The adventures of door-to-door campaigning in an election

Campaigns are won on the doorstep.

It’s a common phrase familiar to anyone in politics.

No matter what new technology is available to a candidate, nothing beats the personal touch of knocking on the door to discuss politics and gauge if a household will support a campaign. It’s one of the oldest tactics used, and it’s still thriving in each of the 61 constituencies ahead of Monday’s provincial election.

The race in Saskatoon Eastview is expected to be a particularly tight one after Daryl Cooper resigned three weeks before voting day after some of his social media posts and interactions linked to conspiracy group QAnon surfaced online.

Saskatchewan NDP candidate Matt Love had to win a nomination last year well before the election was called. He feels like he’s never stopped campaigning.

“I’ve easily clocked over one million steps,” Love said when asked about the distance he has covered recently. “An average day is probably 12 to 17 kilometres, and there were days in the summer when there was more than that.”

Love figures he has been door-knocking 90 of the past 100 days. That’s certainly not the case for Chris Guerette, who replaced Cooper on the ballot on Oct. 4.

She had to make up for the lost time in a hurry.

“I heard on one weekend, one particular volunteer had clocked in 28 kilometres in a day,” she said. “I count doors — and I’ve done all of them at least once, so that’s 7,000 doors.”

Aside from colourful interactions or even forming relationships with residents, all those steps along the campaign trail wear out footwear faster than anything else.

“I don’t know if I will be able to keep wearing them afterwards because they’re looking pretty used,” Guerette said of her trusted walking boots. “They will last at least three days, but I’m not sure after that.”

Love prefers to alternate his footwear between a pair of Blundstones and a pair of Lems running shoes.

“The best strategy is to cycle through different pairs of shoes,” Love said. “I like to switch it up every day or two and that kind of helps me feel fresh and ready to hit the road.”

Knocking on door after door can also lead to some interesting adventures. Some people may answer the door in a towel, but Love said his favourites are when a person doesn’t answer.

“I know that they’re just on the other side, or maybe they’re right in front of the window and we make eye contact,” Love said. “Then the question becomes, ‘How long do I wait?’

“It’s those awkward moments of just standing there.”

Guerette’s first name leads many people to believe the Sask. Party’s candidate in Saskatoon Eastview is a man, so she always has some explaining to do when they realize she is the candidate.

Candidates must also beware of dogs when they’re knocking on screen doors.

“I had my head down and there was a dog that jumped on the other side of the screen — and I’m sure it wasn’t a big dog, but it certainly felt like a big dog,” she said. “I totally let out the biggest yelp and I’m thankful that nobody recorded it.”

Another unadvertised aspect of the political ground game is the time spent alone. While there are plenty of volunteers assisting candidates, the brunt of the door-knocking is a solo journey.

That allows Love to work on his singing voice, and his favourite tunes this campaign are from Disney’s Moana.

“For some reason, I’ve had the soundtrack of Moana just stuck in my head. I found that in between houses I’m out-loud singing the soundtrack going door to door,” he said.

With a few days to go until voting day there are more candidate adventures to be had, but be sure that underneath those layers of sweaters, mittens and facemasks are candidates who have walked hundreds of kilometres to drum up support.