Latest news with #Marland
CBC
16-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Lawn signs, local forums — how candidates communicate with voters
The federal election campaign is past the halfway point, with election day less than two weeks away. But while many voters will watch the party leaders' debates tonight and tomorrow, they will ultimately cast a ballot for a local candidate. While campaign lawn signs featuring candidates' names are in full bloom, local debates are few and far between this election. Are these long-standing practices still relevant in the social media age? "I'm a firm believer that election signs are doing a public service," said Alex Marland, a political scientist and professor at Acadia University. "When it comes to debates, that's a totally other affair." Fewer debates a common trend Only a few Edmonton-area ridings have debates or multi-candidate forums scheduled. My Radio 580 held a Punjabi-language radio debate on April 11, featuring three candidates from Edmonton Southeast — Conservative Jagsharan Singh Mahal, NDP candidate Harpreet Grewal and Liberal candidate (and current Edmonton mayor) Amarjeet Sohi. In St. Albert-Sturgeon River, all five candidates in that riding participated in an election forum on April 2. In the riding of Edmonton Centre, a debate organized by the Wîhkwêntôwin Community League is taking place Wednesday. All 10 candidates running in the riding were invited, and nine have confirmed attendance, with the exception of Conservative candidate Sayid Ahmed. Colten Bishop, the events manager for the community league, said the campaign told organizers that it was committed to door knocking and unable to attend. "And we respect their decision," he said. Based on the RSVPs for the free event, Bishop said they're expecting close to a capacity crowd of 200. That enthusiasm was also apparent in the responses from the campaigns that confirmed. "They were very quick to respond," said Bishop. "We've even had candidates that have had to shift their schedules around quite significantly so they could be a part of this." The diminishing importance of local debates of forums is a trend playing out beyond Alberta, according to Marland. Debates are "adversarial by nature," and candidates might be wary of getting ganged up on — particularly incumbents. "And in an age of social media and people having smartphones, the risk is very high of them saying something or a controversy emerging that is going to damage their prospects," said Marland. By contrast, he said the leaders' debates are a "focusing event — they are the time when most people start really paying attention to the campaign." A 'low cost' form of communication Election signs, however, are still a useful tool. At a minimum, they make sure that even people who might not follow the news are aware an election is taking place. John Pracejus, a marketing professor at the University of Alberta, said campaign signs can help increase awareness of a local candidate's name. They can also have a "bandwagon" effect — making it seem like a candidate is so popular, they must be worth considering voting for. Partisan signs can be a target of theft or vandalism during election campaigns. Nevertheless, Pracejus said they offer considerable value for money in terms of messaging. Outdoor signs "are actually a relatively low cost way of communicating simple messages, and I don't think that's changed," he said. "I think the impact of digital outlets and the digital platforms like Meta and Google have really largely been on radio, television, newspapers, magazines, things like that that really don't have a very big chunk of consumer attention anymore." Not only do physical signs avoid any algorithmic manipulation by social media platforms, they also cut through individualized silos of media consumption — one of the few mediums that can still do so in the digital age, noted Pracejus. Those polarized echo chambers are also Marland believes voters are not well served by adversarial local debates. "What should be happening at the local level is people should be talking about town halls, they should be talking about meet-the-candidate events — things not involving aggression [or] polarization, but instead, encourage meeting people and having good conversations."
