Victorious Liberal says she found it easier campaigning this time around
Seeking a second term after her first victory in 2019, incumbent Vimy Liberal MP Annie Koutrakis managed to increase her share of voter support by several percentage points in last Monday’s federal elections, handily winning the riding for her party.
By 11 pm on election night, the returns indicated that Koutrakis had the support of 51.2 per cent of voters, compared to the 47.5 per cent result she obtained two years ago.
She recalled that in the last election, not long after she had won the nomination to run for the Liberals in Vimy, she had only about a week to find a campaign office, and put together a campaign team.
Better prepared
“This time around I was more lucky, because I already had my campaign team in place, I already knew where I wanted my headquarters to be,” said Koutrakis.
“This time I felt more organized. And also, having been an elected Member of Parliament for almost 18 or 19 months, I had a better idea of what is required of what is required of me. I just felt more prepared, more organized, it wasn’t as chaotic, and I feel that I’m very well supported.”
Koutrakis said her door-to-door campaigning went very well, although there were some difficult questions from some of the constituents she met.
Frequently asked questions
The question that came up most frequently, she admitted, was why Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saw it necessary to call an election at the halfway mark since the last election in 2019, and in the middle of a public health crisis.
Koutrakis said that after two years, it had become evident that Parliament was no longer functioning effectively and that the Liberal government would probably have fallen eventually if the election had not been called.
“So, if our Prime Minister had not called the election, you can be sure that the government was going to fall soon after the summer break,” she added.
