Undecided voters weighing options in close federal race

REGINA For Creighton Widdis, the federal election is about trust — and he still isn’t sure where to place his.

“It’s really hard,” said Widdis. “I change my mind about 10 times a day.”

Widdis, 42, is one of Regina’s undecided voters. He’s been doing mental gymnastics as he struggles to decide in the hours before election day. He’s put off by what he calls Liberal “corruption” and “scandal,” especially over the Snc-lavalin affair, but can’t easily bring himself to vote for Conservative economic and social policies he doesn’t support.

“Do I punish the Liberals for corruption, which they promised not to do?” he asked. “Or do I vote for the Liberals because I don’t trust the Conservatives, thus condoning any potential corruption that happened.”

The Greens or the NDP haven’t been able to resolve his dilemma. Neither, for Widdis, seem like “viable” options.

Then there’s the Goodale factor. Widdis lives in Regina—wascana, the only Liberal seat in the province. He called incumbent Liberal MP Ralph Goodale “a good guy.”

“Even though I like him, as a member of Parliament, a vote for him is a vote for a party that’s done some questionable things,” said Widdis.

Party promises haven’t won him over either, since he’s not sure who has the credibility to follow through. In the coming hours, he’ll be watching whether the leaders take the high road or the low road.

“If they seem to conduct themselves professionally then that will be a big deal for me,” he said. “If they just get nastier as it gets to crunch time that’s going to take away from any credibility they have.”

STRATEGIC VOTING

Doug Casimel is a strategic voter, and he’s holding off on any commitment until the bitter end.

“I want to cancel out a Conservative vote,” he said.

His first priority is the environment. He wants to vote Green, but he likely won’t.

Casimel, 50, said he’ll be studying a website that helps strategic voters decide which candidate has the best chance of defeating a Conservative. For now, in his Regina—lewvan riding, that seems like the NDP. But Casimel will keep checking votewell.ca right up until election day.