Small victory parties or none at all, no door-knocking in apartment buildings, more phone calls and vaccine requirements for volunteers — the pandemic forced candidates to adjust their strategies during the election campaign.
Doug Kobayashi, a Colwood councillor running for the Liberals in Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke, said it’s been challenging to run his first federal campaign during the pandemic, because many potential volunteers were nervous about going out into the community.
“People were, rightfully so, afraid to go door-knocking, because you don’t know who has and who hasn’t had the vaccination, so that made it very difficult,” he said.
Kobayashi required his volunteers to be double-vaccinated, and everyone in his campaign office had to wear masks. The small space and pandemic precautions meant only about six to eight people could work in the office at once, said Kobayashi, who planned to watch election results with a core team of about 25 volunteers at Six Mile Pub.
NDP candidate Laurel Collins, the incumbent in Victoria, said the pandemic meant her volunteers weren’t knocking on doors in apartment buildings, and spent more time reaching out to voters on the phone.
When Collins was knocking on doors, she often brought along her four-month-old daughter, Alora.
“It also really sparked a lot of conversations about how we are fighting for future generations, for her future, for the future of our children and our grandchildren,” said Collins, who planned to watch results at her campaign office with just a couple of staff.
Elizabeth May, the Green Party’s incumbent in Saanich-Gulf Islands, said she would have a “hybrid” election night, attending a small event at the campaign office for Nick Loughton and Harley Gordon, candidates in Victoria and Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke, as well as an online event for her own volunteers.
May said campaigning during the pandemic was “horrible.” Between recent knee surgery and pandemic anxiety about answering the door to strangers, May said she didn’t knock on a lot of doors this time around, something she loves to do.
Many all-candidates’ meetings were held online, and May missed seeing the reaction of voters. “I really missed the contact,” she said.
Victoria Conservative candidate Hannah Hodson said it was lucky the campaign took place during nice weather, because the pandemic shifted the focus to outdoor events.
As for door-knocking, while the pandemic meant more people were at home, many were anxious, said Hodson, who watched election results come in with a small group at the Delta Ocean Pointe Resort in Vic West.
regan-elliott@timescolonist.com
