Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 1, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba owned and operated for 110 years. CANADIAN Pembina: 1910 Pembina Hwy • Kildonan: 1555 Regent Ave W • Northgate: 1399 McPhillips St St James: 850 St James St • Bridgwater: 400 Town Rd N Prices effective May 1 to 7, 2025. Offers require use of More Rewards card. See all flyer deals online Hey, Winnipeg! Get your save on with s t o c k u p . s a v e b i g . works out to 4 53 lb 100% WESTERN CANADIAN CHICKEN Western Family Chicken Breast Boneless, Skinless, Frozen, 3 kg Box, 29.99 ea Smokehouse Old Fashioned Ham Smokehouse Memphis Dry Cooked Ribs 13.21/kg 1 49 100g 5 99 lb Purex Bathroom Tissue Selected Varieties, Double 12 Rolls 8 99 ea General Mills Jumbo Cereal Selected Varieties, 1.3 kg $ 7 2 for $ 7 2 for Catelli Pasta (900g) or Gluten-Free (340g) $ 10 3 for Classico Pasta Sauce Selected Varieties, 600 mL 5 99 ea La Cocina Tortilla Chips Selected Varieties, 400g THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM ● A5 NEWS I VOTE C NADA 2025 ‘Voters really responded to that in a very positive way’ MP-elect Jackson gets ovation for defying Tory advice B RANDON — Grant Jackson de- fied advice from his party and it earned him a big round of ap- plause during a debate at Brandon Uni- versity prior to Monday’s federal elec- tion. The cheers came after a panellist told the room that despite pressure from the Conservative Party of Canada not to participate in local debates, Jackson showed up to discuss issues in the Bran- don-Souris riding. “When it was made clear that he did, in fact, make the decision, probably at some potential personal and profession- al cost … voters really responded to that in a very positive way,” said Bran- don University political science Prof. Kelly Saunders, who was a panellist at last week’s debate. “I think good on him for making the decision to do that. It was the right de- cision.” The applause was local to Bran- don-Souris, but the sentiment behind it carries nationwide, Saunders said. A primary frustration for voters today, she said, is that candidates are placed under too much party discipline and voters increasingly feel their repre- sentatives have to toe the party line. Jackson, who resigned as MLA for Spruce Woods in March to run feder- ally, was one of the few Conservative candidates in the country to participate in a constituency debate, panellist Dev- eryn Ross told the audience. His appeal and reputation increased across party lines as he struck that chord with audi- ence members, Saunders told the Bran- don Sun. “That’s exactly what we saw play out,” Saunders said. “I was talking afterwards to people that weren’t ne- cessarily supporters of the Conserv- ative party and they were impressed with what Grant did. I think that just goes to show how desperate we are for that kind of realism in our politicians.” Jackson said his decision wasn’t dif- ficult. He said he was aligned with the Conservative platform and felt confi- dent defending it — but he also sees lo- cal debates as crucial to elections. “I think it is an important opportun- ity to be able to understand who the candidates are that are running,” Jack- son said. “If you’re a voter, it’s an opportun- ity to see how candidates react when they’re questioned and sometimes re- ceive some pushback on an answer or how they articulate their views on a certain issue.” On election night, Jackson won the riding with 62.5 per cent of the vote, finishing nearly 17,500 votes ahead of Liberal candidate Ghazanfar Ali Tarar. NDP candidate Quentin Robinson finished third with 14.4 per cent. Some candidates have taken flak for skipping debates. Sarnia News Today reported last month that Conservative incumbent Marilyn Gladu was the only candidate who was absent at the community’s local debate. Gladu instead submitted a prepared statement, which “was met with a smattering of boos” when it was read at the event. All six other candi- dates in the riding attended the debate, the newspaper reported. Despite her absence, Gladu was re-elected in her riding Monday night. The strategy can reflect poorly on a party, but it also has its upsides, Saun- ders said. With fewer candidates speak- ing off script at debates, a party has an easier time presenting a united, stable message to voters. During last week’s debate, Jackson was questioned for two hours about topics such as taxes, policing and his personal strengths, alongside NDP can- didate Robinson. Between them was an empty chair, laid out for Liberal candi- date Ali Tarar, who did not attend, cit- ing a family medical emergency. — Brandon Sun CONNOR MCDOWELL LIAM PATTISON / THE BRANDON SUN Brandon-Souris NDP candidate Quentin Robinson (left) makes a point while Conservative