The Canadian federal election of 2015 is just around the corner and in time for Canada's Democracy Week, we published a Housing and Homelessness Election Guide 2015. This non-partisan, independent, research-based resource analyzes four of the major parties running for office in the upcoming October 19th 2015 election. Our analysis provides important information to help voters make an informed decision.
5 Ways You Can Use the Housing and Homelessness Election Guide
1. Get informed
The Election Guide provides information on the housing and homelessness platforms for four major parties. We reached out to each party and asked them to comment on how they plan to address the homelessness crisis in Canada. The responses as well as their campaign platforms are outlined in the Party Platforms section. We compared each platform to our six recommendations from the State of Homelessness 2014 report, based on extensive research on housing policy targeting homelessness in Canada outlining a realistic solution to ending homelessness.
2. Share the content on social media
Let others know that housing and homelessness are important issues for the federal election. Help to spread the message by sharing our infographics and tweeting messages of support.
3. Reach out to your candidates
There are many ways that you can contact your candidates. Elections Canada has a handy list of candidates that is frequently updated, and easily accessed by typing in your postal code. If you are not able to reach the candidate by their phone number that is provided, you can find their website, e-mail address and Twitter handles through their party’s website.
4. Raise questions
We have provided a sample list of questions that you can ask party leaders or your local candidates. You can raise these questions directly to representatives as they come to your door, during local events or by contacting them directly.
Many of the candidates are easy to reach on Twitter and we have created an easy way for you to tweet these questions, just by clicking on the Twitter icon beside the question. All you have to do is type in the Twitter handle for the politician or party you want to direct your question to. The Twitter accounts for the four party leaders are:
- Conservative Party of Canada leader - Prime Minister Stephen Harper @pmharper
- Liberal Party of Canada leader - Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau
- New Democratic Party of Canada leader - Tom Mulcair @ThomasMulcair
- Green Party of Canada leader - Elizabeth May @ElizabethMay
5. Start discussions
With the knowledge that this guide provides, you can engage fellow Canadians on how the federal government can help to make investments that will help people experiencing homelessness and those that are at-risk of potentially becoming homeless. Let’s make sure that this issue stays on top of the agenda for the October 2015 election. Talk to your friends, family, neighbours, colleagues etc, about the importance of voting for housing and homelessness in this election.