CBC
10-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
MP or PM? What New Brunswickers will be thinking about at the ballot box
Social Sharing Fredericton resident Brady Green says when he thinks about how he will vote in the upcoming election, his local candidates are top of mind. "I think people should be voting for the person who matters more in their community — the person who's going to be doing more for … wherever they live," Green said. But not everyone feels that way. Preston Harper, who lives in Oromocto, said he doesn't care who is on the ballot locally — his priority is seeing the federal government switch hands. Barb Hammond Roy, who lives in Fredericton, wants the Liberals to stay in power, feels similarly about her local candidates and she thinks most others agree. "People do identify more with Carney than the local people," she said. Alex Marland, a political scientist at Acadia University, said that according to the research, the majority of Canadians will be thinking on a national level in a federal election campaign. Voters will be most likely thinking about party leaders, the parties themselves and possibly party-specific issues and policies, he said. WATCH | What some New Brunswickers say about voting local in a federal race: Does the name on the ballot really matter? 24 minutes ago Duration 2:00 Alex Marland, a Nova Scotia-based political scientist, says research shows voters tend to focus more on policies, the party and the party leader during a federal election. But there are some cases where a local candidate could make the difference. But in terms of local candidates, Marland said it really only makes a difference in close races. "The problem is, for political parties, they have no idea where the close races are," he said. "Some you can tell. So it doesn't make a lot of sense, you know, for the Conservatives, or frankly, for any party, to spend a lot of resources in Alberta, where a lot of people are going to vote Conservative. "But it does make sense to compete in New Brunswick, because ... election polling suggests that some of these seats could flip depending on the amount of local activity." However, people won't be thinking about their local candidates without being activated to do so, said Marland. If a local candidate is engaging with people — through lawn signs, donations, volunteering, door-knocking — that may motivate voters to start giving more thought to the candidate. In Atlantic Canada, Marland said people often have deep attachments to their communities because ridings aren't necessarily as densely-populated as they are in big cities. As a result, he said people may have more of a connection with their local candidates. "If you're in a big city, let's say Toronto, and you're in a coffee shop, you can look around the coffee shop, and at any given time, most of those people are not your constituents," said Marland. "On the other hand, if you were to go into a … community store in a rural area in Atlantic Canada, you're going to go in and you're going to know the person working behind the counter." And Marland said research shows that personal communication has far more of an impact than communication through "mass media or electronic means." Marland said it's not likely someone will shift their party allegiance in order to vote for a local candidate they like or know personally. "If local candidate factors really mattered, we would see far more Canadians being predisposed to voting independent," said Marland. "Because … even if you like the local candidate, if somebody is with a political party, they're still beholden to that party's kind of demands and restrictions on what they can do in terms of advocacy. "So you might like playing darts with somebody, but if they get elected with a party, they can't really represent you the same way an independent can."
CBC
08-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Provincial budget to be tabled Wednesday amid tariff chaos, Liberal leadership race
Newfoundland and Labrador's provincial budget is generally among the biggest political events of the year, but a trade war, a Liberal leadership race and a federal election are casting a long shadow over this year's fiscal plan. The budget, which provincial Finance Minister Siobhan Coady will unveil on Wednesday, comes less than a month before Premier Andrew Furey will make his exit, and a new premier — either John Hogan or John Abbott — will take his place. Political scientist Alex Marland says the premier still has the chance to put his stamp on this year's budget. "He could put forward ideas that end up being legacy pieces for himself. But there's no question what he's probably unlikely to do is do anything that will really make things difficult for his successor," Marland said in an interview with CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show. The budget lands in the middle of a federal election, which itself is under the shadow of the ongoing trade war with the United States — and the possibility of an economic recession. "It's going to be very hard to sustain public interest when everybody is consumed about what's happening in the United States. It's just the reality of things. Or even what's happening in Ottawa," Marland said. Still, Marland said, the ongoing economic uncertainty — and an upcoming provincial election — means the 2025 budget likely won't be hard on the wallet. "It would be almost tone deaf of any government in this country to move