Election win for Joe Volpe uncertain
[attach]4081[/attach]Heading into the home stretch of the federal campaign, [url=http://www.joeoliver.ca/]Joe Oliver[/url] may be the Conservatives’ best chance at securing a seat in Toronto after being shut out of the 416 in the last federal election.
The race in Eglinton-Lawrence is shaping up to be a hot rematch between Oliver and longtime Liberal incumbent, [url=http://www.joevolpemp.ca/]Joe Volpe[/url], who has represented the riding since 1988.
In the 2008 election, Volpe defeated Oliver by 2,060 votes, his closest race in Eglinton-Lawrence to date. For Oliver, it was the best result of any Conservative hopeful in Toronto during the election.
But despite rumblings early on in the campaign that he would tumble, Volpe said he’s not worried about losing his seat, to anyone, Conservative or not.
“I always run as a concerned candidate who respects adversaries, but I don’t run paranoid,” said Volpe.
Oliver, who has worked in investment banking, will be relying on continued Conservative support in order to take the riding. While some of the other candidates have been focusing on more local issues such as the plan for light rail on Eglinton, Oliver said he has pointed to some of the national policies of Prime Minister Stephen Harper while out on the campaign trail.
“It’s a question of leadership,” Oliver said over the phone. “People have confidence in the job that the prime minister has been doing in managing the economy.”
The Harper government’s strong support of Israel may also be a factor in the race as 17 percent of the riding’s 110,000 people are of Jewish origin. Eleven percent of the population is of Italian background.
Volpe, who was a one-time contender for party leadership, said he recognizes the Conservative presence in the area, but still expects a victory on May 2.
“They’ve always been there, and last time they got their vote out, and we didn’t get all of our vote out,” he said.
While historical data would indicate this is a rematch between the Liberal and Conservative candidates in Eglinton-Lawrence, New Democrats’ hopeful [url=http://justinchatwin.ndp.ca/]Justin Chatwin[/url] said don’t discount him or his party.
“There is avid NDP support in the area,” he said. It’s about inroads and building on the base.
“Our challenge is trying to … show the differences and highlight our policy initiatives when compared to the Greens.”
Chatwin said because of election sign hampering during the last election, he’s chosen to rely on phone calls and social media to garner support.
Chatwin finished just 34 votes ahead of the Green Party candidate Andrew James in 2008, taking 8.4 percent of the total vote.
This time, Green hopeful [url=http://greenparty.ca/campaign/35019]Paul Baker[/url] said the Greens and the NDP may be hurt by strategic voting as voters try to either prevent or put in place a Conservative majority.
“I hear a fair bit of talk about strategic voting,” Baker said. “I tell people they should vote with their heart, they should vote for what they believe in.”
[align=right]— With files from Karolyn Coorsh
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