Make Cory Care: 'I treasure the opportunity to vote,' PC candidate tells Manitoban who has never voted

Progressive Conservative candidate Jeannette Montufar shared a personal reason for voting as part of #MakeCoryCare, a campaign to convince lifelong Manitoban Cory Alleyne to cast his first ballot in next month's provincial election.

Montufar met with Alleyne this week as part of the CBC Information Radio series, which invites Manitobans of all political stripes to encourage the 37-year-old Winnipegger to cast his ballot on April 19.

Alleyne is a father, homeowner and taxpayer, but he is among the 44 per cent of eligible Manitobans who did not vote in the 2011 provincial election.

In fact, he has never voted in his life.

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Montufar is the PC candidate in Fort Garry-Riverview, which is Alleyne's constituency. After contacting him on Twitter, she stopped by his home on Tuesday and explained why she feels strongly about the right to vote.

"I came from a developing country … and [in] the country where I was born, human rights and freedoms and liberties were almost just a phrase," Montufar told him.

"In that country, in Guatemala, actually women did not have the right to vote until the 1950s. So I treasure the opportunity to vote."

'You have become his voice'

While Montufar also talked about her party's platform, she urged Alleyne to do his research and determine what he wants to see in his elected representative.

"It's your way to express yourself. It's a way in which you can tell your elected officials what you think about the performance in the things that are important to you, like education, infrastructure and health," she said.

She added that Alleyne's son, Max — who, at four months old, is not quite old enough to vote — will also benefit from his father's decision.

"He can't say anything and you have become his voice," she said.

"It's going to take you five minutes to go to the polls and to mark that X, and that little boy is going to benefit forever from what you do."

We still want to hear from you! Information Radio is encouraging voters and candidates from all political parties to reach out and inspire Alleyne to vote.

Here's how you can help us #MakeCoryCare:

• Send us a message on Facebook.
• Tweet at us, or take a short video with your smartphone, and use the hashtag #MakeCoryCare.
• ​Email us at talkback@cbc.ca.
• Upload a picture or video to Instagram with your message and the hashtag #MakeCoryCare.