This will be a riding to watch on election night - simply because this is one of the few in the 905 region that the Conservative’s think they can win.

Dechert will be in Cabinet if Harper forms a government - and his campaign will be telling each and every voter they speak to that Mississauga-Erindale will finally get a respected voice in Ottawa.

The LIB candidate is a pro-islam, anti-semitic, one-trick-pony who lost the election the minute the CP newswire reported about his disputed comments @ the nomination meeting where this lunatic was chosen.

This will be a squeaker, but look for the soon-to-be Honourable Bob Dechert to squeak this one out.

Since I have some insight in the riding, I will post here what I know and feel.

I have been in this riding for the last 12 years and I can tell you that the Liberal MP (Carolyn Parrish) never knocked on any doors since the incumbent MP almost always has an advantage of name recognition. (CP more than any other MP in West Toronto with her actions)

She had a premium among this riding’s voters when it came to elections (Re: “speaks out”, “she a fighter”, “You gotta admire the courage to stand up and be counted”) and now that she is not running federally, that premium is gone. The newly nominated Liberal Omar Alghabra is rebuilding as Carolyn Parrish has many of her seasoned troops resting for her eventual Mississauga councillor/mayor run. Liberal Candidate Omar Alghabra was planning on running a passive campaign but the developments at the nomination spoiled that. His team is out everyday now but they are seasoned as the CPC campaign and not as effective as the NDP campaign.

Omar Alghabra is going to have to move if he wants to stop the bleeding of solid Liberal votes for two attractive local candidates.

This riding has strong organized Conservative campaign going as we speak and an attractive NDP candidate.

The Liberals are not going to lose this riding. First of all, in response to Bubba’s trash-talking, the Liberal candidate may be a muslim but is not anti-semetic and I am do not even know what “pro-Islamic” is supposed to mean. Perhaps Bubba is anti-islamic?

If the Liberals lose votes relative to last time they will be left-leaning Liberals that supported Parrish but will now mostly vote NDP or Green.

I think it will go Lib 46%, Con 34%, NDP 15%, and Green 5%.

Ken,

I think you have to admit that the Alghabra gaff, whether he said it or whether a supported said it, is going to hurt him. The feeling I get from my riding of Mississauga-Streetsville, is that some of that “Islam” labelling, will also hurt the Liberal incumbent Wajid Khan. Whether it is right or wrong is irrelevant. The fact that Alghabra was previously the leader of the Canadian Arab Federation doesn’t help.

For the record, I have a long history of voting NDP, but will vote Conservative this time. I want to see the Liberal Party fall apart and be rebuilt. It is too full of corruption now.

Bubba,
Get your facts straight. There has been a smear campaign against Omar. He DIDNOT make that statement which has been cleared up by the press. Its sad to see that because hes a muslim trying to take part in the political process his religion is being targeted by the opposition candidates.

I have heard Omar speak and articulate what he can do for the riding. I think, if elected, he would be a great voice for Mississauga in Ottawa.

Ahhh, I see that Alghabra (isn’t that a form of mathematics?) has his thugs out in full force.

Dechert is going to sail to victory - Parrish is gone, the Liberal candidate is absolutely pathetic, and Harper is going to close the deal and win government.

All three of those factors means that Omar is done like dinner - would that be tabouli, or halal meat? - and Dechert will be an integral part of a Harper Cabinet.

It’s going to be close but Dechert will take the riding. I’ll speculate that he’ll be Minister of Industry.

What a racist comment by Bubba, regarding tabouli or halal meat. Sure Dechert probably would win, but to use that kind of language. Ugh!!

No wonder his name is Bubba

Hope Conservative will be a winner here. Came from Streetsville and if any of Mississauga that will be blue, this is the one. Have been a Liberal supporter during Chretien reign, but time for a change. Enough of Martin promisses. The question i ask Martin again and again, is Liberia and Barbados a better country than Canada. He has the guts to say he loves Canada and the saviour and yet he’s evading canadian taxes. Go Bob go.

Mr. Martin never evaded taxes. There is a difference between tax avoidance (legal) and tax evasion (illegal).

The argument of “tax avoidance” is ok if you are a private businessman. But Martin is running for prime minister of Canada. He loves Canada so much he doesn’t want to pay any taxes. In any other 1st world country that one fact alone would sink him. Do people really think Tony Blair or GW Bush wouldn’t be run out of office if they had a similar situation?

Bob was by my door yesterday with an troop of canvassers. He was on the T.V. last night in ROGERS local Debate. The man is onmipresent.

