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

The front-runners in the race to be Canada’s next prime minister have to convince local voters to give them a seat in the House, and their individual battlegrounds are side-by-side.

This will be Pierre Poilievre’s eighth election in the sprawling and mainly rural riding of Carleton, after winning it for the first time as a 25-year-old in 2004. Carleton curves under the more urban and suburban riding of Nepean, where Mark Carney is now running, after the Liberal party revoked the nomination of the incumbent Chandra Arya.

CBC set out to talk to local voters in those two ridings tasked with deciding the fate of the national party leaders — at the riding level.

A red-haired woman wearing glasses holds a curly-haired small dog in her arms. — Georgia Dryden holds her two-year-old spaniel-poodle mix Beau. She’s excited about the election and will be voting for Mark Carney as the best defence against Trump. “We need someone to stand up to a bully.” (Francis Ferland/CBC)

Tim Britten’s two dogs enjoy romps at Bruce Pit, where sometimes the talk among humans turns to politics. “Heated at times, we’ll say,” says Britten. “It’s going to be interesting.”

Britten grew up in Cape Breton, N.S., in a family of avowed Liberals. But he’s cut from a different cloth.

“I like Pierre. I’ve followed Pierre’s career since he started,” said Britten. “He says what’s on his mind. In my mind, he’s probably the only one that will stand up to the … gentleman south of the border.”

Who will spearhead the pushback against President Donald Trump, is top of mind for many.

Man stands in a basement hockey rink. — Retired software developer Jilie Li built a hockey rink in his basement in hopes his one-year-old grandson will play hockey someday. In the meantime, it works for pickleball. (Francis Ferland/CBC)

Georgia Dryden thinks Carney is the better choice to handle tariff threats and the 51st state jingoism.

“Someone who’s got a strong economic background could be who we need against Trump. We need someone to stand up to a bully,” said Dryden, who thinks Carney has a global outlook with a proven ability to forge bonds in Europe. “How do you confront a bully? You all get together and you say no.

“I think he’s who we need right now,” said Dryden.

Kathy Watt has close relatives in the Liberal fold. Her nephew is the newly elected Nepean Liberal MPP Tyler Watt. But she also has a soft spot for the New Democrats.

“I want them to do well, but I just don’t think they have the … pulse of this whole American-Canadian global dilemma that we’re finding ourselves in,” said Watt.

She’s hoping the new government will prioritize housing. A newly retired child welfare worker, she saw people forced to live in their cars, or couch-surf, or go without heat, or rely on a food bank to feed their kids.

Woman stands in a parking lot, holding a grocery cart. — Ashley Diggiss is worried about the cost of living. She and her husband have nine kids, and spend $700 a week on groceries. (Francis Ferland/CBC)

Jilie Li is a software developer, formerly of Nortel and Telus, who lives in a large house in a subdivision off Cedarview Rd. close to the western border between Nepean and Carleton.

He was unhappy with the Trudeau government, and thinks the Carney Liberals will mean more of the same policies he believes led to high inflation, slow growth, and a widening gap between the GDP of Canada and the US.

“If you expect different results with the same approach? That’s stupid,” said Li. “We must use a different group of people [with] different policies. This is just simply common sense.”

Li built a hockey rink in the basement of his home in hopes his one-year-old grandson will someday play Canada’s game. But he worries that his grandson will eventually leave for greener pastures in the U.S. “Everybody has a right to go to a better life,” said Li, who emigrated from mainland China in the ’90s. “I think most intelligent people will go to the United States.”

Woman sits on a couch, with her hands clasped around her knee. — Sadaf Ebrahim volunteers for the Liberals both provincially and federally in the riding of Nepean. She’s not sure how many Chandra Arya supporters will now vote for Mark Carney. (Francis Ferland/CBC)

Undecided voter Ashley Diggiss worries about the cost of living, with nine kids ranging from 19 to four years old.

“I used to spend about $400 a week on groceries … with a family of 11. Now I’m spending closer to $700 a week,” said Diggiss. “And that’s with bargain shopping.”

Diggiss wants change, but she’s worried about a US-style shift to the right. She said her 19-year-old bi-racial son and several teammates were hassled by US border guards on their way to play a football game in the US.

“I’ve heard … of Canadians going across the border and having problems. So a combination of being Canadians and minorities crossing the border is double scary,” said Diggiss.

An outdoor food pantry filled with non-perishable items, with a sign that says, "Let's make sure no one sleeps hungry in our neighbourhood." — An outdoor food pantry on the southern boundary of the riding of Nepean, where Liberal leader Mark Carney is running. Just across the road, is the riding of Carleton, where Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is running for the eighth time. (Francis Ferland/CBC)

Sedaf Ebrahim lives just off Barnsdale Rd., which is the southern boundary between the ridings of Nepean and Carleton. She is the founder of Feed Canada Association, and hosts an outdoor food pantry on her lawn. Sadaf is observing Ramadan, is planning a feast for Eid and worries some families won’t have enough.

Ebrahim volunteers for the Liberals, both federally and provincially, and is past vice president of the Federal Liberal Association. She’s also deeply connected with the South Asian community, some of whom are disappointed with how Arya was dropped as the Libeal candidate for Nepean. “Lots of people, actually, are very disappointed.”

Another concern is how present Mark Carney would be in the riding, if he wins. “[Arya] was very accessible,” said Ebrahim. “If you invite him for any occasion, he never said no.”

If either Poilievre or Carney are elected prime minister, it would be the first time since the 1880s that a prime minister was also the MP for a riding in what’s now Ottawa.