Like the night before Christmas, the provincial election is only one sleep away—and the anticipation is beginning to mount for all the candidates.
For incumbent Howard Hampton, the campaign trail has become a happy road after a good performance in the provincial leaders’ debate last Tuesday (Sept. 23).
He believes Premier Ernie Eves and his Tories are now out of contention, making the election a two-party race and possibly leaving the door open for an NDP opposition or even minority government.
For Liberal candidate Geoff McClain, the past week also has been exciting, watching his party take a commanding lead in public opinion polls province-wide, suggesting a large Liberal majority government is inevitable come tomorrow night.
He’s even taken a page out of local PC candidate Cathe Hoszowski’s campaign strategy book suggesting that an MPP from the party in power would do Kenora-Rainy River constituents a lot of good.
As for Hoszowski, she’s as confident as ever that her focus on northern issues is ringing true with voters across the riding—and that a strong silent majority of voters in the province still will help to lead the Tories to a third-straight victory on election night.
Which candidate is right, and will ultimately win this riding, only will be determined by what happens tomorrow night.
Hoszowski believes the entire riding, except maybe pro-Hampton Fort Frances, remains up for grabs. She has spent a lot of time in the northern portion of the riding and believes she has garnered a lot of support from Sioux Lookout and Dryden to Kenora.
She believes her support from former PC MPP Leo Bernier should be enough to bring her over the top in Kenora.
But McClain also believes he has what he needs to win Kenora. He has the support of former Dryden mayor Roger Valley, and is well-known in the Kenora area as mayor of Ear Falls and with his work in economic development in the Red Lake area.
For his part, Hampton seems to have the vast majority of support in Fort Frances, but he also traditionally does well among First Nations voters.
Hampton, meanwhile, has spent the last few days of the campaign throwing his support behind some of the 30 ridings around the province he believes the NDP can win on their way to forming—at a minimum—the official opposition.
He’ll be back in Fort Frances tomorrow, after a quick trip tonight to Kenora, to vote and then to await the election results at La Place Rendez-Vous.
Both Hoszowski and McClain will spend election night in Kenora, possibly in hopes their presence will help bring them the much-needed votes there.
McClain insists that being in Kenora is the logical location for him seeing as his election headquarters are there. He plans on voting in Ear Falls that morning before spending the day in the largest centre in the district.
Hoszowski admitted she would rather not being in Hampton’s hometown on election night, especially if she pulls off the upset. She also indicated her strongest support—from the likes of Bernier—has come from Kenora and she feels it’s only fair to go there to wait for the results.
Dan King, the Green Party candidate for Kenora-Rainy River, failed to make an appearance in the riding during the campaign but still will be on the ballot tomorrow.
Voting here begins at 8 a.m. and closes at 7 p.m. Remember to take your enumeration care, or proof of identification and residency, to the polling station.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
