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'It was a little blurry': UWindsor students react to their first federal election experience

Katrina Bahnam said the national campaign was too full of "slashing and shaming," which disinterested her in following it.

"It was a bit misguided," said Bahnam, a University of Windsor student who voted for the first time in the 2019 federal election.

Bahnam said on a local level, she had opportunities to get to know candidates on a personal level.

"For me, that's what really stood out," said Bahnam.

Political science professor Lydia Miljan said candidates' efforts on the ground may have made the difference.

"It's a really interesting result, given that we have a minority government," said Miljan. "[Some] won by just 2,000 votes. They had a better ground game."

One of those ridings where the ground game came into play might have been where Conservative Chris Lewis took the seat in Essex.

"They were calling all the time, really trying to get out the vote and mobilize it," said Miljan. "He speaks the language of the riding."

Tartil Shaheen also voted for the first time in the advance polls — she was too excited to wait for Oct. 21 to cast her ballot.

"[But also] I couldn't wait for campaign season to end," said Shaheen, who also attends UWindsor.

When the candidates came to the university, Shaheen's mind was changed and she ended up supporting a different party than she intended.

"From certain parties, it was a little blurry ... it was hard to make decision. But there were some others where I was like 'No, I'm not voting for them.'"

Jonathan Pinto/CBC
Jonathan Pinto/CBC

And every vote really did count, Miljan pointed out, looking at the Windsor-Tecumseh riding by less than 700 votes.

"When you have these tight races, a really contested election, any little thing at the local election can flip the election," said Miljan.

Julia Harnadek, another UWindsor student, said the election campaign started for her when Conservative leadership candidate Andrew Scheer picked up the pace and became more vocal.

Locally, Harnadek said one of the key issues is climate change.

"I think a lot of the parties act like they're so different on the topic when there aren't so many differences," said Harnadek, who also felt influenced by provincial politics.

CBC Windsor went live with students on election night to hear their take on the election.

One thing Harnadek also noticed — more young people were talking about politics than she expected.

"This is a really important time for young people ... we're entering a [changing world]."

Miljan said the results show the results were "earned" and hard-fought for.

"We have someone at the seat, at the caucus," said Miljan, adding that the Liberal Party will have to "tread carefully" moving forward.

Locally, Miljan said the region's voice will be heard with the new members of Parliament.

"We become relevant," said Miljan.