I would imagine by Jan 23rd he would have knocked on every door in his riding at least once and let me tell you that is the kind of person needed in Ottawa for Mississauga Erindale.

p.s. No sign of the infamous Liberal except for a single piece of literature last week. To shame! To shame!

Based on the visibility of the candidates, the amount of lawn signs and the performance of the candidates on the Rogers TV debates, Bob Dechert should win this riding.

First, the Conservatives are running a better campaign. They’ve been to my door twice and have called as well. I’ve yet to hear from the Liberals.

Second, as compared to other Mississauga ridings, I see very few signs for the Liberals in Miss-Erindale. On the other hand, Dechert’s name is plastered everywhere.

Lastly, Alghabra’s performance on the local Rogers TV debate was uninspiring. He seemed nervous and was not confident. Dechert and NDP candidate Rupinder Brar were much more convincing and articulate.

I say the local TV debate and the local campaign will have a positive effect for the Conservatives:

Dechert %42
Alghabra %38
Brar %14

Regarding the tax issue, Mr. Martin was a private businessman when he registered his business offshore. He has since transferred the business to his sons.

I live in the riding (Burnhamthorpe & Winston Churchill area) and from my perspective, Dechert is dominating. He is outsigning Alghabra 10-1 (yes, on private property) and the number of signs just keep growing.

I wasn’t around for the Parrish hegemony (moved here last November), but if this is a good example of the Parrish “machine”, its a wonder how she ever got elected in the first place.

I will say this about Alghabra. I just received his latest piece, and its nothing but hyperbole–to put it lightly. Instead of outlining a positive vision for Canada, its talks about Harper’s desire to change Canada into a “fend-for-yourself U.S. style country” and that the Conservative will “take away peoples rights”. it tops it off with “scary” quotes (supposedly) from Harper, but with no date or source reference.

This is the only way for Liberals to win–through fear. Me personally? I’m sick of it. as someone who is trying to make a first impression, Mr. Alghabra, you were most unimpressive.

Although, it does sound like he’s in the right Party.

It’s unfortunate that a socially moderate man like Omar Alghabra is being painted as an extremist simply because of his faith.

Dispicable, really.

Fortunately for Alghabra, he’d have a long way to fall before he loses this riding. Though he may not be used to the limelight, he’s well known in his community as a passionate defender of civil rights, and he will appeal to those who voted for Parrish.

I think this prediction is extremely premature. Frankly, I’d have expected to see the prediction going the other way - we’re talking about a shift in the vote of almost 25% here?

I think you’ve given too much weight not only to Bubba’s presence, but also to the loss of the incumbent - here and elsewhere.

For what its worth, I’ve been told by people directly involved in the conversation that Parrish is quietly giving advice to the Dechert campaign and that all of her “machine” is disengaged in the riding.

I was also told by people very familiar with Mississauga politics that Alghabra’s campaign people needed to be imported because Parrish’s people took a walk.

From what I’ve heard about the differences in this riding between the last campaign (which I did not see, but was told about) and this one, I am not surprised at all.

I hear that there was complaints from the Liberal camp that the Conservatives failed to show for the all candidates debate.

I watched the Roger’s debate with all candidates (Conservative included) and now wonder what kind of story telling is going on.

Let’s start telling it like it is and stop inventing rumour and trash talking.

Bob Dechert came to my door and I asked him a simple question regarding Health Care and what the Conservatives plan to do about it. His response was ‘read our platform’.

Dude hasn’t been elected yet, and he is already acting like the typical Tory Fat Cats we became accustomed to in the 80’s.

If you family gross income is 200k a year, go ahead and vote for this man, he can really help you out, but if you are a regular working class member of the Erindale riding, vote for Omar, because he will represent all of us.

Last thing, anybody remember Brian Mulroney? Dechert thinks Mulroney was the best PM Canada ever had, do we really need him to be our voice in Ottawa?

There is no way this is going Conservative.

To all the NDP voters in this riding. Please do not let the neo-cons of the Conservative party win this riding by default. There are other ridings in Canada where you can make a difference but not here. Your votes will be better spent in keeping a much-chastised -in-profound-need-of-change-left-of-centre Liberal party as the only party that can stop the Harper agenda. Aim for the day that the only two parties are the Liberals and the NDP. Please stop this socially conservative movement from swallowing Canada like it did the U.S.

