10 Things You Should Know About Vote Together

Got questions about the Vote Together campaign? Here are 10 things you should know!

1. Things have changed

In the last few months there have been some major shifts in the political landscape in Canada. As the Conservatives have dropped a few points in the polls, especially out West, there’s growing momentum for change across Canada. We are seeing a dynamic race with the NDP now leading in national polls while both the NDP and Liberals are currently best positioned to defeat Conservatives in different regions and ridings across the country. It’s all going to come down to Voting Together, on a riding-by-riding basis.

2. The Vote Together campaign is about more than just this election

Right now we are focused on this election. We have field teams on the ground from Fredericton to Vancouver and our national Calling Program regularly calls into key battleground ridings. However, the Vote Together campaign is about more than just who gets elected on October 19. We are building a movement for change so that we can keep elected politicians of all parties accountable on the issues the Leadnow community cares about. By running a big, strong, and successful election campaign in the lead up to October 19, we will demonstrate to whoever wins government that we demand action on a strong democracy, a clean environment and a fair economy.

3. People across Canada think it’s time for change

Leadnow recently commissioned a national poll to see what Canadians think heading into the election campaign. The results are pretty conclusive: 52% of people said it’s definitely time for a change in government, while only 14% said it’s definitely best to keep the Conservatives in office. In this political environment, if we work hard through until October 19, we have a shot at bringing change to Ottawa.

4. We’ve hit the ground running

In the last couple of months as the election campaign got closer, we hit the ground running. Volunteers on the Vote Together campaign have made 4300 phone calls into Conservative held swing ridings, we have 12 local teams canvassing multiple times a week in key ridings, and on Wednesday we held our first national volunteer briefing streamed live online. We’ve been planning this campaign for a long time, and now it’s game time!

5. Over 57,000 people have signed the Vote Together pledge

Probably more by the time you read this. Needless to say, people from coast to coast to coast have signed the pledge to Vote Together to back the best candidate to defeat the Conservative in their riding. They’ve signed the pledge at home through door to door canvassing, on the phone after being contacted by a volunteer caller, and online at www.votetogether.ca. We’ve seen a spike in pledges since the election was officially called last weekend and we expect it to continue.

6. We've launched a new interactive election website

Our new website provides information on the state of the race in all of Canada’s 338 federal ridings. Just plug in your postal code and you'll be taken to your riding where you'll see previous election results and ways to get involved in the campaign. You’ll also be able to click around on a giant map of Canada and get information on every single local race. Check it out at www.votetogether.ca.

7. These are the ridings where we currently have teams on the ground

For months, Leadnow teams have been going door-to-door, signing people up to Vote Together in Fredericton, Kitchener-Centre, London North-Centre, Etobicoke Lakeshore, Eglinton Lawrence, Willowdale, Elmwood-Transcona, Saskatoon University, Calgary Centre, Edmonton Griesbach, Vancouver-Granville, and Port Moody-Coquitlam. We started building teams in these  places because they’re ridings from coast-to-coast with a large local Leadnow community, where we can defeat Conservatives. There are new teams popping up every week!

8. If over 500 people sign the vote pledge in your riding, we’ll crowdfund for local polling

Then, if we raise $1,500 from a crowdfunding campaign we’ll commission a poll right away, and publish the results. This is the minimum we’d like to do to get a better sense of what’s going on locally. If we raise $2,500, we’ll be able to do a final poll just days before the election, to get you the best information possible about what’s going on in your local race.

9. We have a clear plan for how the Leadnow community will recommend a candidate in local races this election

In a Vote Together community recommendation process, Leadnow supporters will decide together which candidate (if any) to support in their riding. We’ll host this process and make available information on the state of the race (local polling) as well as let you know where the parties stand on the issues.

Here’s how to get Leadnow to run a community recommendation process in your riding. If you live in a riding with a 2-way race and over 750 people sign the vote pledge, we’ll host a community recommendation process.  If you live in a riding with a 3-way race and over 1500 people sign the vote pledge, we’ll host a community recommendation process.

10. We want you to get involved!

If you aren’t a current volunteer, we want you to join us! No matter where you live, you can have a big impact, either building a block of people to Vote Together in a Conservative swing riding, or by making phone calls and donations into the ridings that’ll determine whether the Harper Conservatives win or lose on October 19. Head to www.votetogether.ca to join the team.