forward with a budget that doesn't recognize that the public is experiencing economic distress," he said. According to data from the University of Toronto, Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest rate of severe food insecurity in Canada in 2023 — with 26 per cent of people having difficulty accessing food. Josh Smee, CEO of Food First N.L., says Newfoundland and Labrador is doing more to address poverty than some other provinces — with a caveat. "It's still not enough to make a big enough dent in this," he said. For several years, Food First N.L., along with other advocacy organizations, have been asking the provincial government to index social support programs to inflation, but that hasn't happened yet. "It's a hard thing to bring into a conversation because it's a little bit … technical or academic," he said. "But it actually makes a huge difference." Uncertainty: word of the year? U.S. President Donald Trump announced new reciprocal tariffs on countries around the world last week, but eased back on Canada. Jessica McCormick, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour (NLFL), says she breathed a sigh of relief, but is still bracing for what could come next. "We're getting a bit of a reprieve from the most immediate and direct impacts, but I don't think anybody is genuinely thinking that we're on the other side of this," she said. McCormick said the fallout from the U.S.-Canada trade war was a central theme in the NLFL's provincial budget submission, which asks the government to develop a workforce strategy for megaprojects like Churchill Falls, invest in public services and continue holding roundtable discussions on the response to the tariffs. "We need our governments to show leadership and have a clear plan for how we're going to support working people in this province to alleviate … those cost of living pressures that people were already facing," she said. So far Newfoundland and Labrador hasn't experienced job losses seen in other parts of the country, but Rhonda Tulk-Lane, CEO of the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce, says business owners are still grappling with uncertainty. "That's really been, say, the word of the day, the month, the year, and it's a word you don't want to hear when you're working and supporting the business community," she said. Tulk-Lane said her organization's asks include cutting regulatory red tape, eliminating the payroll tax, reviewing the current tax system and making a plan to get back to a balanced budget. Last year's budget didn't contain any new taxes, tax increases or fee increases — but the deficit was also much worse than expected, at $433 million. "Businesses have to do it everyday. Citizens have to do it. We have to spend within our means.…Ten out of the last 12 budgets have been deficits. So we really need accountability and fiscal responsibility," Tulk-Lane said. Coady is scheduled to give her budget speech at 2 p.m. NT on Wednesday.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Provincial budget to be tabled Wednesday amid tariff chaos, Liberal leadership race
Finance Minister Siobhan Coady is scheduled to unveil the 2025 provincial budget at 2 p.m. NT on Wednesday. (Danny Arsenault/CBC) Newfoundland and Labrador's provincial budget is generally among the biggest political events of the year, but a trade war, a Liberal leadership race and a federal election are casting a long shadow over this year's fiscal plan. The budget, which provincial Finance Minister Siobhan Coady will unveil on Wednesday, comes less than a month before Premier Andrew Furey will make his exit, and a new premier — either John Hogan or John Abbott — will take his place. Political scientist Alex Marland says the premier still has the chance to put his stamp on this year's budget. "He could put forward ideas that end up being legacy pieces for himself. But there's no question what he's probably unlikely to do is do anything that will really make things difficult for his successor," Marland said in an interview with CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show. The budget lands in the middle of a federal election, which itself is under the shadow of the ongoing trade war with the United States — and the possibility of an economic recession. "It's going to be very hard to sustain public interest when everybody is consumed about what's happening in the United States. It's just the reality of things. Or even what's happening in Ottawa," Marland said. Still, Marland said, the ongoing economic uncertainty — and an upcoming provincial election — means the 2025 budget likely won't be hard on the wallet. "It would be almost tone deaf of any government in this country to move forward with a budget that doesn't recognize that the public is experiencing economic distress," he said. According to data from the University of Toronto, Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest rate of severe food insecurity in Canada in 2023 — with 26 per cent of people having difficulty accessing food. Josh Smee, CEO of Food First N.L., says the provincial government's social support isn't doing enough to reduce poverty in Newfoundland and Labrador. (Abby Cole/CBC) Josh Smee, CEO of Food First N.L., says Newfoundland and Labrador is doing more to address poverty than some other provinces — with a caveat. "It's still not enough to make a big enough dent in this," he said. For several years, Food First N.L., along with other advocacy