Signs directing voters line the street near the North Battleford Library on Monday, Oct. 28. (Julia Lovett-Squires/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Julia Lovett-Squires

Voting Day

Voters in Battlefords head to the polls on election day

Oct 28, 2024 | 12:53 PM

Kyle Falcon stepped out of the voting station in the North Battleford Library on Election Day excited.

Earlier in the campaign season, he didn’t know the voting process until an interaction with a volunteer canvasser handing out voting pamphlets changed all that.

“I thought I had to get a message from the mail to vote,” he said.

Armed with the new information, he began to research the parties running in the riding and at 20, cast his first vote.

“I didn’t really know what to expect but it wasn’t overwhelming,” he said. “It was a lot easier than I thought it would be.”

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After reading about each party’s platforms, Falcon said his major concerns that drew him out to the polls were health care and in particular the provincial doctor shortage and mental health. When he went through the candidate profiles, it was Carla Beck who stuck out to him.

“I was reading about her, and she had like 20 years of social services, and I was like ‘Oh, alright.’”

As election day voting is well on its way, over 270,000 votes have been cast in the first five days of voting week and in the Battlefords a steady stream of voters came out to flex their right.

Station volunteers speaking on background said it was a mix of voters including those new to the country.

For Perry Bodnarchuk, it was a matter of creating change at the federal level.

“Trudeau doesn’t belong here, in Canada for that matter,” he said.

“We need someone that’s gonna back up any of us Canadians and stop bring in – I’m sorry – all these other people that are taking away our jobs.”

Bodnarchuck said more needs to be done to help those facing homelessness and said he felt the government’s money is going elsewhere.

“They’re not doing nothing, but they’re gonna give these other people houses and money monthly.”

(Julia Lovett–Squires/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Cavetta Montgrand said as a paramedic, she came out specifically for health care.

“The offload times in the (emergency rooms) have been atrocious,” she said.

She explained that with some of the party’s platforms focusing on health care, she’s hoping her choice will make the difference.

“I did vote for the NDP just because they do have that whole thing with City Hospital where they’re going to open it again for 24 hours, which will help a lot for offload times,” she said, noting she’s waited over 10 hours before being able to offload patients to beds.

“Even if they’re a stroke patient or something like that, like the wait times have just been terrible.”

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

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