The Current - Elections can be won or lost in the 905. What do voters there care about?

Episode Date: April 10, 2025

Many Canadian elections can be won or lost in the 905, the area that encircles Toronto and has more ridings than some provinces. As part of The Current’s election series, Crossroads: Coast to Coast with Canadian Voters, Matt Galloway travels across this influential region to hear what matters most to voters.In Oshawa, the automotive industry that once generated so much wealth is under fresh threat from U.S. tariffs. Galloway talks to local union president Jeff Gray, as well as people at either end of their careers: students graduating into an uncertain economy, and retired workers who say they won’t take Trump’s tariffs lying down. Further west we visit a warehouse in Mississauga, where tariffs are already affecting the billions in imports and exports that travel through the city every day.Then, a diverse range of immigrant communities make up the 905, with political debates playing out across different cultures — and the local media they consume. We discuss the conversations these communities are having with Yudhvir Jaswal of Y Media, one of the biggest media outlets for South Asians in Canada, and Andrea Chun, host of the Chinese-language radio show A1 Newsbeat.And at the Rainbow Restaurant in Oshawa, Galloway sits down with four voters of different political stripes who all say they’re questioning their traditional loyalties in what they see as a high-stakes election.

When they predict we'll fall, we rise to the challenge. When they say we're not a country, we stand on guard. This land taught us to be brave and caring, to protect our values, to leave no one behind. Canada is on the line, and it's time to vote as though our country depends on it, because like never before, it does. I'm Jonathan Pedneau, co-leader of the Green Party of Canada.

This election, each vote makes a difference. Authorized by the Registeredleader of the Green Party of Canada. This election, each vote makes a difference. Authorized by the registered agent of the Green Party of Canada. This is a CBC Podcast. The Rink is packed to the rafters. It is game five and fans are feeling very confident. The Oshawa Generals are going to take the series. Oh yeah, we'll do it tonight. We've been brimped in the last two games and turned them on so we didn't come tonight for nothing.

The City of Oshawa sits at the eastern edge of the belt around Toronto. It's named for its area code 905. There are 30 odd ridings in this area up for grabs. That's more than many provinces and those ridings swing. The Generals jerseys may be red but many people at this game say they're voting blue. Well I think the Liberals had 10 years to try and do something and they did nothing good so it's time for someone else. Look I like Mark Carney but I question his affiliation with Trudeau for the last 5 years and you know what I think we're due for a change.

Liberals are out and Trump's out. It has to be conservative. The only ones that can keep things going. The Oshawa Generals are named for the team's very first sponsor, the company that's been at the heart of this town for more than a hundred years. People of Oshawa have a lot of pride in the city. Yeah. That's partly because of General Motors, right?

And I mean, General Motors was always good to the citizens of Oshawa. Pride runs deep in Oshawa. Deep, oh yeah. General Motors still always good to the citizens of Oshawa. Pride runs deep in Oshawa. General Motors still builds trucks here. A huge factory at the south end of the city employs more than 3,000 workers. While fans are feeling upbeat, many are also wondering what the future will hold. I mean the jobs are scarce now. What's it going to be like later when our grandkids

are looking for jobs? I think eventually people will get sick of Trump and dump him. The 905 is a place where many Canadian elections are won and lost. And so over the next 90 minutes we're going to take you from one end of this region to the other talking to voters about who they're voting for and why. I'm Matt Galloway and this is a special edition of The Current on the road in Ontario. Driving south to the GM plant you can see evidence of the wealth that the auto industry brought to the city of Oshawa.

Many of the streets are lined with stately homes. Generations of unionized workers have made a good living here and many GM retirees still spend their mornings playing snooker at the Unifor local 222 lounge. We can start over here, you see, these are all the pools. They bring their own cues, they're sharks. Then we have some darts, we have dart tournaments, run them now and then. This is the poker room here. Now I stay out of here because I'm not a good poker player. That's Lyle Hargrove, he's chair of the local 222 retirees. This is where we make sure everybody knows what's going on.

And then we do a retirees dance, there's one this Friday night, or last one until September again. So it's quite amazing, yeah. We keep them all busy doing something. Yeah, there's all kinds of stuff for to do. Lyle retired from GM in 2009 and if that name Hargrove sounds familiar, yes indeed, he is the brother of Buzz Hargrove, former head of the Canadian Auto Workers Union. When you hear of Donald Trump saying that he wants to bring these jobs to the United States, that he wants a plant like the one here to shut down and that

all of the equipment and those jobs to move united states that he wants a plant like the one here to shut down and that all of that equipment and and and those jobs to move south of the border what goes through your mind oh i don't like it at all i just think it's terrible we get a general orders plan we get a ford plant and uh... slanters plant

we were just a small organization and why he'd want to take that away they got 25 plants there that runs continual and they want to build more of that. The election is happening at the same time as all these conversations are going on and people are trying to figure out across the country who would be best to lead us through this moment. Do you mind me asking who you're voting for? No, I'm a local voter though of of course, so I always vote NDP. I said the first person I knew as a good socialist was my mom. And I followed her track right along. I've never seen where a conservative ever could do anything for workers.

So your vote for your local MP, I mean is Jagmeet Singh the leader of the federal NDP? Is he the person for this moment, do you think? Well, he's not my favorite person. Why not? Well, I just think he's wishy-washy and he makes too many promises. And he knows darn well that people know you can't come through with some of the stuff that he's making promises on. I've been a little disappointed in him. What would you want to hear from him in this moment, right now, when it feels like, I mean, you're wearing an Elbows Up shirt, when the country feels like it's under threat.

Yeah, no, I think he should be concentrating on Trump more and what he would do if he did get elected, which we know he won't. Pierre Poliev was here holding a rally in Oshawa. They had a dude in an airplane hangar. There were so many people. Yeah, there was. There's thousands and thousands of people. Yeah, well there are a lot of conservative voters out here. What do you make of that?

What's the appeal, because he's been able to peel a lot of that working class vote away from the NDP in some areas. What is the attraction, do you think, of Pierre Pauliev and the conservatives now? I don't really know. I don't understand it. I mean, some of our own Unifor people have come out and supported him, but most of them are skilled tradesmen. They do offer a lot of money to them that they have their own workshops and stuff.

What about Mark Carney? I mean he's former Bank of Canada governor, former Bank of England governor. He says he's got the resume to lead people through this because he's seen this movie before. Yeah, and I would think he's right probably. He's a smart man and he's run the banks and he was an economist when he was younger day and he certainly knows business and how to operate and certainly he won't take any guff from Trump.

