Cost of living, affordable housing key topics raised in federal leaders debate, Albertans say

The leaders of Canada's federal political parties battled it out over issues ranging from climate change to reconciliation during Thursday's election debate, but for some Albertans, the event did not yield a clear winner. 

For Nate Spasiuk, an education tech assistant from Edmonton who watched the debate as part of a focus group organized by pollster Janet Brown and CBC Edmonton, the exchange was focused more on personality than policy.  

"This debate was more about the candidate's characters than their party's platforms," Spasiuk said told CBC News after the two-hour debate concluded. 

With 11 days until the election, five federal party leaders — Justin Trudeau (Liberal), Erin O'Toole (Conservative), Jagmeet Singh (NDP), Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc Québécois)  and Annamie Paul (Green) — gathered  at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., for the sole English debate of the 2021 federal election campaign.

Members of the focus group said they most appreciated discussions about the cost of living and affordable housing, with some noting that issues like strategies for economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine passports didn't get enough airtime. 

The highlights

For St. Albert resident Amanda Muir, discussions on human rights issues and reconciliation with Indigenous people stood out.

An exchange over how Canada's economic recovery was also a key moment for Muir.

"I thought that there was a lot of really good points made on how, without some economic recovery, we're not going to be able to fund any of the social programs or the reconciliation programs or anything like that," she said.

Some of the focus group members zeroed in on affordability, one of the predetermined debate topics.

For Leduc resident Jake McCoy, hearing from the political party leaders speak on affordable housing was a highlight of the evening. 

"As a young person with a lot of monthly bills, I did appreciate a few of the candidates speaking up about the high cost of groceries, the high cost of utilities, the high cost of phone and internet," he said.

"As a person who lives in Canada, I did appreciate that everyone had points on affordable housing, in spite of some of them not being well-articulated."

For Edmonton retiree Paul Boleska, discussions on inflation and a reasonable cost of living were key as Canada's inflation rates have been some of the highest in a decade. 

"Groceries are getting crazy. The inflation is high," he said, noting that gas prices are very high in the province. 

"What's going to happen when [the pandemic] is all over?"  

What was missing

Both Muir and Boleska had hoped the federal leaders to address a national vaccine passport and COVID-19 vaccines.

"Vaccines have been such a big campaign point, especially for Justin Trudeau. It would have been nice to hear a little bit more specifically on what exactly the plan is, and I think that a lot of people are really wondering that," Muir said. 

"The fact that it was just sort of omitted I found a little bit strange." 

Did the debate change people's minds?

In an online survey run by Brown, about 41 per cent of the 22 Albertans who took part in the focus group said the debate won't affect how they vote.

Some 36 per cent of respondents said the debate might change their vote when they cast their ballot on Sept. 20.

Others like Spasiuk said they still need more information before election night. 

"There's still a lot of research I have to do on my own. But the biggest thing I took away from this debate was the personalities of the leaders themselves."