Latest news with #Hirtle
CBC
24-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
The farming factor and the battle for Kings-Hants
In the federal riding of Kings-Hants, scattered among the typical campaign signs in bright party colours, there are some large signs in an unfamiliar burgundy. "Farmers for Kody," the signs say, referring to Liberal candidate Kody Blois but with no mention of the party. The signs speak to the importance of the agriculture industry in this part of Nova Scotia, as well as the strategy of the incumbent, who is seeking a third term. "There's a lot of farmers in Kings-Hants. Not all are Liberal farmers, of course. Some like the government, some don't, but they generally have supported my work and my candidacy here," Blois said in an interview. He said he came up with the idea for the sign about a year ago, at a time when the Liberal brand was sinking in popularity and well before he was appointed to Prime Minister Mark Carney's cabinet as agriculture minister. Even though the Liberals are now leading in most public opinion polls, political science professor Erin Crandall said Blois's strategy is still sage. Fighting to keep the seat "Any Liberal candidate will be fighting really hard to keep this riding," said Crandall, who works at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., in the heart of Kings-Hants. "Despite the fact that it has been a Liberal riding for 20 years, I don't think anyone here would call it a Liberal riding.… It was a Scott Brison riding," she said, referring to Blois's predecessor who served as a Conservative MP before he was a Liberal, and a Progressive Conservative before that. Crandall said Blois's use of his personal brand, plus the recent Liberal boost, is giving Blois the edge over his Conservative competitor, Joel Hirtle. Hirtle, a one-term councillor for the Municipality of the County of Kings and former tire builder at Michelin, secured the federal Conservative nomination more than a year ago and began unofficially campaigning right away. Old posts drum up controversy Soon after the writ dropped, old tweets by Hirtle in which he criticized the #MeToo movement began circulating online. "As a straight (married) man I have not issued compliments to female coworkers that I believe would be appreciated. "I like your new haircut" suddenly becomes dangerous post #metoo," reads one of his posts from July 2018. In another, he said he would require Bitcoin donations to interact with members of the "#metoo swarm mob," and in another he refers to adherents of #MeToo as "heroines of hypocrisy" and "sultans of slander," among other epithets. The posts drummed up critical chatter online and inspired a small protest against Hirtle in a public park in Wolfville, where a little more than a dozen participants chanted "We do not consent to Hirtle" and "Hirtle has no place in Parliament." Rene Doucet Cottreau, a student at Acadia University, organized the event and said it was partly about Hirtle's past comments, and partly about Hirtle's response — or lack thereof — to them. "[He] is continually refusing to meet with the people that he claims to want to represent," Doucet Cottreau said, referring to Hirtle declining to participate in two local candidates debates. Hirtle also declined to speak with CBC News. "This is about candidate quality both in a professional and personal capacity," said Doucet Cottreau. Doucet Cottreau said he hoped Hirtle would apologize. Hirtle does not appear to have commented publicly on the issue, but the Conservative party told CBC News that he "regrets his imprudent posts from 7 years ago." "Sexual assault and sexual harassment are serious issues that demand equally serious responses. Mr. Hirtle firmly believes such incidents must be properly addressed and perpetrators held accountable," a party spokesperson said in an email. Conservative headwinds Crandall said the matter doesn't seem to be affecting the race. At least, not as significantly as other factors. "I would guess that what's bringing down the local campaign has more to do with the struggles of the national [Conservative] campaign as opposed to perhaps some of the controversy around the candidate," she said. WATCH | Polls analyst Eric Grenier breaks down the parties' standings: Where do the polls stand 1 week from election day? 2 days ago Duration 7:37 Éric Grenier, who runs CBC's Poll Tracker, joins Power & Politics to break down where the parties stand in the polls with just one week until election day. Crandall highlighted that as generations who grew up with social media age into politics, candidates are increasingly having to grapple with old social media posts. "[People] do have to be held accountable for it. But you also have to allow for growth of a person," she said. "What you say when you're 22 is not going to be representative, necessarily, of what you believe when you're 32. And voters will get to decide that. That's the value of the vote." Five names on the ballot The New Democrats have Paul Doerr on the ballot. A professor of history at Acadia University, he ran unsuccessfully in the fall provincial election for the Nova Scotia NDP. He said his career studying and teaching 20th-century European politics and history inspired his run. "I'm very much aware of the dangers of authoritarianism and fascism and the fragility of our democracies. So at that time I wanted to make a contribution. I also wanted to be sure that postelection we have a country with a strong social safety net, including a very strong health-care system," he said in an interview. Green candidate Karen Beazley is a retired professor with Dalhousie's school of resource and environmental studies. At a local debate, she said she's running because party co-leader Elizabeth May's message resonates with her — especially as Canada navigates new international tariffs and the economic fallout. "Democracy and respect for human rights, climate action and collective work for a better world must not be abandoned," she said. The People's Party is running Alexander Cargill, who describes himself on the PPC website as a "key figure" in the Freedom Convoy, which descended on downtown Ottawa in 2022 to protest pandemic protocols and other federal Liberal government policies.
