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GUELPH–It's summertime and the living is easy. That is, unless you are a would-be politician wearing out shoe leather going door to door in these dog days of August.
Candidates in the federal by-election in Guelph are finding themselves scrambling for the public's attention during the lead-up to the Sept. 8 vote – just one week after Labour Day, when Canadian historically start thinking about things other than vacations.
While lawns and boulevards are dotted with signs for the Conservatives, Liberals, New Democrats and Greens, many voters are focused on just about anything other than politics.
"I've just got back from vacation," said Kara Mackie, 32, of Guelph, as she tried desperately to herd her two children into the Stone Road Mall.
But she promised to read the information from the four main candidates: the Conservatives' Gloria Kovach, the Liberals' Frank Valeriote, New Democrat Tom King and the Greens' Mike Nagy.
Many other mall-goers dressed in their summer garb simply waved their hands in a dismissive fashion, saying they had absolutely no interest in talking about the by-election or politics.
"I will admit that a summer campaign is difficult," said Valeriote, 53, a Guelph lawyer and long-time Catholic board trustee and activist.
University of Guelph political scientist William Christian guessed that Prime Minister Stephen Harper had a low turnout in mind when he picked the summer to hold a by-election.
"It wouldn't be out of the question for the Conservative to win this with a small turnout" of around 15 per cent, he said, adding that the Tory party is better organized and financed than the three other main parties.
According to the candidates, when people do engage them, they talk about the economy, especially job losses, the environment, taxes, health care and social housing, among other things.
Like much of southern Ontario, Guelph has been hard hit by layoffs in the manufacturing sector, especially in automotive parts companies, all of which has made many residents nervous about their future.
Make no mistake: Guelph is very much a battleground, whether people are paying attention or not.
The Liberals are hoping to hang onto the riding, which Brenda Chamberlain held since 1993 before retiring earlier this year, while the Conservatives are licking their lips at the prospect of taking back the riding, held by former Mulroney cabinet minister William Winegard from 1984 to 1993, when the Progressive Conservative government was decimated.
The Conservatives are doing everything possible to make that happen, including having Tory MPs from as far away as Alberta and B.C. send information flyers to Guelph denouncing the Liberals' controversial carbon tax proposal.
However, the Conservatives in Guelph are dogged by their own internal problems resulting from the national party last fall unceremoniously dumping nominated candidate Brent Barr, a 40-year-old Guelph businessman. He was later replaced with Kovach, 47, a long-time city councillor whom Barr beat handily for the nomination in spring 2007.
"We were all absolutely stunned," at the candidate replacement, said Winegard, 84, who nominated Barr.
"There is still a lot of resentment. ... Guelph is not the kind of riding where you come in and start pushing people around," he told the Toronto Star, adding that Valeriote should benefit in part from the rift among Conservatives.
In an interview with the Star, Kovach downplayed the division, saying no one had even brought it to her attention while canvassing or elsewhere.
"That's certainly not what I am hearing from people just generally or at the doors. I mean it's not an issue. They are focusing on the real issues that affect the people of Guelph," said the registered nurse.
Valeriote has his own cross to bear, and that is to promote Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion's carbon tax, which Dion says will be revenue neutral and designed to wean Canada off carbon-based fuel, but which critics say would drive up the cost of heating and force people on fixed incomes out of their homes.
The Guelph by-election and two others, in the Quebec ridings of Saint-Lambert and Westmount-Ville-Marie, will give the Liberals a chance to test drive Dion's Green Shift plan before the main event, a federal general election that could come as early as this fall.
"Anything bold or innovative needs a period where it is proven just like when people thought the Earth was flat and some people came forward and said it was round and they were rejected," Valeriote said.
Regardless, the environment or any aspect of it is a good issue to run on in Guelph given that the city had an environmental conscience long before it became fashionable, leading the way on things like recycling and garbage separation.
The Greens' Nagy, 46, said his party's chances of winning its first seat in Parliament have never been better. This is his third federal campaign dating back to 2004.
"The environment is always in the top two issues of Canadians, and Guelph is a very green-minded city ... so we are in a very good position ... to win this by-election. It gives us a very historic and unique chance to be the first Green MPs to be elected in Canada," Nagy said.
Arguably the most colourful of the candidates is King, 65, who, among other things, created and starred in the CBC Radio social/political satire The Dead Dog Café.
Half Greek and Cherokee, the American-born King is a lifelong activist in the native movement, author, teacher and broadcaster and all-around storyteller, who is making his first foray into formal politics. He still finds humour in just about everything that happens to him day to day.
"There was one of the magic moments the other day," he said with a chuckle, recalling how a little 4-year-old girl asked him 'Did you wet your pants?' " when he showed up at the doorstep soaking wet.
He said, on a serious note, that people are very concerned about the price of gasoline and taxes, the state of the environment, public health and especially job loss.
"I suspect that people are afraid that once those jobs leaves they are not going to get them back," King said.