As you'll notice that one meeting he had, Trump never mentioned him being a governor of one of the states or that type of thing since then and so and I think he's he had an influence on him. So you would you consider voting liberal then? No, that wouldn't bother me if liberals want but I know I'm gonna still support my local person. What do you think I mean I'm gonna go back to the shirt what is that phrase elbows up mean to you? That means strength and we're gonna be fighting back if we have to and us retirees have made a

commitment to the workers. If they need us to surround General Motors to keep the machinery from going out we'll do that. You would do that if they said we're shutting this plant down and we're taking the machinery out? We're not letting them do it. We're not letting them do it. We'll put 13,000 retirees and along with what workers we can get not only from our unit but other units will certainly come in and help us do that. That's quite a thing. It's good to talk to you. Thank you very much for this. Oh thank you. Thank you. Nicely done. That's a great shot. No. It was a good shot. Tell us what your name is. Dave. Dave. What's your last name? Raffuse. Dave Raffuse. Yeah. Paying attention to the election? Yep. Yeah. Do you know who you're

gonna vote for? I haven't quite made up my mind. I'm not gonna vote for Puglia though because he's anti-union as far as I'm concerned. What do you think the biggest issue in this election is? and the union as far as I'm concerned. What do you think the biggest issue in this election is? Well, it's not terrorists. Okay, at all. Because I think the world's going to have a say on that before it's all said and done. I think looking after the younger generation and the pensioners and stuff like that. And don't eradicate the middle class.

We have so many homeless out there, and we also have ones that are, we'll put it, less fortunate, that are through addiction and will fall through their own. That's a sickness. And welcome to Canada, but we can only have so many immigrants coming in as far as housing and medical. Other than that, life's great.

The Trump factor's a big deal, right? Do you think about who the best person would be to tackle Donald Trump? Or is that not... you're more focused on local issues? His mother. His mother? Good luck with that. No, okay. Look, he's got an agenda.

He wants to get everything back in the States, all right? But you do not owe China $36 trillion. How are you going to deal with that first? Because they're going to call it in if you want to get that way all right? But you do not owe China 36 trillion dollars. How are you going to deal with that first? Because they're going to call it in if you want to get that way, right? I understand he wants to get this economy going. But we support the states and everybody in wars, right? And as far as building and back and forth, you just can't say goodbye. And GM's not going to put up with that anyway. If our dollar keeps going down, why wouldn't you build here? Right?

And if our dollar keeps going down, you can't afford to go down in the States, and they got so much trouble in Florida right now, people are leaving. They're not going back. They're selling. Right? Anyway. Let's get back to your game. You're going to ball the hit.

Thank you very much. Okay. Tell us what your name is're gonna ball the hit. Thank you very much. Okay. Tell us what your name is. Wendy Rolfe. What Wendy is the biggest issue do you think for you in this federal election? I'm thinking it's Trump. Absolutely Trump in the in the business here for the autos. What are you most worried about? And then medical, medical as well. What are you most worried about when it comes to the auto sector? And then taking the jobs back.

This whole town, there's so many feeder plants, the unemployment here would be unbelievable. It'd sink. We'd be done. How long you work for GIA? 31 and a half years. And I've been retired, this is my 20th year. You have a smile when you say that you worked here for 31 and a half years. 31 and a half years.

What does GIA mean to Oshawa? Well, when I started it was 23,000 people worked here. So everybody you knew had their fathers, their brothers and everything. So, I mean, this town was built on GM. Have you heard anything from the people who want to be prime minister about how they would defend this industry? Anything that would sway your vote? I pretty well know who I'm voting for already.

Will you tell us? Yeah, I will. I'm going to go Mark Carney. And why are you doing that? I just believe that with his background in financing and his calm, the mere way about him, that he'd be the best one to deal with Trump. Can I ask you, I mean, Pierre Pauliuk was here in Ginoswara.

He had this huge rally, like thousands and thousands of people. Every rally he has has 5,000 or more. What do you think the attraction is? I mean, there were a lot of people from this industry and from this town that went there. What do you think the attraction is? I don't understand it, but this town is largely a conservative vote here. So to me, that's just because they're following that because I find him so unlikable from three years ago. I look at him and I just wanna go, you know, I just there's just something about his face, his posturing, his

everything about him. I find him offensive in every way. Not hinted at this but what's at stake do you think in the election? Jobs, our security, yeah absolutely. That's the number one thing and the next big concern is the health the way our health system is going. The president of the local union that represents autoworkers here is Jeff Craig. Hey, I'm Matt. Hey, nice to meet you.

How are you? Thanks for taking time to talk to us. No problem. I appreciate it. How's everything? Things are good. Good as can be, I guess, right? I meet him at the union hall.

On the wall there is a portrait of the NDP's first leader, Tommy Douglas, and posters that read Save Oshawa GM and Made in Canada Matters. How are people in your union feeling right now, given everything that's swirling around? Yeah, you know what? I would say our feelings have evolved to a degree because the tariff conversation's been happening now for maybe two months or longer.

And in the beginning, obviously they were anxious, they were nervous about what was going on. We felt like we had very little control. And that has evolved with the continuous antagonization from Donald Trump about the auto industry that now our members are determined. They are sick of being antagonized. They don't want our jobs threatened anymore. And you know, we're coming together

in a sense of solidarity and ready to fight back in any regard we have to. What about for you? I mean how are you feeling? You know I am confident we will get through this. We may be bracing for some impact we're not sure exactly how the tariffs are going to apply to Oshawa yet because the goalposts continue to change with Donald Trump, right? One day it's 25% tariffs on all autos, the next day it's only a percentage of that on non-CUSMA conforming parts. And so to that degree, we're unsure of where this is going still.

Let's talk about the federal government and the fact that all of this is happening in the context of a federal election. You have Mark Carney, the Liberal leader, who has said that Canada will impose counter tariffs on US-made cars and the $8 billion from those tariffs will help auto workers and the auto industry. Is that going to be enough to help your workers who, I mean, they're waking up at 3 o'clock in the morning with their guts churning, wondering whether they're going to be going to work. Right now, with that statement, and we're appreciative from Prime Minister Carney for coming behind and supporting the auto sector. There's no doubt about it.

However, when you say that these counter tariffs of 25% are going to go towards supporting auto workers who may be laid off, what does that look like? What does he mean by that? Does that mean that's going to be money in the pockets of laid-off auto workers? Does that mean he's going to provide liquidity to Stellantis Ford General Motors? What would you want to hear from him? Where do you think that eight billion dollars should go? So anything that supports auto, obviously we are we are very much appreciative for. Should it go to the workers? It should have go to... Well I believe it should go to the workers a hundred percent because I mean

Stellantis General Motors and Ford are very profitable companies. You can look at their quarterly profits and see. I mean it's the workers who are impacted by these tariffs and they're the ones on layoff. They're the ones trying to pay their mortgages. They're trying to pay their rent. You know keep their kids in sports all the activities. So it's actual workers that need this support and we don't know what it looks like yet. Kare Poliev, leader of the Conservative Party says that if he is elected Prime Minister he would cut the GST on Canadian-made vehicles. How much would that help? It helps. I mean the GST portion of the vehicle and especially because he also indicated he would

hopefully see the premiers of each province cut their portion of the tax as well on a vehicle. So anytime you may be able to get a vehicle discounted, obviously that helps. We have a domestic auto industry here in Canada that we haven't realized full realization of it yet because Canadians buy 2 million vehicles per year. Many of those transactions are north of $50,000 on these vehicles. We only produce 1.3 to 1.4 million vehicles per year and that's all of the auto plants combined including Honda and Toyota that are non-uniform. So we have a deficit of cars right there that

we don't provide domestically. Can I ask you about your union counterparts on the other side of the border? Sean Fain, head on the other side of the border? Sean Fain, head of the UAW, the United Auto Workers, supports these tariffs. He thinks this is going to bring auto jobs, middle-class jobs, as he says, good paying middle-class jobs back to the United States. What's your reaction to that? Well, you follow the bouncing ball with Sean Fain. He was a huge supporter of Kamala Harris during the election.

