Freeland shook off controversy, and then shook off opponents
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, one of the chief architects of Canada’s economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been handily re-elected in the riding of University-Rosedale.
David Kent, who has been the principal timpani player at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra since 1981, as well as the TSO’s personnel manager since 1987, ran for the People’s Party of Canada.
Freeland shook off voter frustration over the snap election call, and concerns over affordability, to capture the commanding victory. She also shook off a brief controversy that erupted when she posted an edited video of Conservative leader Erin O’Toole, which suggested that O’Toole was in favour of two-tier healthcare. Twitter subsequently labelled the video “manipulated media.”
In 2019, Freeland won the newly-formed riding with 51.7 per cent of the votes, with the NDP’s Melissa Jean-Baptiste Vajda finishing well back in second place, with 21.9 per cent.
Knocking off the sitting finance minister and deputy PM — who is also widely-considered to be a potential successor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — was never going to be an easy task, acknowledged Robicheau in an interview with the Star.
“She’s a tough opponent. Chrystia is very well respected,” said Robicheau, who heard plenty of ire from voters upset against the very idea of having an election campaign during the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, she said, most of the ire was aimed not at Freeland, but at Trudeau himself.
“It’s been directed at the Prime Minister, not at Chrystia,” said Robicheau, a humanitarian crisis worker who has worked for several non-governmental organizations, including the Red Cross.
Among the disasters Robicheau has responded to was a major outbreak of the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone. There, she saw first-hand the panic that can be caused by misinformation and rumor-mongering during a crisis. It’s something she’s now saddened to hear on some voters’ doorsteps in Toronto.
“We were spraying the school with insecticide, and rumours started going around that we were spraying it with Ebola. Now we see that kind of conspiracy theory taking root here, with social media,” said Robicheau. “There are a lot of conspiracy theories and misinformation that sometimes it’s hard to even start a conversation with some people. And that’s sad.”
Robicheau says she’s also heard plenty of dissatisfaction from voters about the cost of living, including being able to afford basic necessities like rent. It’s something that struck a very personal note, said Robicheau, who lives just west of the riding’s boundaries.
“When I moved back to Toronto three years ago, I couldn’t afford to live in this riding again,” said Robicheau. Conservative Party candidate Steven Taylor also heard much of the same during the 36-day campaign.
“People are worried about how they’re going to afford to buy a house, or afford rent. They’re worried about their kids being able to afford a place to live,” said Taylor, a lawyer who specializes in data privacy.
Along with that worry, said Taylor, came frustration from plenty of people — of all political stripes — upset that the election had even been called.
“There’s a lot of anger about the fact we’re even having an election right now, during a pandemic. And that’s not a partisan sentiment, either,” said Taylor, who got a boost late in the campaign when he was greeted on one Rosedale doorstep by former Progressive Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, whose son Nick lives in the riding.
While there was also some grousing from voters upset that Freeland had spent much of the election at campaign stops across the country rather than in her own riding, Taylor says he tried to shake that off.
“We put blinders on and focussed on our campaign,” Taylor said.
“She’s a tough opponent. Chrystia is very well respected.”
NICOLE ROBICHEAU NDP CANDIDATE