Anti-Conservative campaign says Greg Rickford likely unbeatable in Kenora

A group devoted to ousting the Conservatives through strategic voting believes even a concerted effort is unlikely to unseat Greg Rickford in his Kenora riding.

VoteTogether, an election campaign by the democracy advocacy group Leadnow, is targeting 72 ridings across Canada where it believes an incumbent Conservative could be beat if citizens vote strategically.

Kenora is not one of them.

"Based on past election results, it is expected that the Conservative candidate has a very good chance of winning this riding again," the VoteTogether website said.

Rickford is running against two high-profile candidates: former provincial NDP leader Howard Hampton and former Liberal Indian Affairs Minister Bob Nault. 

The group is focused on ridings where "Conservatives either won, or could win, with less than 50 per cent of the vote, based on historic trends," according to Amara Poisson, Leadnow's election campaigner.

None of the northwestern Ontario ridings fit that profile, according to the VoteTogether research. The website predicts both Thunder Bay ridings are likely to be won by "non-Conservatives."

The push for strategic voting in potential swing ridings is a "means to an end" Poisson said.

"Parties by nature are trying to get as many people as possible to vote for them and what we're trying to do is elect a new government that works together, across party lines, for progress on climate, democracy and economy," she said.