All things Canadian.....

Last night one of my final doors opened and a middle-aged man in a sweatshirt emerged. He listened to my brief pitch, shook my hand and said, “I have been a
Liberal all my life, but this is the first time a guy running for office has ever, ever come to my house. You have my vote.” Seriously, those were his words, and he seemed completely impressed that I was standing there on his stoop in the darkness. Turns out he works for an independent gas retailer, and he is fed up with all the talk of gouging going on at the pumps (“We work on a margin of one-tenth of a cent per liter”), and – like most people this week – he has had it with Liberal spending. David Dingwall’s chewing gum was the last straw. It is a fitting symbol of an arrogant regime that deserves to go down.
At another door, Tom came out, and I thought he was going to hug me when I uttered the words “Conservative candidate.” He, too, is sickened at the way the federal government’s spending has just jumped off the chart, from the little daily
abuses to the tens of billions more in new program expenditures. He volunteered his front lawn there in Burlington for an election sign, and this morning he has sent me an email.
“Hi Mr. Turner,” he wrote. “Thanks for coming to my door last night. I am keenly interested in seeing the Conservative party form a majority government. I have always been interested in politics but have never really been an active participant in the process. I am interested in joining the riding association and trying to do a more than just say ‘please put a sign on my lawn’. How much more, I don’t know, but I would like to stay in touch with you.”
Just a small note from a guy in the burbs who has never been a political activist before. But that left a great feeling in my heart. Because I went to his door, because I made the effort to reach out, he is reaching back.
This is how politics should be. And will be.