Knock knock.
Who乌鸦传媒檚 there?
It乌鸦传媒檚 your local candidate for parliament 乌鸦传媒� and according to the experts, it乌鸦传媒檚 no joke.
As electoral campaigns and platforms continue to adapt to the digital age, politicians and experts agree that traditional face-to-face interaction through door knocking is here to stay.
乌鸦传媒淧ersonal contact is still the best way to reach people,乌鸦传媒� said Maxime H茅roux-Legault, assistant professor in the department of economics, philosophy and political science at UBC Okanagan.
乌鸦传媒淥n social media, you乌鸦传媒檒l see ads, and you乌鸦传媒檙e going to see news articles. It乌鸦传媒檚 not the same thing as meeting the candidate.乌鸦传媒�
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H茅roux-Legault said door-knocking boils down to three primary purposes 乌鸦传媒� persuasion, motivation and information.
乌鸦传媒淭he motivation aspect of door-knocking needs to be taken into account,乌鸦传媒� he said.
乌鸦传媒淧arties are not trying to gain new voters but motivate their voters to turn out on voting day.乌鸦传媒�
The informational component pertains to candidates providing details surrounding voter registration and where local polling stations are, which also helps to increase turnout on election day.
Somebody who has had immense experience with door-knocking is local NDP volunteer, Maria Tokarchuk. She乌鸦传媒檚 been volunteering in various capacities with both the provincial and federal NDP on a local level since 1991.
In her view, what has changed most over the past 30 years are peoples乌鸦传媒� schedules.
乌鸦传媒淢ore people used to be at home and would answer the door,乌鸦传媒� said Tokarchuk with a slight chuckle.
乌鸦传媒淲e try to go in the evenings between 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., especially during the week. Probably half of the people are home.乌鸦传媒�
Tokarchuk said it乌鸦传媒檚 been even more noticeable when trying to reach people by phone.
乌鸦传媒淲hen you phone people, they don乌鸦传媒檛 answer the phone,乌鸦传媒� she said.
乌鸦传媒淲hen you乌鸦传媒檙e at the door, people can look out the window and see you as a person, but on the phone, if they don乌鸦传媒檛 recognize the number, they don乌鸦传媒檛 pick it up.乌鸦传媒�
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Some local candidates share similar sentiments.
乌鸦传媒淔ace-to-face is always the best way to do anything,乌鸦传媒� said Liberal Party candidate Stephen Fuhr.
乌鸦传媒淚n the 21st century, there are other options out there and they also bring different pros and cons.乌鸦传媒�
Fuhr said while door-knocking is very useful, it乌鸦传媒檚 also very labour intensive and you can乌鸦传媒檛 connect with the same volume of people as you can through digital channels.
乌鸦传媒淣owadays, I think its a good healthy combination of both face-to-face and interaction on social media,乌鸦传媒� he said.
乌鸦传媒淨uality interaction is important but you also need reach. Social media can help you with that.乌鸦传媒�
Conservative candidate Tracy Gray balances her approach, but added in the past four months she has door-knocked a distance equivalent to walking to Calgary and back.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 all about connecting with people where they are. It乌鸦传媒檚 an especially important way to engage with retirees and seniors.乌鸦传媒�
michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com
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