Obviously, he was on the wrong side of the ball there. Now he's supporting President Trump's tariffs and he's already seeing some of his Sterling Heights Stellantis members on layoff because of these tariffs. How do you understand that position that he's taken? You know what? We're deeply disappointed. What happened to this whole idea of solidarity forever? So between the, you know, obviously the UAW and Canada, I mean, we're competing for business and that's just a fact, right?

Over decades and decades, we want to present ourselves here in Canada as a place you can build a vehicle and have a high margin of profit. That's the company's, you know, end of the game. What they want to see is profits. So we're always in competition with the UAW. We're always in competition with other countries that build vehicles that we can do it efficiently here in Canada. So what happens to that idea of solidarity?

So right now it's fractured, isn't it? Because obviously he's taken a position where he would like to see all of our footprint absorbed in the United States. And we are deeply disappointed with those comments and we can assure our members that Canadian footprint is going nowhere. You're born and raised here in Oshawa? Yes, I was. Do you think this town can absorb another hit,

having been born and raised here and seen, you know, the roller coaster ride that Oshawa has been on? So my grandfather was a founding member in 1937 when we got our charter and my father started in 1964, my aunts, my uncles, my cousins, we've all worked in the plant. We've all experienced the good times, we've all

experienced the bad times. And somehow, some way we always come through it. I don't want to imagine Oshawa without General Motors. Uh, it just isn't something that, you know, I will ever do because this plant's been here for 90 years and it's going to be here for another 100. It's good to talk to you about this. Thank you very much. Thank you.

As GM has slashed staff from more than 20,000 workers at its peak, Oshawa has increasingly become a centre for post-secondary education. At Ontario Tech University, graduating students are showing off their final year projects like this robot designed for delivering packages. Colton Ho's project is a scale model of a truck. We're working with a industry partner to develop a scaled-down wind tunnel model of their vehicle. So it's something that is on the road right now. You can purchase this if you have enough money. I can't tell you which company it is. It's all covered under an NDA but

essentially this company wanted to determine their aerodynamic performance of a current vehicle that they have. As you can see it's about my height. It's a typical plastic that you'll see like used in 3D printing but also for injection molding or anything like that. It has got to be a stressful time to be graduating in automotive engineering, but Colton has a job lined up with a US company and he feels good about the future of this industry. It's very typical for tariffs to not stay on for very long. It happened in the past where large tariffs were put out in the US and within four years they were brought down because they weren't

a enjoyed policy by the US populace. And I think that companies right now are in a state right now where they're being careful but hopeful that things will cool down in the coming years. From communications with some of the companies that I've worked with in the past, they're in a state where they feel like they are, they have a good position moving forward.

Certain products that are made in Canada can't be produced elsewhere, whether it be by patent manufacturing processes or just communications and infrastructure that's been built up. I think when it comes to automotive specifically, people have theorized that it's between like a $3,000 and a $10,000 increase on every new car

by putting these tariffs on. So that's not a very sustainable increase for the US populationS. population. And so I believe that that will have to be tampered down, both for the health of the U.S. automotive manufacturers and for the health of the U.S. population. Among the students here, the election feels like a two-way race.

My name is Shailes Senthukaran, and I am a finding a mechanical engineering student at Ontario Tech University. I'll be honest, I'm gonna vote for the conservative party, Pierre-Paul Le Villier, because he knows what the Canadians want and his representative came to our door and they told us his plan. What I want to hear from my future prime minister is the plan that's being implemented towards making our country great. Pranav Banga and his roommate Hardik Maheshwari say they are most impressed by Mark Carney. I've actually heard a lot of videos as well as, you know, like the manifesto and I've

actually read his manifesto and I think like as a person he has a kind, he's a kind soul and he will look out for people and you never know. That's something I can say too. You never know unless they are actually appointed and they do something. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We can't say. We can't judge book by its cover. But yeah.

The book's looking pretty nice from a far distance. These are highly trained young people, but some are worried all that education may not be enough. So my name is Susan Amadi and I'm in software engineering. I don't think there's anything that's kind of benefiting me for what I need. You know, as a youngster, I am looking to eventually buy a home in the next four or five years, get my life started.

But I can't do any of that now because no one's really supporting the whole cost of living and pay and jobs. So everything is just kind of on pause now. I did my part in finishing my degree, but now I'm just on pause until the next thing comes up. I don't think anyone there is supporting housing and all those things. Coming up after the break, we're taking you to the other side of the 905 region, inside

a warehouse where US tariffs are hitting hard. When they predict we'll fall, we rise to the challenge. When they say we're not a country, we stand on guard. This land taught us to be brave and caring, to protect our values, to leave no one behind. Canada is on the line, and it's time to vote as though our country depends on it, because like never before, it does. I'm Jonathan Pedneau, co-leader of the Green Party of Canada. This election, each vote makes a difference.

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In each of the last four federal elections, Mississauga ridings went to the party that ultimately formed government. This busy outdoor plaza is packed with halal restaurants, barber shops, perfume stores and places to sit down with a cup of chai. By 7 p.m., the parking lot is rammed and cars are lined up to get in. Jawed Farooqi owns a school inside the plaza. Could I please have the Arabic mixed shawarma

a second time? He's getting his usual order and talking about the issues that matter to him in this election. Oh, it's the economy and the cost of living, main 100 percent. Everybody I've talked to, they feel the pinch, the financial pinch. And some people have come to me asking to borrow money from me. I see a lot of people in distress and I think if the new government can resolve that one issue,

that would be the best we can hope for. This plaza is full of young people, mostly first and second generation Canadians. My name is Ma, my last name is Gil. Housing has become unaffordable. You know, you go work your job, you're thinking why am I even working if I can't afford a house? The Liberals, they're the ones that have been in power while this has happened. So why would I go vote for the same people who this has happened under? And some people might say regardless of whether you vote for conservative or liberal, it'll get worse, but why not give the conservatives a chance? There's just too much demand, right? There's guys out here willing to live 10 people to

a room. How am I supposed to compete with that? If you want to live like a normal first-world human, if you want to have let's say one parent working and a family, how am I supposed to compete with that you know if you want to live like a normal first world human right if you want to you know have like uh you know let's say one parent working and a family how am I supposed to compete with 10 guys that are willing to chip in together for a mortgage it's literally impossible it's not even their fault either it's just you know they brought in so many of uh so many immigrants that you know and then they're willing to do anything to survive you know you can't blame them you know like my dad came here he's willing to do anything to survive too but you know but i'm here now you know so and i think You know, like, my dad came here, he's willing to do anything to survive too, but you know, but I'm here now, you know, so. And I think the door should close now.

