Rare three way federal election race in Edmonton called 'trench warfare'
EDMONTON -- Three-way federal election battles in Tory-dominated Alberta are about as rare as a Prairie winter with no snow, but in one Edmonton riding this January, both the snow and foregone conclusions are missing.
The Liberal and NDP candidates have been dashing door-to-door in what one called "trench warfare'' to unseat veteran Conservative Rahim Jaffer in Edmonton Strathcona. And even Jaffer concedes that a large undecided vote is adding spice to his bid for re-election Jan. 23.
Jaffer, 34, has won three times and has represented the riding for more than eight years. He won his seat by more than 5,000 votes last time.
The rival parties are trying out new candidates and the race is creating a buzz in a province where the Conservatives are expected to dominate nearly every election contest.
"There is a large undecided swing,'' Jaffer said in an interview at his campaign headquarters. "Anything could happen.''
He said his support among the riding's 84,000 eligible voters is solid, but he believes a lot of people who voted Liberal in the last election may change their vote.
"That's where there's a bit of uncertainty as to whether all of those votes would go towards the NDP or whether some of them would come to us,'' he said. "Or if they just stay home, that's one of the things that we're still not entirely sure of.''
The Liberals finished second in the riding last time, with the New Democrats 2,500 votes behind them. This time the NDP candidate is Linda Duncan, 56, a lawyer and environmentalist who has fought several high-profile battles over coal-fired power plants and contentious dam projects.
Duncan points out the NDP vote has increased substantially in the last three elections.
"Indeed I'm seeing lots of Liberals who are coming over to me, but I'm also seeing plenty of Tories who are upset,'' said Duncan between quick bites of pizza in a campaign office busy with volunteers.
"They don't like Stephen Harper and they think that Jaffer hasn't done anything for them in nearly 10 years.''
The riding is made up mainly of working-class neighbourhoods. It also includes the University of Alberta and the trendy Whyte Avenue district, which is home to many students and young people and also the centre for a large chunk of Edmonton's arts community _ all groups that tend to be left-leaning.
More blog articles on Edmonton Strathcona here.Tags
Canada
Federal Election
Linda Duncan
NDP
Politics
Edmonton
Conservatives
Liberals
Rahim Jaffer
Edmonton Strathcona
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