‘We’re just better at it’

Laura Payton revisits the “very ethnic” ridings the Conservatives targeted in the 2011 election.

CBC News has examined the election files of a number of Conservative candidates, including those on the list of the 10 targeted ridings. The records in the Elections Canada files indicate strong control from party headquarters, large amounts of money spent on communications and polling, and tight, take-no-prisoners messaging. That said, the analysis also shows it’s not just about money. Of those 10 target ridings, the candidate who took the riding out-spent the other candidates in six of the races, but sometimes just barely …

The presentation distributed by Nejatian laid out the numbers: by 2017, about half the 7.1 million people in the Greater Toronto Area would be visible minorities. A full 1.3 million would be South Asian and another 900,000 would be Chinese. Other targeted groups included Ukrainians, who make up more than 20 per cent of the population in Manitoba’s Elmwood-Transcona riding, and Jews, who form more than 35 per cent of Quebec’s Mount Royal and, in Toronto, 25 per cent of both Eglinton-Lawrence and York Centre. For advertising purposes, those are large but focused groups, groups that you can reach easily through advertising in the language spoken at home.