Under blue skies and in a sea of red shirts, Federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff turned up in Horseshoe Bay Sunday to greet supporters and answer questions.
Ignatieff visited the riding of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country as the keynote speaker at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) conference in Whistler last weekend.
Ignatieff said he shares the frustration municipal leaders have with the government while they wait for federal stimulus money promised in the 2009 budget.
"We voted on a budget 120 days ago and every mayor and municipal leader across the country up in Whistler was saying, 'Where's the money?'" he said. "The biggest issue here is that Canadians want the government of Canada, or the Conservative government, to get money out to their communities, to build roads, to fix sewers, to build bridges and the money isn't flowing and we've been saying over and over again, 'Where's the money?'
Ignatieff said he and his party will continue to put pressure on the Conservative minority government back on Parliament Hill.
"It's one of the biggest problems we have with this government. We're prepared to support a budget, but only if the money gets to Canadians and it hasn't got to Canadians," he said.
He listed access to employment insurance, the shortage of medical isotopes from the Chalk River reactor and the ballooning federal deficit as points of contention.
Recent polls put the Liberals in minority government territory in the event of an election, which Ignatieff said was encouraging, but likely not enough to bring down the government.
"We are currently discussing that issue. I've made it clear that I'm not looking for an election," he said. "We got some great poll numbers, all that's true, but that doesn't push me off my basic track, which is to try and make Parliament work. That's what Canadians want me to do and that's what I'm going to try to do."
When asked if this was a winnable riding, Ignatieff responded, "Sunshine Coast? You bet."
Liberal candidate and Squamish Mayor Ian Sutherland was on hand for the visit. So far, no other potential candidates have stepped forward.
Sutherland said he has been keeping on top of issues he would champion in the expansive riding should an election be called.
"In Squamish, it has a lot to do with forestry, same thing with Powell River. On the Sunshine Coast, it's transportation. Certainly the economy is front and centre for everyone," he said.
Sutherland said the Liberal party will likely name its next candidate for the riding in the fall after the party can evaluate all potential candidates.
