Dear editor,

There are difficult decisions to make in this federal election. Elections are competitive but what we now need most is unity of purpose. We need a leader who can lead us in that, regardless of party.

I know Pierre Poili猫vre personally from spending six years as an MP and deputy speaker in Parliament. Pierre seemed to view politics as a war. As he and I were watching the news in the gym together one evening, he responded to a news item and called the Liberals his "enemy"; I responded: "Pierre, they are not our enemy! We may disagree on key policy issues but we are NOT enemies." 

The conservative leader鈥檚 constant attack dog approach, his Trump-like pronouncements on "a broken Canada", the federal public service, climate change and his endorsement of the truck convoy wreaking havoc in Ottawa have convinced me that a vote for Conservative candidates is a vote for leadership based on negativity. We need to and we can do better than that.

I have many friends who are fiscal Conservatives; they support a Canada in which we build and in which we resolve our problems! Some are business people who have worked hard to develop successful businesses, create jobs and meet payroll deadlines. Do you really believe that the man who has been sitting in Parliament since his early twenties, with a full pension by the time he was 31, has the skills to unlock Canada's great economic potential and create jobs in this time of crisis?

I am supporting Liberal leader Mark Carney in this election because I believe his life and work experience have prepared him for this moment in history, to take on the biggest challenge we have faced. This election is a fight for our sovereignty! It is unlike any other Canadians have faced. I will vote for a leader who has a history of solving, not creating problems, who understands the economy, who is calm and rational, and has a heart! 

Denise Savoie

Former Victoria MP

Comox