My dad came here, he worked in a factory, has a house. I don't work in a factory, I'm not gonna say where I work, where I make a bit more than my dad ever made it. I'm not gonna go buy a house, so. Kinda, you do feel cheated. You do feel cheated, yeah. So, Ola Sala, I'm in communications. Well, as a young person, I like to see affordable housing.

People in my generation they can't really afford to buy houses and we have to rely on our parents. Prices are horrible and I mean grocery shopping is not the same as it used to be. Personally, I didn't think that if you asked me three months ago, but now I do think the liberals are more inclined to give us those kinds of assurances and to create plans that actually work for us? It's Ima Chima. I work in the nuclear industry. I am 26. Well, the biggest issue is obviously the housing crisis that we are having. On top of that, we are also having the crisis of the carbon tax.

You know, the opposition leader, Pierre Pauli, has stated that many times that this carbon tax has not been removed entirely, so I'm hoping to see him get the Prime Minister's seat this year. Also Pierre Pauli-Eff has just announced that he will eliminate the GST and HST tax on new cars that are made in Canada, so that will put money back into the Canadian pockets. So considering these aspects, I think Pierre Pauli, he will be the best Prime Minister. In Brampton, north of Mississauga, Yudhvir Jaswal is getting ready to do an interview. Hello everyone, my name is Yudhvir Jaswal. I'm the Group Attendant at Y Media. Being able to tap into the different immigrant communities here is key to winning the 905.

Yudhvir runs Y Media. It, one of the biggest media outlets for South Asians in Canada. Yudhvir is a star here and as the interview wraps people come up to shake his hand. Y Media is part of a growing media landscape that serves immigrant communities across the GTA and politicians prioritize talking to these outlets because of the audience they reach and the influence they have. That star, the CEO of Y Media, Yudhvir Jaiswal is with me in our studio. Also joining us is Andrea Chun. She's a lawyer and host of the Chinese language radio show A1 Newsbeat. Good morning to you both. Good morning, Matt. Thanks for having me.

Good morning, Matt. It's really good to have you both here. Yudhvir, how big of an effort are the various parties making in terms of reaching out to South Asian communities in this election? I think there's a lot of effort simply because South Asians are today the largest ethnic group in Canada. And earlier, you know, they were mainly confined to Brampton, Mississauga, Surrey, Pocketson, Edmonton and Calgary, but not anymore. Because when I look at this demographic now, because I'm working with

this demographic from Y media for the last almost 25 years now, I see there are many writings. I would say we always have a discussion on this one, but approximately I would say 80 to 100 writings have a strong influence out of the South Asian community. And so the politicians need to reach that, those

members of that community if they want to win. Yeah, definitely. Have you seen that in terms of outreach? I mean, I know that you've interviewed Pierre Pauliev a number of times, um, from the liberals and the NDP, are they putting up candidates or leaders for, for conversations with you? Yes.

Uh, I, I think the outreach from, uh, the conservatives and the liberal has been very active in terms of reaching out to the South Asian community, but NDP hasn't reached that much this time. Okay. Andrea, how does that compare with what you're seeing in Chinese communities in what's known as the 905? I'm not sharing that yet.

I'm trying to reach a couple of candidates. Definitely they haven't gotten back to us. They're trying to reach a couple of candidates. Definitely, they haven't gotten back to us. They're trying to see if headquarters is okaying any interviews. So at the moment, we're still struggling with that. Having said that, I think there's been a lot of, it's a huge rush, it seems to me. Say, for example, the Markham Unionville writing where Paul Jiang had left the race, we only got a candidate confirmed, what, three weeks before the election. So it's a lot of rush going on right now. And there are a couple of writings that our community is paying close attention to, but they're no incumbents. And

yet I'm struggling to find them to confirm my interviews. So I'm not seeing the same. Beyond the interviews, are you finding that the parties themselves are pushing to make sure that they connect with members of these communities? I think they are, but I'm also seeing that it seems to be quite a last ditch effort. I don't know what's happening. I mean, from where I sit, the conservatives have been pushing for an election for a long time, but it seems to me that they're not quite ready and definitely the liberals seem to be scrambling a bit and the NDPs are, well, the NDPs are far behind in the polls. So at this point, I find that our community is engaged except that to the extent that

they talk about the US a lot, that is a big issue. I heard some of your interviews just now that definitely the cost of living and all the other issues are on their minds, but this US existential threat is definitely a hot topic right now. Is that top of mind? I wanna come to you, Dvir, in a moment,

but Andrea, is that top of mind when you speak with people in, and there are a number of Chinese communities and not everybody speaks with the same voice, but is the United States the top issue that you're hearing about? It's definitely one of the top issues. And you're right, Matt, it depends on the age and definitely the community is not a monolithic one. And it depends on your experience. But right now they're very concerned about the economy and maybe the more senior people are concerned about their pensions, their savings, et cetera. And the younger folks are worried about their jobs.

So I guess that all ties into cost of living, but if you have no jobs, then you're not even talking about how much you're making, you're making zero. So yes, definitely the US is a big issue. What about for you, Yudhvir? What are you hearing in South Asian communities about what the big issue is in this election? I think as Andrea was also mentioning, the US Trump tariffs is definitely one of the major issues for sure, because people connect that with the economy, jobs. There are many in the South Asian community who own different businesses, especially the trucking business as well. That has already been impacted.

Now with the talks of tariffs and annexation, there is a bit of a concern on that side as well. But other than that, yes, jobs is another issue. Then there is a lot of discussion on crime as well. This time there has been a lot of challenges, especially in the region of Peel and Surrey as well. And so what is your sense as to what people are looking for from a leader? What do they want

in a leader? You know, they want a leader who can really walk the talk this time. As much as they see, as much as they're talking about the last 10 years of the liberal government, but they're also asking, do the conservatives have the plan to deliver? There's, and I read something interesting about this. There are comparisons being made between Mark Carney and a former prime minister of India.

Yeah. What is that about? Yeah, former prime minister of India, late Dr. Manmohan Singh, he was also an economist first, then he became the finance minister and then eventually he went on to become the prime minister of India in the year 2004, from 2004 till 2014. And they're drawing parallels between Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mark Carney, that Mark Carney is also an economist, then he goes on to become the prime minister. I had a liberal MP, George

Shahal from Calgary. He flew all the way from Calgary to our studios here in Mississauga, and he was making this parallel as well. Is that something that's appealing to members of the community? Not really. His economist side or the way he's worked at Goldman Sachs and yes, that part is appealing. But yes, people are still drawing parallels with the late Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. But is that part appealing? Yes, because liberals definitely needed someone to back on. Now here they have found Mark Carney as an economist and they think, at least liberal supporters have started believing

that he has a solution. That they were tired of the last year of tired of Justin Trudeau. Yes, because the poll numbers as we all know, they were really low and they said, yeah, Justin Trudeau couldn't take them through to victory to the next elections and liberals wanted liberal supporters now once again, they're backing Mark Carney that yes, they have someone to cling on. Andrea, and the people that you speak with in Chinese communities, what are they looking for in leadership right now?

