health and poverty, they said.
All three issues were addressed during the debate, with candidates unanimously supporting safe-consumption sites, investments in public health care and immediate action on climate change. Other topics included inflation and housing.
The subject of electoral reform was a recurring theme.
Resident Geoff Cowie voiced displeasure with the current system, saying it unfairly favours established parties.
“Every four years we get to choose from an unequal slate of candidates in terms of the resources they have behind them,” he said. “I think it really is trouble for this to be the state of democracy, and how disengaged people are.”
Kieran Szuchewycz, the official agent for all 42 of the absent Longest Ballot independents, agreed, asking those at the debate table what they would do to improve parity.
“It is very difficult to find candidates to participate in a system that they never have a chance of winning,” he said. “We’re trying to make a point that everyday people need to have a bigger say in the way our democracy works.”
JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Candidate Doug Hemmerling (right) and Ben Carr (left) during a byelection debate for the MP position at Winnipeg South Centre at Riverview Community Centre Thursday.
The crowd rewarded the statement with applause, agreeing with his point that voters are increasingly disengaged.
According to Statistics Canada, the riding was home to an estimated 94,803 people in 2021. Despite the high population, only 38 per cent voted in the election that year.
Carr pushed back against Szuchewycz’s approach to the issue, arguing that flooding the ballot with candidates further eroded the democratic process.
“Any time somebody puts their name on a ballot, it’s a good for democracy, but it comes with a responsibility to put yourself in front of people, and to talk about ideas,” he said.
The byelection takes place June 19, with advanced polling beginning Friday.
Winnipeg South Centre has long favoured the Liberal party, which held office there from 1988 to 2011, before losing power to the Conservatives.
The late Jim Carr, Ben Carr’s father, regained the seat for the Liberals in 2015 and held it until his death on Dec. 12. The ensuing vacancy sparked the byelection.