CBC
14-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Liberal, Tory contest in Cumberland-Colchester mirrors national race
Midway through the election campaign, at a local candidates debate in Truro, the Conservative incumbent in Cumberland-Colchester and a first-time Liberal candidate went toe to toe. Liberal Alana Hirtle accused Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of wanting to "cut every program in health care." Conservative Stephen Ellis countered that the claim was "misinformation." Ellis said the Trudeau government's nine consecutive deficit budgets have resulted in "unsustainable" debt, and suggested his party's policies on resource development could counteract the high cost of debt servicing. Hirtle said spending by her party shows that it wants to "invest." Candidates for the NDP and Green Party also participated in the debate, hosted by the Truro and Colchester Chamber of Commerce, though neither drew the ire of any of their competitors. It was emblematic of the two-way race happening on the national stage – a microcosm of which is taking shape in this northern Nova Scotia riding. Ellis runs on affordability, health care Decades ago, the riding might have been considered a blue stronghold, but it hasn't been that way in about 20 years. In that time, voters have moved through Conservative, Independent and Liberal MPs, and have twice dumped incumbents to switch parties. Ellis was first elected in 2021, beating out one-term Liberal MP Lenore Zann. He said he's running again because he wants to help address the high cost of living, which he said is the No. 1 issue he hears about on the doorstep. He also wants to continue the work he started as Conservative health critic. Ellis was a family doctor in Truro for about 20 years until he ran for Parliament in 2021. Health care is managed by provincial governments, but Ellis said provincial "silos" are preventing improvements. "We need to have great leadership at the federal level," he said in an interview following the debate. He said the Liberal government of the past 10 years has not provided that leadership. Hirtle advocates for small business, Carney leadership Hirtle said she's a longtime Liberal supporter and has talked about running for many years, but this is her first go. Some know her for her contributions to fundraising and organizing the construction of a playground and community centre for the community of Portapique in the aftermath of the 2020 mass shooting. Her day job is with the Community Business Development Corporation, a federally funded program that helps small businesses and startups. She said that experience is a big part of what motivated her to run. "People have been going to other parts of the country for a long time," she said in an interview at her campaign office. "It's time to bring them back home and help them to understand that they can start businesses, they can have lives here as well." Another big motivator for Hirtle is Carney. She said many of the voters she's met and listened to during the campaign are predominantly worried about tariffs and threats of annexation from the U.S. President Donald Trump. "[Carney] has got a firm hand on the rudder and he's going to help us through this difficult situation to make sure that we do have the best chance of success," Hirtle said, echoing a dominant campaign message from her party. Data aggregators including and reflect the competition between Ellis and Hirtle. Both had Cumberland-Colchester as a toss-up in the third week of the campaign. Toss-up is still the projection from 338Canada. The Writ, which is run by Eric Grenier, who also runs CBC's Poll Tracker, recently bumped the projection to Conservative-leaning. NDP candidate runs for 13th time No party other than the Liberals or Conservatives has been competitive in Cumberland-Colchester in any recent election, but that doesn't bother NDP candidate Larry Duchesne. Duchesne said he wouldn't bet on himself to win, but he stepped up for the party anyway because he believes in its values and he has lots of campaign experience. Not counting this one, Duchesne has run for the NDP in 12 federal and provincial elections in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island since the 1970s. "I know that even though we don't get elected in all the campaigns we run in, we're making a difference," he said, pointing to dental care and pharmacare, which came out of a Liberal-NDP pact. He said he sees the campaign as an opportunity to talk about the NDP, as well as his "pet" environmental issue, glyphosate spraying. Health Canada says the common herbicide poses no risks to human health when used properly. Duchesne wants Ottawa to do a "stronger investigation into the safety of it." Kelly-Ann Callaghan is running for the Greens. Callaghan lives in Shelburne, N.S., which is more than 200 kilometres from Cumberland-Colchester. She said the Green nomination was contested in her home riding, so she conceded and volunteered to run wherever the party might need her. She said she's running primarily out of concern for widespread housing insecurity and homelessness. Paul Church is running for the People's Party.