I think it's someone who can stand up to the Trump challenges, shall we say. And I feel that a lot of people, definitely they are the diehard fans in both parties, but there are definitely the people who are sitting on the sidelines and trying to figure out what has happened in the last three months. This has been a seismic shift. And I think they have been wondering, is Mr. Poiliev a better candidate or is it Mr. Carney who seems to have all the international experience, the education, the background to guide us through these economic challenges?

Because essentially this tariff definitely has its existentialism about annexation, but Mr. Trump seems to have stopped talking about that a bit, hopefully. But the economy really is Mr. Carney's strong suit. But I think there are a lot of undecided voters and they're still figuring out what's happening. It's coming really fast and furious right now. You mentioned Paul Chang. This is a former liberal candidate in the riding of Markham Unionville, which is also in the 905 region. He had to drop out of the race over comments that he made at this Chinese language press conference when he suggested that members

of the community could perhaps haul, uh, a conservative candidate to the Chinese consulate and cash in on a bounty that was put on his head by, by the Hong Kong authorities. How has that played out in the community? It took a long time for those comments to filter into English language media. When that happened, there were a number of days

where it wasn't clear whether he was going to stay in the race, whether he was going to stay in the race, whether he was going to be forced out of the race, ultimately he dropped out. But how is all of that playing out within Chinese communities, Andrea? That was interesting because as you point out, the news broke about what Mr. Chiang said early, I think in January, but nobody was paying attention. And when it all broke around the time a couple of weeks ago, it was the talk of the town. Everybody was talking about it. And I think some people were surprised that he dropped out because Mr. Carney seemed to have backed

him for a bit. But at the end of the day, it definitely caused huge discussion in the community about what is going on and they paid attention to the election shall we say, because some people were still not really paying attention at that time, although the election was already underway. I think it's a long party lines. A lot of folks feel that Mr. Chang has experience and he shouldn't drop out and then there are other folks who say, well, you know, goodness, we should just get another candidate. And now the liberals have filled it with a candidate who's quite well known in the community, but albeit last minute, pretty much parachute in.

Peter Yoon, he was a former deputy chief of police with the city of Toronto. Exactly. And he's well known in the community, but he recently ran unsuccessfully for the provincial liberals. But I think that was a very last minute choice because in any event, it's only three weeks. And as I said, everybody is scrambling so much. I don't know if they're able to get their messages out in such a short manner, but I guess they're all working hard at it. But to answer your question, the community is, this is a huge topic, Mr. Chang's writing.

What about the issue of foreign interference? This was linked in some ways to the issue of foreign interference. There's been a long simmering concern around this, a report, final report that came out several months ago around this within the Chinese Canadian communities, Andrea, is that a burning issue? Are people worried about folks from outside of this country putting their thumb on the scale in some ways for one candidate or another? Well, there was a report just a few days ago about how the Chinese government seems to be trying to intervene and put out messages in favor

of Mr. Carney through a social media platform. I think it is a concern, although I'm not sure it is a burning concern. It is in the back of people's minds. And unfortunately these days, people seem to getting the news not from the mainstream media, but a lot of news from social media, which may or may not be, which could be fake news. But having said all of that, I think people are aware of those issues and they've been well versed in what is happening. So it's one of the things on their minds, but this time when I talk to people, I still

think the major issue on their minds, it's what's happening with our relationship with the US and the economy and all those, probably is going to be the deciding factor when they cast their vote. Our conversations are on foreign interference bubbling up in your community. Yes, they are. It's not the number one topic though. We've seen Don Patel, you know, just because he put an emoji. I spoke with Don Patel after he was removed as a candidate.

He's a former conservative candidate. Yes, yes, he's a former conservative candidate. He was there at the rally yesterday. He's still supporting the conservatives. But just because he put an emoji where it was said that people like this should be deported to India and Modi will take care of them. So, was that the actual reason? And then we don't know what are the reasons behind taking away Chandra or there were similar allegations.

Pete This is somebody who was in the running to be the liberal leader. Anand Yes. Pete He was forced out. Anand He was forced out and then Mark Arunee, he's – Pete He's running in his writing. Anand He's running in his writing. Yeah, foreign interference has been a concern and the reports came out, but not that big a concern here. How do you think your community's...

I mean, there are a number of undecided votes. There's still two and a half weeks left. There are debates to take place. At this stage, how do you think this is shaking out for your community? Do you have a sense as to which way... I said the region swings and people pay attention because of the number of seats here. Do you have a sense as to where it's swinging?

I think mostly Mississauga, Brampton, these are the ridings who've gone, the way which our party has formed the government and this time as well. I think the liberals are quite strong. If I say almost all the GTA ridings are mostly where the South Asians are quite strong. If I say almost all the GTR ridings are mostly where the South Asians are this time. It's not just Brampton, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Waterloo, Surrey, Calgary, Edmonton. This is what I see.

But one thing is there, and this is what I've been discussing at my radio shows and my TV talk shows as well. I think it's time for Canada. We need a bolder vision now. From the shows as well. I think it's time for Canada. We need a bolder vision now. From the last many years, I think we've lost an opportunity. We're a G7 country. And I think Canada has to become a global power, if not a superpower in the next 10, 15, 20 years. Imagine a more hostile Russia, Iran, China, ticking on Canada in the next

10, 15 years. We'll see whether this is the moment that's seized upon. Andrea, just briefly from you, what's your sense as to which way your community is swinging, given that so many people are watching how that community votes? I think there are a couple of writings that we're closely watching that could be hotly contested since there are no incumbents. But in general, I feel that a lot of the liberal incumbents might have a good chance, but then again, as you say, two and a half weeks is a lifetime away in any election so we will see. We will indeed. It's really good to

talk to you about the insights that you have into your communities are really valuable especially given the size of those communities to Udvar's point this is well you know right across the country but also given how many seats are at play. Thank you both for being here. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Udvar Josswell runs Y Media. It's one of Canada's largest South Asian media outlets. And Andrea Chun is a lawyer and host of the Chinese language radio show, A One Newsbeat. Mississauga is also home to a huge logistics sector.

That inland port that I mentioned, there are vast warehouses and billions of dollars in goods that travel through them. So in a stretch of industrial land bordered by highways, we went to visit a warehouse feeling the pinch of US tariffs. Let's see if I can get it open. And this would be an item that was made in China, brought here in bulk, and then he sells it to the shopping channel and he might give us three or four thousand orders a day.

So this is an ice box that inflates up and you take it with you and it folds up. So we'll individually label all of these boxes, four thousand of them, because they're all low value shipments that go to the states, Section 321, de minimis, and no duty or taxes. As of May 2nd, this is a $100 item, he will pay $75 in duty. So what has he told us to do? Take all of these skids and move them to the U.S. because at least instead of the retail cost paying the duty on, he'll pay the duty on the cost, which is a fraction, and then he'll distribute it from the U. My preference is for Canada that we distribute it from here. So I'd like that thing to stay in place to be honest with you. My name is Dean Wood. I'm the CEO and founder of BorderWorks Logistics.