organizations, have been asking the provincial government to index social support programs to inflation, but that hasn't happened yet. "It's a hard thing to bring into a conversation because it's a little bit … technical or academic," he said. "But it actually makes a huge difference." Uncertainty: word of the year? U.S. President Donald Trump announced new reciprocal tariffs on countries around the world last week, but eased back on Canada. Jessica McCormick, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour (NLFL), says she breathed a sigh of relief, but is still bracing for what could come next. "We're getting a bit of a reprieve from the most immediate and direct impacts, but I don't think anybody is genuinely thinking that we're on the other side of this," she said. Jessica McCormick is the president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour. (Darrell Roberts/CBC) McCormick said the fallout from the U.S.-Canada trade war was a central theme in the NLFL's provincial budget submission, which asks the government to develop a workforce strategy for megaprojects like Churchill Falls, invest in public services and continue holding roundtable discussions on the response to the tariffs. "We need our governments to show leadership and have a clear plan for how we're going to support working people in this province to alleviate … those cost of living pressures that people were already facing," she said. So far Newfoundland and Labrador hasn't experienced job losses seen in other parts of the country, but Rhonda Tulk-Lane, CEO of the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce, says business owners are still grappling with uncertainty. "That's really been, say, the word of the day, the month, the year, and it's a word you don't want to hear when you're working and supporting the business community," she said. Rhonda Tulk-Lane is the CEO of the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce. (Darrell Roberts/CBC) Tulk-Lane said her organization's asks include cutting regulatory red tape, eliminating the payroll tax, reviewing the current tax system and making a plan to get back to a balanced budget. Last year's budget didn't contain any new taxes, tax increases or fee increases — but the deficit was also much worse than expected, at $433 million. "Businesses have to do it everyday. Citizens have to do it. We have to spend within our means.…Ten out of the last 12 budgets have been deficits. So we really need accountability and fiscal responsibility," Tulk-Lane said. Coady is scheduled to give her budget speech at 2 p.m. NT on Wednesday. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Council agrees 4.99% tax rise and warns of cuts
A council leader has warned of "greater challenges ahead" after his authority agreed a council tax rise of 4.99% from April. Labour's Pete Marland confirmed Milton Keynes City Council needed to impose the maximum increase possible without a referendum "just to get anywhere close to balancing the budget". He said the authority would also have to make savings of £20m to balance its books and further cuts of "at least £32m" in the next three years. Councillors also voted through plans to cut about 100 jobs, although some staff will be redeployed into new roles in adult social care or children's services. The council has made savings of more than £200m in the last 15 years with more than two-thirds of its budget now spent on care and support for vulnerable children. The authority said it would need an extra £8m to pay for more residential placements for children with complex needs, and £6m to support vulnerable adults. The number of children being taken into care or needing support has also added over £13m to its financial pressures. The council, which has a budget of £286m, said it would continue weekly black bin collections but would introduce a charge for residents who want a second green bin. Marland said a balanced budget was "only possible because of difficult decisions taken... due to a £10m overspend in children's services and the 6% uplift in government funding from the Labour government". He said: "The cost of adult social care and children's care and temporary accommodation are rising and putting this council in a perilous financial position." He added: "We will have to rethink how many of the services are delivered by this council and the authority will not look the same in five years time, regardless of who is in charge." Liberal Democrat opposition leader Jane Carr said: "I have said many times we are in a crisis and we saw it coming. "We could have predicted it but, nevertheless, the shock when it came has derailed even our new government, leaving many councils across the country with hopes for change dashed." She added: "It is what comes next that really bothers me, for I fear it is already too late to save some of our services, particularly non-statutory." The Conservatives, lead by group leader Shazna Muzammil, voted against the budget. She claimed it "falls short of supporting our young, supporting our elderly and supporting our most vulnerable". "The financial mismanagement on display is unacceptable and comes at a significant cost to our taxpayers," she said. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Milton Keynes Council Draft Budget 25/26 Milton Keynes Council Budget Agenda Councils miss out on fast-track devolution deal Town 'frustrated' by delays in reopening road Residents upset over pruning of 130-year-old trees
