It’s the first time Audrey McKinnon has run in a federal election and she’s excited to take on the challenge.
The former CBC reporter, now in communications, is running as the NDP candidate for Cariboo-Prince George against Conservative incumbent Todd Doherty in the upcoming Sept. 20 federal election.
McKinnon says she’s been gearing up to run for the NDP for over a year and is motivated by her experience living in poverty as a single-parent to her son.
“That was just a really hard time and I received a lot of help during that time from people in different ways. Sometimes emotional, sometimes monetary. There were just lots of people who helped in day-to-day things that kind of got me out of that situation and helped me get onto my feet,” said McKinnon.
“I always thought my job, at that time, was to work my way out of poverty and get to a place of stability and then to pay it forward. When I was approached about whether I would consider running at some point I thought this is the perfect opportunity to do that.”
McKinnon says her experiences give her an inherent understanding of poverty and about what people really need.
“Having lived it, I know that there are a lot of invisible barriers that a lot of people who haven't experienced it just wouldn't even consider to be an issue or something to even think about. So, I think that's going to be really important when thinking about policies."
She says some of the key issues she wants to focus on, in no particular order, are climate change, affordability and the opioid crisis.
“We've had such a brutal summer of wildfires and people have lost their homes, their communities, their lives, and this is the impact of inaction from our current government and leaders over many years,” said McKinnon.
When speaking about affordability, McKinnon referenced a number of social supports advocated for by the NDP.
“Things like dental care and pharmacare and universal mental health care are no-brainers,” said McKinnon.
She noted if the healthcare system is called universal, then people should be able to access healthcare for all parts of their bodies and their minds.
“And always top-of-mind to me is the drug crisis. Northern Health has highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the province and thousands of people are dying preventable deaths right now,” said McKinnon.
“The solutions are obvious that we need to get safe supply and we need to fully implement a safe supply. That means decriminalization of simple possession and we need to address poverty because they're inextricably linked.”
Although she announced her candidacy long before the Liberals called the fall election on Aug. 15, McKinnon still doesn’t think it’s the right time for an election.
“We've got overlapping crises. Like I mentioned, the drug crisis, the climate crisis, and then all these affordability issues. People are deeply struggling right now emotionally and this is definitely not the time for an election,” said McKinnon.
“I think for myself, it's just about focusing on what we can do next. We're just going to jump into this election and get the word out as much as possible and get onto people's doorsteps and let them know that we're here.”
McKinnon said she knows it is a tough battle ground as Cariboo-Prince George has elected conservative candidates for decades but she is still hopeful.
Todd Doherty was first elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019. In 2019, he secured the seat with 52.7 per cent of the vote.
Before Doherty, the riding was held for more than a decade by Conservative Dick Harris.
“I know that the support is here and I refuse to just give up Just because we've always had the same representation,” said McKinnon.
“I think that attitude is sometimes why we end up continuing to have the exact same thing. I really encourage people to look at their options and see that it's not just between the Liberals and Conservatives. The NDP are a serious party and a serious contender and they're the only party, in my opinion, that really is looking out for all Canadians and isn't doing it out of self-interest.”
Over the next month, MacKinnon says she’s most excited about knocking on doors and taking a few minutes to hear about constituents’ concerns.
“That is some thing that I will be spending probably most of my time doing during the campaign is just getting out there and meeting as many people as possible, and that is going to be the biggest challenge as well because we live in a massive riding.”
McKinnon will be launching her campaign and opening her campaign office tonight in Prince George at 1240 4th Ave at 6 p.m.
The event will be open to the public, but all NDP campaign spaces are mask mandatory and guests will be asked to provide contact tracing details at the door.
The Liberals and the Greens have not yet announced candidates for Cariboo-Prince George.