We are based here in Mississauga. We have a 55,000 square foot warehouse here. Our business began on forging and building the relationship between the North and South trade because the Canadian and US trade is so large it's pales anything in the international in comparison. This is the GTA, this is the economic development zone around the airport area. It's kind of like the hub there's a lot of cargo air cargo that comes in so what is successful here makes everyone else's life easy. So many Canadian businesses, their biggest market is the United States. We love to service Canada and that'd be wonderful if we could do it all at home, but the

biggest market is ten times our size and it's south of the border. So no matter what company you are, very very few would tell you that they are not affected by this. We have very very weak leadership that has no concept in terms of the effect that they have on the largest portion of employers in Canada which are small to medium businesses. Like Mark Carney wouldn't have a clue what it's like to forego your paycheck so that your employees get paid because times are tough. He's never lived in that world, doesn't live in that world, and quite frankly, when he was at the Bank of Canada,

has somewhat been counterintuitive to small businesses. After all, the Bank of Canada has made our banks a billion dollar profit every quarter. Guess who they're catering to? They're not catering to the businesses. When we talk to our customers, especially our cross-border customers, we can measure their volume as it changes. We get phone calls when they go, what's the tariff going to mean

to us? Like, we've got a company that ships handbags to the U.S. from Canada. There'll be a 75% tariff on every one of those bags. So on a $10 bag, even if it comes in at cost, that's $7.50. That's a huge impact. I'm a Canadian true and blue. I often say when I go to the U.S., I'm from Canada and I'm here to make America great again. Only a fool would wish the U.S. to do poor. Common sense people know that. I think you're going to see premature layoffs as they try to downscale in order to get ahead. Everyone's going to do a race to the bottom. So I don't want a government

that's going to keep bloating our government expenses. And I don't care if you tell me you're going to bail out companies because of the tariffs. You're bailing them out with my money. That's not a good answer. So when I look at that, I go, do I want the same as what I've experienced for the last 10 years? So I'm a very strong conservative that way, but they don't have it exactly right. So there always needs to be an opposition to hold people in check. But I wish we could get rid of the rhetoric, stop voting for a personality, and seriously look at the policies and say what's going to be good. What will be good is we need to focus on growing our economy.

Fighting tariffs is only one component of that. I will never, ever wear a Canada's not for sale hat. I will never not fly an American flag. This is the greatest trading partner we've ever had and will always be. And when you sleep beside a giant, don't tick off the giant, right? That's just a fact. And as they grow, we grow in their shadow. And I've told Canadian businesses, when America grows, they do not have enough people and resources to be able to take care of their growth. And where do you think they're going to look first?

They're going to look to the one that's the most friendly. I think we're going to find something even better come out of it. Canadian pride's coming out of it. I think we're going to have some more manufacturing creation in Canada. I think we're going to try to have less dependency. We're going to look at some international markets, I think those things are all good things, but I'll never lose sight with, we never can exist without the partnership that we have south of the border.

Hi, how are you? Good, thanks. As we've crisscrossed Canada, we have been bringing together voters with a range of different views. In Oshawa, we met a group of voters at the Rainbow Restaurant. The owner, Louis Gavellas, has been working at the grill all morning and his hands are slick with bacon grease. I'm going to give everybody an elbow bump because my hands are still heavy. There you are. I'm Matt, how are you?

I'm good, Matt, how are you? Thanks for having us here. My pleasure guys. Can you describe this restaurant for people who are elsewhere in the country? We've been here since 1958. Started with my grandfather, my father, my aunts, my uncles. Everybody, as you can see around the photos and the place, we've been here a long, long time. And we're pretty good at what we do. This place is a bit of an Oshawa institution. It's got your red vinyl booths, photos of celebrity visitors on the wall, and it serves truly gigantic portions,

including the GMC breakfast special, three eggs, bacon or ham, home fries, and toast. We've seen the comings and goings of GM and all the other industries coming here, but we've been steady here, and we're gonna keep on going for a long time I hope. What do you love about Oshawa? I mean for somebody who's never been here who is elsewhere in the country, what do you love about Oshawa?

What I love about Oshawa? Well honestly it's a great place to raise a family. It is. It truly is. It might get a bad rap because of the comings and goings with the auto industry. This is an immigrant town. My family came from Greece before I was born and it now you see different generations of people from all over the world coming to Oshawa making a living. So it's not just about the auto industry it's about people coming together here in Oshawa. There's a sign over your shoulder it says we do not have Wi-Fi talk to each other and pretend like it's 1995. If you look out there, people are in those booths and they're talking to each other.

They are, honestly, and you don't see many phones on top of the table where you see like in other places. What should I have for breakfast? Female bacon. We cut ourselves here on the premises. If you enjoy bacon, this is the place to be. Your hat says body by bacon. It does.

Bring it on, thank you. My pleasure, thank you very much. I'm joined at a table in the back corner by our four Oshawa voters, all wrestling with their decision for different reasons. Glenn Peacock is the owner of Peacock Lumber, third generation family business. Margaret Rogers is an artist and curator, former instructor at Durham College. Jesse Johnson is co-owner of Brew Wizards. It's a board game cafe here in downtown Oshawa.

And Jordan Watatton is president of Walton Restoration. It's been very busy helping folks clean up after a series of spring storms ripped through this area. Thank you all for being here. Thank you for having us. Thank you. It's great to have you here. We want to go around the table first and we'll get into the details of this. But just quickly, tell me who you're voting for and why. Jordan, why don't we start with you? I'm a little torn right now to be to be honest. I traditionally have been a conservative voter but that being said I

think there's there's pros to both Carney and Polieb at the moment. As an individual, you know, I've got an electric truck parked outside, I've got a few electric vehicles in the in the company fleet. I think there's a lot to be said for the progress that the Liberals have been making with climate change and being a world leader, so to speak. But that being said, I do think that we're heading into some tough economic times and sometimes the economy has to come first over some of our other long-term goals. In that lens, Poliev, I think, has the edge for me.

So I would say I'm sitting undecided. I've traditionally been a conservative voter and will likely lend that way again. But Carney definitely has a few things that have caught my eye. OK, we'll come back to some of that stuff. Glenn, what about for you? Who are you voting for and why? I echo those same thoughts and values, I think.

Undecided. And to be honest honest I've only voted conservative in my life to this point but I'm looking not just at the party or the traditions of the party but at the leader and I think Carney's experience is superior. We'll come back to that as well. Margaret, what about for you? Well, what you were saying about Carney's experience being superior, I mean, it seems to be a no-brainer.

However, Oshawa has never, you know, it just hasn't had a liberal presence. And I'm an old NDP-er. And I don't want the NDP to lose their status, but I see them in trouble here, because I know some of my colleagues are also planning to vote liberal. So I am torn, but I have an orange sign on my lawn, so I probably will lose my vote, but at least do that. I'm not sure. It sounds like head versus heart in some ways.

It's very hard. It's very hard. But I really don't want Poly up to win. That's the only thing I feel really strongly about. We will come back to that too. Jesse, last but not least.

