By Emily Stonehouse

I am not sure if it’s a direct result of the actions coming from our neighbours to the south, but there’s been a shift in the feelings around these elections lately.

The wind is a little chillier, the attitudes a little cooler.

So much of it no longer feels political; not red and blue and opposite sides of the room.

It feels personal.

I attended the all-candidates meeting in Lindsay this past week. Their Chamber of Commerce put the event on, and it was standing-room-only, with dozens being turned away at the door due to capacity of the space.

It shows a need for the candidates to be present in all parts of the riding, but unfortunately, it is not up to them to coordinate these gatherings. I know a few local grassroots groups tested the waters to see if something could be done locally, but in a tight turnaround of an election, their efforts fell flat.

It should be the responsibility of the chamber (or a similar organization) to address this gap that so many constituents will now fall through based on lack of knowledge. Hopefully in elections to come, our local chamber can take some initiative to get the ball rolling, as their efforts were entirely absent this time around.

But I digress.

The room at Pie Eyed Monk in Lindsay was filled to the rafters with interested voters.

That’s a good thing.

But in the presence of two highly prepared candidates, I was reminded that it was in actuality, not an all candidates meeting.

It was a half candidates meeting. Only two out of the four names on the ballot showed up.

Nell Thomas of the Liberal Party and Jamie Schmale for Conservatives were eager, prepared, and professional. While I was prepared for quips and squawks, the two candidates played off one another with ease and relative comfort. It was enlightening. Honestly, it was a joy to watch.

And while Schmale stuck to his guns (literally. He was very adamant about ‘proper’ punishment to local criminals), Thomas was able to snap back with educated and thorough responses.

I think we’ve been missing this in politics. The natural rapport, the dialogue, the questions and answers that ricochet off one another. That meeting felt personal. It felt real.

The NDP candidate in our riding was not present, and while that’s discouraging, it’s not surprising. If anything, perhaps their absence could mitigate the risk of splitting the left vote.

The Peoples Party of Canada rep was also a no-show, despite plastering the region with their purple signs. If you take a second to look at their platforms, they are anti-trans, anti-climate change, anti-multiculturalism, pro-guns, pro-life, and pro-racism. I’m not surprised they didn’t show up.

Because to them, it’s not about politics, it’s all personal.

There is a time and place for politics to be personal. I used to think it was all or nothing, but as I have waded the waters of yet another election and gotten to know the faces behind it, I realize that the lines are constantly blurred. You cannot have politics without the people, and people without the politics.

So as we head into our voting stages, we need to think about who chooses to put people – all people – first.