SDG – Conservative Party of Canada candidate Eric Duncan is not taking anything for granted during this election campaign. The two-term incumbent Member of Parliament is seeking a third-term in the riding, highlighting his local connections, constituency work, and what he says is a need for change. Duncan spoke to The Leader as part of a series of candidate interviews leading up to the April 28 Federal Election.
“It’s time for a change,” Duncan said of why the Conservatives should form the next government. “What’s been happening the last several years under the Liberal/NDP government is a wake up call. With all the challenges from the U.S., we need a new approach.”
Duncan said housing costs have doubled, the immigration system is presently broken and backlogged, and that deficit spending has put Canada in weak position – especially in the face of a tariff war. “For years we have been talking about the very solutions that would get ourselves up on our own two feet, be less reliant on the United States, and grow our economy,” Duncan said. “There’s no reason we shouldn’t be one of the richest countries in the world, safely exporting our natural resources – our energy.”
In seeking another term, Duncan said he should be re-elected based on his record since 2019.
“I am very passionate about the work that I do. I love every day and every minute of it for the opportunity,” he said. “I never take anything for granted and I don’t rest on my laurels. I consider myself accessible and out in the community for people so they can share their feedback and I can be their voice in Parliament.”
Duncan explained that he goes to hundreds of events in the riding per year to maintain that connection. “That’s not performative. It’s having those meaningful conversations with people and being accessible,” he said.
One of the things Duncan is most proud of in the riding is the level of customer service provided through his office, claiming it is one of the busiest constituency offices in Canada. “We help thousands of case files per year. We want the federal government to do better when it comes to customer service – we lead by example and don’t just criticize.”
Looking back at the last term, Duncan said that even in opposition, he has been able to accomplish things in the riding.
“As an opposition member of Parliament I often joke that we don’t have the cheque book but we have a megaphone,” he said. Duncan is proud to have advocated for national issues at a local level, like highlighting the punitive effects of the federal Carbon Tax on local agriculture. “Now we’ve seen all the parties come along to the Conservative position on this,” he said.
Working on local issues such as applying pressure with Municipality of South Dundas officials on the St. Lawrence Seaway to clean up and improve the park area at the Iroquois Locks is another point he highlighted.
“I reached out and worked with the mayor [Jason Broad] where we met with the Seaway management group and said that work needed to be done. It wasn’t at an acceptable standard,” he said.
If re-elected, he said that he has many priorities for the riding. They include affordability: housing and cost of living, and ensuring that the riding receives “its fair share” when funding opportunities are available. Duncan also cited a campaign promise by federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to remove the GST from new homes as a way of helping with affordability.
Recently, Duncan was criticized for a lack of decorum, specifically for name calling when former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation in January. Duncan responded that there is an adversarial nature in politics. “To be in politics these days requires a thick skin,” he said. “We go, and we criticize as the official opposition party, we’re scrutinizing the government – calling out their shortcomings, and we’re creating a contrast of what you would do differently.”
He continued that from a local perspective he is collaborative and respectful with local mayors, community leaders, businesses, and residents.
“In our adversarial system, it’s about what would you differently, calling them out and holding them to account,” Duncan said adding that social media has changed things. “I get personal attacks – very personal vicious attacks – you learn to ignore them after a while. It’s sad that there’s people who are going to hide behind a keyboard. But you don’t focus on that. You focus on what you have to get done. Unfortunately, it’s just the nature of politics.”
To help with affordability across the country, Duncan explained that looking at government consulting and the size of the civil service is part of how it would fund cuts in the GST for homes and other policy planks so far unveiled by the Conservatives.
Duncan confirmed that program cuts would not be on the table for initiatives started under the Trudeau government including the National Dental Care, Child Care, Pharma-Care, or the Canada Child Benefit. Conservatives will honour all existing agreements, and instead change some of the language used which Duncan claimed in the case of the dental care and pharma-care programs, conflicted with private insurance if a person had that benefit.
On the national $10 per day Child Care program, he said that the Conservatives would expand flexibility of what qualified for day care under the system in place.
There was no commitment to enhance or expand any of the programs already in place.
“We need a significant change from the direction we’ve had the last nine-and-a-half years,” he said. “It has put us in a weak position in a time when we have to be stronger than ever and more united as a country.”
Duncan said the issues people agree with are the position that his party has advocated for for years including building an east-west pipeline, resource development, lower taxes, eliminating the federal Carbon Tax, and building housing.
“The Liberals are trying to change their tune before an election; they’ve changed leaders; they’ve changed long-standing positions that have been the opposite of the consensus that Canadians have had,” he said. “It’s one thing to be united as a country, but its making sure to have a government that can bring the change that we’re talking about. The Liberals had a chance. They refused and I don’t believe they deserve another.”
He closed out the interview saying he loves what he does and is proud to be able to do it.
“I put a 110 per cent into the job. And if I am honoured to have their vote, they know that they have an MP that is always accessible to them. It’s my name that’s on the ballot. The last five and a half years I hope I have shown the passion for the job.”
(This is the first in a series of feature interviews, profiling the candidates in Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry for the upcoming April 28 Federal Election.)
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