I have to say I'm with Margaret on this. It's a hard choice. Sarah who is running locally is someone who I have interacted with and I'm with Margaret on this. It's a hard choice. Sarah LeBelle, who is running locally, is someone who I've interacted with many times and do support her quite wholeheartedly. But when you look at Grand Picture, NDP, it's harder to support. Jagmeet, I think, has tried very hard for a number of elections now to get voted in. So it's hard to choose, mostly because I know when it comes to locally, Sarah LaBelle is

lovely and I really want to be supporting her because she has been such a great support for Oshawa. When you look at Grand Picture, it does feel like Carney would be a good leader for the country. Let's talk about, I mean, and that's really honest, I think in some ways, the elephant in the room and it's not in, he's not in the room, but he's certainly kind of hanging over this election is Donald Trump, right? And that's, in some ways, colored how people are thinking about this election and has made it a very different election. Glenn, you said that,

that in some ways you're torn because you'd normally vote conservative, but at the same time, this is a different election. What is it that's leading you undecided? What do you want to hear from a candidate that would pull you in one direction or the other? My feeling is there's nothing we can do about what's going on in the US. And in terms of business, we deal with things as they come, because it's super unpredictable. So far it hasn't affected our business at all. It's more about the economy in general. I know it hasn't been great. The way I was brought up,

my dad would talk about balancing the books all the time with every election. And, you know, it hasn't been great for the last eight or ten years. As you get to a certain age it's not really about you anymore it's about your kids and your grandkids. Yeah my concern is the debt burden and not dealing with that and nobody talking about it. You're nodding along to everything he was saying. Yeah well and if you don't mind me jumping in it's one thing that creates that tear in me is going back a couple decades, if we look at what I would say is maybe one of the last truly great Canadian politicians in Jean Chrétien, able to balance those books. I think if there was a Jean Chrétien running in this election, it'd be a no-brainer for

me. You'd have a liberal candidate that aligns on more of my social views, but then you'd have somebody coming in with fiscal responsibility to balance those books. As business owners, and I think we're both... But I feel like Carney is very much in that position right now. He does seem to have a very strong financial background in understanding how finances should be set up and worked.

And is that what you think we need right now? We as a country need? I think it should be an important topic, but I don't think it's the only thing. We need to be looking at our health care infrastructure and those sort of social nets. Jordan, how does that get scrambled, that concern that you have when you have, you know, Donald Trump kind of looming over this election, the threats of, I mean, not just the 51st state, but these tariffs could destroy parts of the Canadian economy. Well I think that's another checkbox for Carney. He led the Bank of Canada through a very tumultuous time and then went on to help the Bank of

England through Brexit. And I think there's, he has business experience, he's got compliance and central banking experience. Those are going to be very important. And yet you're still torn. I'm still torn. I think in reading Carney's book a couple years ago, and I don't want to reference a quote that isn't entirely accurate, but there was some notion of in order for us to hit our net zero initiatives as a country, we're going to need to leave something like 80% of the fossil fuels in Alberta in the ground.

And that worries you, why? Canada is a natural resource economy. We're not only a natural resource economy, but we very much are a natural resource economy. And I think bringing somebody in that's going to get pipelines built to allow us to sell our crude oil to other countries except for the U.S. is going to be very important. That's where I think you have a big checkbox for somebody like Polyab in order to make sure Alberta's generating what they can for this country. I think they, at least in this part of Ontario, I don't think they get the credit that they deserve for the economic engine that they do provide. Margaret, we were just with some folks at Unifor who are representing people working at GM and

they're worried about what Donald Trump is going to do. They're talking about the retirees saying that they would surround the plant and prevent equipment from leaving, for example, if the factory was going to move south of the border. What do you think Donald Trump could do? What do you think his tariffs could do to the city of Oshawa? Oh, decimate. Decimate. Absolutely. I mean, it happened before when things just changed through the recession. So many jobs were lost and then things were kind of creeping back,

but never to the extent that GM once was the main driving force in the community. What would that mean? I mean, just for people who are listening to this from outside of Oshawa or outside of Ontario, who might not know what this community was back when GM was at its kind of peak, what would that mean? When you say that it would decimate the town, what would that mean? Well, I mean, to some extent it has. Just walk around downtown. At one time when GM was flourishing and there was a north plant as well, all those people would

come downtown with their paychecks. The place flourished. So we came here in 1966 and it was pretty solid inner Oshawa and now go along the street and look at all the empty stores. Do you worry about the devastation, I'll use her word, the devastation of Oshawa if these tariffs really were to grab hold of the city? Yes and no. I think, I mean, we saw so many jobs lost the first sort of recession.

I think now Oshawa's seeing a much more diverse population where less of the local community is part of the GM plan. So I think with the diversification of people living in Oshawa, it will have a less devastating effect. That is not just a company town anymore. But I think it still will be very devastating. Don't get me wrong, plenty of my customers are GM, but I also have lots of customers now that live and work in downtown Oshawa.

So I think... Right, and also the health industry is a major employer. Education is a major employer as well. So there is a lot more in that and the university and the college, they're enormous and bringing some of the campus from Ontario Tech down here also has made a big difference. So there are bright spots for sure. Do you think about who would be best, to like of the leaders,

who would be best to kind of take on Donald Trump? And I don't know whether you can take on Donald Trump. But is there one of those leaders that's out there that you think, you know what, that's what we need to think about is who's gonna be able to best to kind of engage with. Well, what I hope will happen is that Carney will win and the NDP will still have a voice because if you look at how

the NDP influenced Trudeau, I mean we have dental care and more pharma care you know and those are not traditionally things that the Liberal Party would do. Glenn? Well, yeah, on our side, we want the same thing, but we want the Conservatives to be influencing... The table's kind of divided and it's not by intention. We all want Carney. It's... One thing that I think has worked well, and jump in if you disagree, one thing that I think has worked well historically for Canada is about every decade or so, give or take, taking the Liberals

and Conservatives that we do a decade with one, a decade with another. But I think there's a very necessary process that's happening there. That's a time for a change question. I think if you were to ask most voters, is there a time for a change, if you still had Trudeau in the running, the answer is a fairly easy yes for many Canadians. If you were to ask me who Mark Carney would be sitting for as a leader, I would have said it's conservatives, just looking at his resume and what he's done. So I think that's the changes.

You're actually getting that vote for change in the Liberal Party. You know what's interesting is here, there's a couple of different writings. One is the Bowmanville, North Oshawa writing, which is represented by Jameel Javani, who is, I mean, best friends, everybody thinks that they're their best friend, but he's close enough to the US Vice President that he spoke at his wedding. I mean, apparently, they are very, very tight. Do you think that that is, is that an asset that is worth considering in this election? He's a conservative, he's, would be somebody who would be a player in a peer polity of

government? I think that's part of it, but I do think as much as you can't take negotiating south of the border off the table, I do think this is a point of reflection for Canadians to say who are we as a nation and look at ourselves to say reflection for Canadians to say, who are we as a nation? And look at ourselves to say, what are we doing well? What are we not doing well? And some of these tariffs, I don't want to sugarcoat what the next 12 to 18 months or two years could look at, like, but I think there will be a silver lining here to say,

we're kind of just riding along with our neighbors to our south, and we had let some industries go by the wayside. Let's focus on what Canada can do to expand our exports to Europe or China or India. And I'm not talking industry specific, but let's develop other relationships as our own nations. What do you make of that idea, Jesse, that this is a moment for us to figure out who we are as Canadians? And that sure, we're being steered by

actions from south of the border, but the benefit of that is there's a sense of Canadian pride that we haven't felt in a long time in many communities. Oh, I really look forward to what we can see happen as we look into ourselves and what we can do better. As someone who owns a craft beer bar, we have a huge opportunity to really start exploring what alcohol and wine and beer we brew in the country. If we drop some of those provincial trade borders, we can really see what other provinces are making and excelling at. Craft beer alone, what breweries make is so specific to the brewery.

