Campaign Update from NDP Candidate Sara Lopez

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Normally when a politician describes some of their party's problems, they tend to deflect or make excuses. That is not what happened when Cortes Currents asked NDP candidate Sara Lopez for an update on her campaign. She seems to revel in the difficult conversations and seeking solutions, but also had some criticisms of Anna Kindy's performance as an MLA.  
Cortes Currents: Tell me about your campaign. Where have you been? What have you been doing? 
Sara Lopez: "I've been door-knocking. A lot of door-knocking and canvassing and the more that I can get done, the better. My absolute favourite part of the campaign is meeting people and hearing what makes them tick. What they're mad about, what they hope for the world: all of that good stuff and the more diverging opinions, the better. Folks who actually want to engage in a bit of conversation, I love.
"Otherwise, I'm meeting with leadership from a lot of different community groups, boards, things like that, just to get an understanding of where things are and where they'd like them to be. What they feel their most pressing needs are, for the communities they serve. It's allowing me to see the complexity of the experiences being felt here on the North Island." 
Cortes Currents: Tell me about some of these conversations you've been having, and where have you been having them? 
Sara Lopez: "So far I've been campaigning mostly Campbell River, Quadra and then we did have an event on Quadra where we invited folks from Cortes. I know that's not ideal. It does require them to travel, but it was open to them. Otherwise, it's been meetings on Zoom like this, or going to people, or having them come to our campaign office.
"I've had a few really great phone conversations with some indigenous leaders from up north. I am doing a tour up north, Wednesday, and I think maybe Thursday morning, and then coming back Thursday afternoon. It being a very short-timeframe/snap election, I just won't have the time to visit much of the further reaches of our riding."
"What I'm hearing a lot on the doorstep is frustration, to be completely honest. There's the frustration around the timing of the election. There's frustration around the economy. People are scared. They're worried about making sure that they can keep or find good jobs, that their kids will be able to find good jobs after they're done with their schooling and make sure that they can come back to the North Island.
"Small business owners are really feeling pressure from tariffs, but  there's also the pressure of rising rental costs. Commercial rents aren't protected in the same way that residential tenancies are. A lot of small business owners are feeling the strain in recruiting and keeping a skilled workforce, and what those skilled workforce expect in terms of remuneration.
"That's a direct result of that workforce needing to pay for a higher cost of living everywhere else. They can't afford to work for minimum wage anymore. They can't feed their families and pay their rent on that income."
"Folks are worried about healthcare. I'm hearing a lot of concern around the long-term care home in Campbell River; obviously, the emergency room closures up north; being able to recruit enough doctors.
"I'm having lots of conversations about environmental protections. I just got off the phone with someone who works in climate action and spends all of her free time in our wild spaces. She just had a wealth of information in terms of what she's observed firsthand, what she's found while researching, and how that's making her feel right now in terms of which party to vote for and how to best move forward."