PARLIAMENT AT DISSOLUTION 159 SEATS
95 SEATS
36 SEATS
Independent: 8 seats Vacant: 4 seats
2 SEATS
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2 SEATS
2 SEATS
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AUGUST 4, 2015 | Volume olume 28 No. 93 One of these four candidates will wake up on Oct. 20 as the KamloopsThompson-Cariboo MP. From left: New Democrat Bill Sundhu, Green Matt Greenwood, incumbent Conservative MP Cathy McLeod and Liberal Steve Powrie.
Campaign
FACTS
ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW
The national view of the election Page A26
CAMPAIGN FOR YOUR VOTE BEGINS CAM FORTEMS
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It started earlier and will last longer, but the three men and one woman running to represent Kamloops in the Oct. 19 federal election say the dynamics of the local campaign will change little despite the early call by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Sunday. “We’ve been prepared throughout, including for a spring election,” said New Democrat candidate Bill Sundhu, who hopes to capture local support reflected in polls suggesting the NDP has its first real shot at forming at least a minority government. “I can immediately go in campaign mode,” Sundhu said. Both Sundhu and incumbent Conservative MP Cathy McLeod moved into campaign offices over the
weekend that will be opened immediately. “Our campaign has already started,” McLeod said. “Our team is ready to get going.” McLeod has overseen a raft of spending announcements this month as speculation mounted the writ would be dropped on Sunday, creating an 11-week campaign period. “I see it as more gamesmanship,” said Liberal candidate Steve Powrie, an elementary and university teacher . “It’s just more opportunity to use their [Conservatives] huge war chest to push out their rhetoric for a longer time.” Green candidate Matt Greenwood said the longer election campaign period will not fundamentally change his campaign. He works part-time at ASK Wellness and has some flexibility to change his hours to suit the campaign.
But, he added, the election is extended because the Conservatives’ recent legislation allows spending to be increased along with the longer pre-election period. “With the Fair Elections Act they’ve pro-rated it [spending]. With a campaign twice as long, you can spend twice as much,” Greenwood said. “It’s a fairly cheap move — no pun intended.” But, McLeod said, critics ignore the fact that along with the official election period comes rules about spending, including for third parties. “We haven’t looked at our [campaign] budget with the longer writ,” she said. “It puts every party on the same playing field.” Sundhu, a lawyer, said he started reducing his caseload last year in preparation for the election. He has one legal file yet to complete, but considers himself in full-time campaign mode.
• The 2015 election campaign will be 11 weeks in length, more than twice as long as the 2011 campaign and the longest since the 1926 election. • Political parties and candidates will now be able to spend double what they were permitted under a traditional 37-day campaign. In Kamloops-ThompsonCariboo, candidates will be able to spend up to $252,000. Nationally, parties will be able to spend about $50 million. • Parties can receive taxpayer-funded rebates of up to 50 per cent of eligible expenses, while candidates can recover taxpayer-funded rebates of up to 60 per cent of eligible expenses. • The early writ drop also means third-party advertising will now be subject to a tight $200,000 spending limit, largely clamping down on their influence. • This year’s election features 338 ridings, compared to the 308 ridings in the 2011 election. • Elections Canada data dug up by The Canadian Press shows the Conservatives had raised $20.1 million by the end of last year. The Liberals had amassed $15 million and the NDP had brought in $9.5 million.
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