Canadians could very well be in for a Christmas election campaign, and Yellowhead Member of Parliament Rob Merrifield is raring to go.

“We’re going to have an election in the next four months anyway,” Merrifield told a crowded seniors centre in Hinton Saturday. “Maybe we should give Canada an early Christmas present and do it early.”

Merrifield, back in Alberta for Parliament’s Remembrance Day recess, was in Hinton as part of a series of town hall meetings throughout his sprawling riding. The gathered crowd, most heads grey or balding, were clearly supportive of Merrifield and as eager as their federal representative to see the Liberal Party out of office.

“You need to rip the power from their cold, dead hands,” Merrifield said of the ruling Liberals. “I hate to put it that way, but you really do.”

The last three weeks have been “unbelievable” Merrifield said, with the release of Justice John Gomery’s first report on the sponsorship scandal and the media firestorm surrounding the hasty departure of David Dingwall from the Royal Canadian Mint.

“It will go down as the worst corruption in Canadian history,” Merrifield said of the sponsorship scandal. “It was a diabolical plan to enrich the Liberal Party with your tax dollars.”

Despite Justice Gomery’s exoneration of current Prime Minister Paul Martin, a recent poll indicates that 71 per cent of Canadians believe that Martin had some knowledge of the sponsorship program and the systemic abuse that was occurring.

That Martin would have no clue about what was happening beggars belief, Merrifield said, and he is pleased that Canadians seem unconvinced.

“Chretien said that he found out about sponsorship problems from the Treasury Board, and who was the vice-chair? Paul Martin,” he said.

“I believe they will discipline this Liberal Party when they have the opportunity and that may be coming soon,” he said. Merrifield was encouraged by polls taken soon after the Gomery Report went public. The numbers indicated a strong push for the Conservatives and a sharp drop for the Liberals, with support for other parties remaining at largely the same levels.

“Pre-election we’ve never been as strong in the polls since 1958,” he said.

Merrifield’s joy over strong numbers might have been tempered by more recent public opinion. A poll released Monday by The Strategic Counsel indicates that the Liberals regained seven percentage points to sit at 35 per cent support, while the Conservatives fell to 28 per cent.

The only poll that matters, of course, is the one taken by all voters on election day, and Merrifield is certainly keen to see that day coming.

“My energy is always improved by these town halls,” he said after speaking passionately to constituents for the better part of an hour on a wide range 

of topics. 

The Yellowhead area has been in the national news twice in the recent past due to tragic events, and Merrifield spent a fair amount of time discussing the fallout from both the Wabumun Lake train derailment and the Mayerthorpe RCMP slayings. Reforming the criminal justice system has become one of the MP’s foremost priorities during this session of Parliament. Sadly, because of the focus on corruption and political gamesmanship, little has been done on several crucial files, Merrifield said.

“It has been a pretty slim agenda on new legislation,” he said. Merrifield cited as an example of this legislative gridlock a motion that he had tabled in the House of Commons to shut down the bulk sales of pharmaceuticals to the United States. It received unanimous support from MPs, but no action has been taken.

Another project near and dear to Merrifield is the attempt to restrict the sales of the precursor ingredients for crystal meth. Originally introduced as a private member’s bill by Merrifield, the proposal was incorporated into new legislation designed by the government. The bill requires royal assent to become law and Merrifield hopes that this will happen without further delay.

“I really hope it does happen,” he said. “I’ve seen the government dragging this out and there is no reason for them to do so.”

If an election is called at the earliest possible juncture, however, then there is almost no chance of the bill becoming law. Next Tuesday (November 15) is the first opportunity for a non-confidence motion to be brought before the House of Commons. Should such a motion pass, Parliament would be dissolved and an election called, likely for December 27.

NDP leader Jack Layton, who Merrifield described as “prostituting” his party to prop up the Liberals, announced Monday that his party was unlikely to support the government in any future confidence vote. This leaves the door wide open for any of the opposition parties to bring forward a motion on Tuesday.  

The election campaign will likely focus on Liberal corruption and Conservative commitments to clean up Ottawa and the political process. Merrifield said that his party is also willing to debate serious policy issues surrounding health care and justice, but that it is hard to get the conversation going in the three-ring circus that Parliament tends to operate in.

“I understand why,” he said of media fixation on sponsorship and David 

Dingwall’s expense account. “We’re trying to sell policy and they are trying to sell papers.”

One policy that Merrifield and other Conservative hopefuls will be selling is their party’s newly announced accountability package. The plan includes strict limits on donations to political parties, a five-year waiting period for former ministers and political aides before they can become lobbyists and furthering the investigative power’s of the auditor general.

“It’s really shameful that you have to introduce these kind of rules,” Merrifield said. “It shouldn’t have to be, but it probably is.”

A government led by Harper would avoid the problems of corruption and cronyism that have plagued the Liberals, Merrifield claimed.

“Stephen Harper said something that I thought was very profound and that was that he wanted to impact politics, not for politics to impact him,” Merrifield said.

“I think he would be one of the best Prime Ministers Canada has ever had.”

That sentiment was well-supported in Hinton this weekend, just as Merrifield is likely to be when voters here go to the polls. First elected in 2000, Merrifield captured an impressive 68.6 percent of the vote when he stood for re-election last year. Yellowhead has been one of the safest Conservative seats in Canada since it was created in 1976. Former Prime Minister Joe Clark represented the constituency from 1979 until 1993. 

Some familiar faces will be appearing opposite Merrifield on the hustings whenever the writ drops. Two-time NDP candidate Noel Lapierre will be back to try for a third time after capturing less that 12 per cent of the vote in 2004. The Liberal Party of Canada has yet to announce a candidate for the riding.

Meanwhile, the Green Party of Canada, which saw a record haul in the popular vote during the last federal election, has nominated a Jasperite to carry the party banner this time around. Monika 

Schaefer, who ran for the Greens provincially in 2004, has lived in Jasper since 1982. A former Park Warden, Schaefer is eager to get the campaign started.

“I do have a very busy life but for me I really appreciate the opportunity to get the message out about what the Green Party is all about,” she said.

Schaefer’s campaign will look at fundamental issues of sustainability and environmental protection.

“I know there’s been so much focus on corruption and it is serious, but are we fiddling while the Titanic is sinking?” 

Schaefer believes that electoral reform is an essential step to repairing Canada’s democracy.

“The writing’s on the wall,” she said. “We are one of the last Western countries without some form of proportional representation.”

Whenever the election occurs, Merrifield believes that it is of great significance to the future of Canada. Although he’s always heard rumblings about western alienation and Alberta separation, the MP claims to have noticed a profound difference recently.

“When you’re starting to hear so much discontent, it’s pretty serious,” Merrifield said. “This election will be the most pivotal that our nation has been through in years.”