If we could be sharing all that beer, it would be amazing. Same with our rye and our wine. Like, yes, we, the U.S. makes some great stuff, but so does Canada. Glenn, what do you think is the opportunity here in this moment? I mean, people are seeing, and it's not just, you know, Elbows Up and Mike Myers with the Canadian Tire shirt on Saturday Night Live, but also just something else that's going on, right? What's the opportunity do you think for this country in this moment?

else that's going on, right? What's the opportunity do you think for this country in this moment? Well, it's going to force entrepreneurs and creative people with possibly unique products to look elsewhere. It's so easy to do business with the U.S. Traditionally, let's look at what we're good at and that we could export to partners other than the U.S. And that would be? Probably technology stuff. There are lots of little nook and crannies in industrial areas that make fantastic things. We were involved in a large wood project that was for Texas last year. That was organized by a small business in Whitby. What do you think we aren't talking about in this campaign?

I mean, one of the first things that Mark Carney did, literally the first thing he did when he became the Prime Minister, was get rid of the consumer carbon tax, for example. And there hasn't been a lot of conversation in the country around climate change, for example, in this election, and the environment. What do you make of that? I think just there's so much going on that is at least personally much more pressing than the environment,

as much as I want to make sure we are protecting it short term there's a lot of scary things happening that I think is The far bigger focus are you and so you're comfortable with kind of parking that to the side for a minute for especially as you mentioned Canada it has been a good leader in We've got some really great things in place that I don't think are going anywhere that I think we can just let sit and do their thing while we focus on the scarier stuff happening. Jordan, you said you were very clear when you drove up you're in an electric truck. When the sun is shining and life is good, it's easy to plan decades in advance. And what we're dealing with right now is a crisis that is making us focus on the next

12 months, the next 18 months. I don't think this is the election for climate change. Anything that is currently working, let's keep those things working for us in the short term. Yes, we can make long-term goals, but the election is going to be based on a lot of fear from south of the border and a lot of short-term needs versus long-term goals that we have. Can I ask you, as an NDP voter, one of the things that happens when the race seems to kind of narrow to two parties is that folks who were voting, we've heard this across the country, we're in British Columbia, when we were in Alberta, there are a number of NDP voters who said they would like to vote NDP but not this time.

Do you understand what that means? Certainly. I mean, it's that strategic voting kind of thing. Certainly. Some of my NDP friends have said that you know. And what do you say back to them? I say well it's a gamble to vote liberal in Oshawa because Oshawa has never had a liberal presence. Provincially we have a fantastic MPP in Jennifer French. We Jennifer French. We love her. She's amazing. And she keeps winning because it's very deserved.

So there is a strong NDP presence at a certain level. Jesse, you've kind of hinted at that as well, that idea that people, I mean, in this country you don't vote for the Prime Minister, you vote for a party, but people are also really here voting locally. Yeah. That they're trying to vote on the issues that matter to people in their community. I think Oshawa's always really looked very community-based. As someone who lives and works within the same riding, I really see the benefits of

my local politicians supporting us. You do kind of feel like you're throwing your vote away because... Except you don't want them to lose out completely so that they don't have a voice at all. I'll let you all go because we're here in a diner and I'm sure people want to eat breakfast too. It's cruel to keep people away from the giant meal. I'll just ask you all this. What do you think is at stake in this election? We've talked about some of the issues and we've talked about some of the players. But Jessie, what do you think is at stake? I think what's at stake is is our homework, our

country. I think we need to make sure we have a strong united front as a country saying this is who we are. I think that's just me the most important part of this election coming out of it as a a nation that is not divided but together in supporting our values and who we are as a country and a nation. Margaret? I think we don't want a scrapper. We want a measured, intelligent person that actually has a lot of connections. I mean, there are a lot of people who do want a scrapper. A lot of people in this community who want a scrapper, too.

Yeah, but that's wrong. That's just wrong. It's not a time for that. It's a time for the big brains to just do intelligent things. Glenn, what about for you? There's a big sigh before you got it. I think the biggest thing to me anyway is values. And this is a criticism of what's going on in the US because I think American people are great. I have had just fantastic experiences my whole life but that's not what we see in the administration. And so for us when you say values what does that mean for Canada? We don't want to see our values slip the way they have in the US. We've never seen anything like this since probably before World War II.

It's scary. Jordan? There's a lot at stake, but what I'm hoping we come out of this election in the next period of time with a lot more national pride again. It's nice to see other local businesses going to get their commercial graphic provider to put proudly Canadian with a Canadian flag on the side of their work vans. And I see plumbing contractors, electrical contractors, myself included, putting that Canadian flag. And a couple of years ago, having a Canadian flag hanging off the back of your pickup truck wasn't a good thing and that was a sad day. So you know I have a four-year-old

and a one-year-old and when they go to their local public school and there's Canadian flag out front I want that to be a point of pride. I don't really want that to be replaced by the Star Spangled Banner you know but I want that Canadian flag to mean something, to have values. And I think a lot of Canadians, I think the four panelists that you have here sitting with you today, we may differ in our political, where we're going to vote, but a lot of our, if we sat here for another two hours, a lot of the values would be the same. We may come to different conclusions, but the values are the underlying the same. I would tell you that, I mean, having traveled across the country, that's the sentiment that we get everywhere we've been.

Is that people might disagree politically, but generally agree on a lot more than they disagree on in terms of the country and what they want out of the country. Which is encouraging. Yeah. Yeah. You're all really thoughtful. And as I said, politics can be a tricky thing to talk about publicly. So I appreciate you being here as well.

Thank you very much. Thanks for having us. Thanks for having us. Yeah. appreciate you being here as well. Thank you very much. Thank you for having us. Thanks for having us. Yeah. Thank you. That's great. Thanks to our voter panel, Margaret Rogers, Jordan Watten, Glenn Peacock and Jesse Johnson. And to the Rainbow Respond for hosting us.

As Louis promised, the female bacon was indeed delicious and the portions gigantic. Last week we were in central Alberta. Before that we were in Burnaby and Surrey in British Columbia. Our election road trip continues to roll on. Next week's stop is Quebec City and then our final stop in our coast to coast journey is Halifax the week after. No matter where you live we want to know what matters to you as you make up your mind on who to vote for. You can email us thecurrent at cbc.ca. I'm Matt Galloway in Oshawa. Thanks for listening to The Current.

We'll see you tomorrow. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.