candidate Grant Jackson — who was advised by the party to skip debates — listens during the all-candidates debate last Wednesday. TIM SMITH/THE BRANDON SUN FILES Jackson answers questions at his Brandon election headquarters after winning Monday. Liberal who beat Poilievre says he just knocked on doors OTTAWA — Bruce Fanjoy says he achieved some- thing unexpected in Monday’s election — the de- feat of a high-profile Conservative leader in his own riding — simply by showing up on doorsteps and paying attention to what voters in Carleton were telling him. Sitting outside at a café in Manotick, Ont., on Wednesday, Fanjoy said he wasn’t surprised by his win over Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre because he knew how hard his team had worked and how many hours they had put into the race. “We’ve been at this for a long time,” said Fanjoy, who has famously knocked on more than 15,000 doors in his riding since he began campaigning two years ago. “I felt good about our chances.” Fanjoy said he knew he’d be a contender in the riding and the early results on election night were “very encouraging.” “I thought, OK, OK, we’re right in this,” said Fanjoy, who was leading Poilievre throughout the night. “As the night wore on, I was confident.” Fanjoy said he went to bed at about 3:30 a.m. ET Tuesday morning. A little over an hour later, he said, he got the call confirming that he had won. “I felt that it was coming. I just needed to be patient,” he said, adding that people love an under- dog story. “But still, it’s a relief.” Fanjoy won Carleton by a margin of 4,315 votes. Poilievre was first elected in 2004 and has won in the suburban Ottawa riding six subsequent times over the last 21 years. He took the Conservative party reins in 2022, winning the leadership by a wide margin on the first ballot. He has a reputation for being a very effective Opposition leader, with a penchant for pointed attacks in question period. He has also proven to be a divisive figure. Polls during the election campaign consistently showed he had negative personal approval ratings, par- ticularly among women. Fanjoy said Poilievre neglected his constitu- ents. “I think that he took the riding for granted,” he said. “Not just between elections. But in this elec- tion there was no evidence of a very active cam- paign from him until it was too late, last week, when they realized that this was going to be closer than they thought. “It’s been the pattern of how he’s represented Carleton for the last number of years. He’s taken us for granted and nobody likes to feel taken for granted. And that came back and played a huge role in this campaign.” Fanjoy said he started reaching out to Carleton constituents before the campaign even began. He said moderate Conservatives in the riding seemed unhappy with the negative and divisive politics he attributes to Poilievre’s campaign. Fanjoy said his sense is that people want to see politicians work together. Asked about his future political aspirations, Fanjoy said he just wants to be a “really strong” MP for Carleton. “They haven’t had one for a while,” he said, add- ing that he will focus on ensuring his constituents have access to government programs and servi- ces. “I don’t know if I’ll be asked to do more, take on more national responsibilities. But first and fore- most, I just want to be a strong representative for all of Carleton.” Fanjoy’s LinkedIn profile says he’s a retired business professional focused on sustainability and climate change. He has worked for business- es like Deloitte and Ceridian and has also lived in Halifax and Winnipeg. In 2022, he was featured in the Ottawa Citizen for building what he called an “exceptionally sus- tainable home.” Fanjoy said that in recent years, he’s been in- volved in several community boards trying to im- prove things like road safety, sailing and biking. He said politics is a “big change” but he’s look- ing forward to it. “I’m going from an otherwise fairly quiet life to a very public life, but you know I feel good about what we’ve done both for Carleton and for the country,” he said. “I’m not nervous.” A social media post of Fanjoy’s from January 2024 has been recirculating since Monday. In it, he responds to a critic who said he couldn’t beat Poilievre, saying: “Watch me.” “I remember when I originally posted that, which interestingly enough was on the first anni- versary of when I announced that I was going to seek the nomination,” Fanjoy said. “It’s important to believe in oneself.” — The Canadian Press CATHERINE MORRISON SPENCER COLBY / THE CANADIAN PRESS Newly minted MP Bruce Fanjoy says he had been campaigning for two years prior to ousting Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in the Carleton riding Monday. ;