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Just a few hours after the writ dropped to start his 15th campaign to be elected into federal government, Ralph Goodale said that he was feeling very good.
“The 40 days are going to be very vigorous, filled from morning to night and sometimes through the night. But campaigns are always interesting and exciting. I’ve gone through quite a few of them in my political life and I’m looking forward to this one just like I’ve anticipated all the others,” he said.
The election date had been known for years, so Goodale said he and his team had been working on the campaign for a while. He said they’ve already knocked on more doors in his constituency than they can count.
He’s also thinking ahead, putting teams together to be able to take voters to the polls if they need it.
Whether campaigning fresh off of a term in government, or a term in opposition, Goodale said there are three things that are fundamental.
He said you can’t make any presumptions about the voters’ intentions; you have to go out and earn their trust and their vote. He said the biggest part of it is voter contact.
Two: “You need to work very hard and take advantage of every moment in the day and every opportunity you have to talk to voters and communicate and connect — so there’s no room for any downtime.”
And he said you have to stay close to your voters and constituency, go to events and listen carefully. Goodale said you can’t just do that during the campaign, you have to do it all the time — and anyone who goes to events in Regina, whether a fair or a charity walk, has likely seen Goodale shaking hands, talking and sometimes giving greetings from the government.
Though he has seen a lot of campaigns come and go, Goodale said it doesn’t get old. There may be some things he gets used to, but “there’s always something unique that makes it interesting every day.”
Goodale is running to keep the seat he has held since 1993, as a Liberal in the Regina-Wascana riding. He’s up against the Conservative Party’s Michael Kram, who ran against Goodale in the last election, Tamela Friesen with the Green Party and Mario Milanovski under the People’s Party of Canada.
The NDP has yet to nominate a candidate in the riding.