The Liberals will take this riding, but by a slim margin. The Conservatives will pick up votes because of the loss of Parrish and the early smear campaign against Alghabra. Add the fact that Alghabra is not the most personable or charismatic man. Yet, Mississauga is not Conservative territory. This is a middle-class riding with many immigrants and a sizable Muslim population.

It’s too bad though that Dechert won’t win because, if elected, he’d probably land a cabinet position. With Alghabra, Miss-Erindale will get yet another anonymous backbencher.

Bob Dechert will win this riding and he deserves to. If any Mississauga riding goes blue it will be this one. Dechert has great credentials and has tirelessly worked to get the message out. The Liberal candidate apparently was handpicked by Parrish so I don’t know what Erin Mills Dude is talking about Parrish helping the Dechert campaign. Also I’m hearing that Alghabra (an Arab muslim) is not welcome in one of the mosques. Interesting!
Prediction time:
Dechert (CON)45.4%
Alghabra (LIB)37.8%
Brar (NDP)10.2%
Hunter (GRN) 6.6%

This riding will be won by liberals. and the margin will be 51-49. conservatives are spreading a rumor that Dechert may land a ministerial position. I doubt it. Omar will be the best candidate to serve the people of Mississauga- erindale

I for one have more faith in the people of Mississauga Erindale, I see a Liberal win. The conservatives simply do not represent My values.As for Bubba dont uncork the bottle yet. 44 to 38 for the Liberals

I have lived in this riding for a long time and after putting up with the arrogance and embarrassing outbursts of the previous local candidate (Parrish) I cannot wait to vote for Bob. I think he will make an excellent rep for Erindale, regardless of what party he is running for.

Omar did visit our home and seems like a nice guy, but is too inexperienced to be our rep in Ottawa. My question is this - is this guy the best that the Liberal party of Canada can come up with? It is the Liberal’s own fault that they lose this riding today by not offering a better choice.

To all the NDPers out there, don’t waste your vote, even your party has told you to vote Liberal here. Erindale does not need a blueblood who is not in touch with the realities and the common people of this riding. A vote for the NDP is a vote for Dechert.

To everyone, even if you decide to vote NDP or even (gasp) Tory, give yourself a pat on the back for taking the time to vote in the first place. This is an important excercise too many now take for granted.

GO OMAR!

Although I’m not thrilled about it, I do tend to think that the Conservatives will pull it off in this riding.

Carolyn Parrish as Mayor?? I’ll keep it to a short HAHA for now. I’ll continue laughing when she actually tries.

Well, I’ve just had my mind made up. I was firmly going to vote NDP this time but after hearing Bubba’s comments, I need to vote Liberal (which still sickens me).

As already mentioned, the Liberal party needs to be rebuilt. But the Conservatives need a less radical leader, that doesn’t inspire the clearly demonstrated crazed following as shown here. I think this forum has clearly shown why a Conservative government would be damaging to Canada.

It is sad that in a country like Canada we have come to see and hear people consider the religion and ethnicity of a candidate as negative or positive. It is truly sad what some of us have sunk to and I wonder how much further would we all sink if this racial hatered continues to be tolerated. It used to be Jews yesterday, It is Arabs and Muslims today, I wonder who is it going to be tomorrow.

Do you guys know why did we (liberals) win this riding? Yes, in fact, we have won this riding; because of the Bob’s own mistakes where he started a very loose able negative campaign against liberals in the beginning. Bob thought putting signs on commercial plazas would get him votes. Some one should have told him that voters live in homes not in shopping plazas. You Bob and your campaign teams were so wrong. Now, do not even think to run for the third defeat in five years again. This is my advice to Bob and his looser campaign team, which ran a campaign on Internet filing out those fake surveys one like on this website more, then actual work in the riding.

The people of Mississauga Erindale spoke loud and clear.
Congratulation to Omar Alghabra.

Heh Bubba, time to eat crow, or perhaps time to acquire a taste for tabouli - or halal meat!!!

Congrats Omar, way to go. Thank you Bubba for showing us all the true face of the Conservative Party supporters!

This is to Bob Dechert directly.
Sir I met you when you knocked on my door to convince me to vote for you. I found you a fine gentleman. This was your best shot to win this riding and you lost it again. You need to go back, sit down and find out why did you lost when you had the best chance to win? I thought that too and the only thing I can blame on is to your election campaign team including yourself. Voters are very sensitive in this riding and they do not like some one lie to them. People in liberal opponent campaign teams started election campaign with big lies against their main rival. I was about to change my mind this time to not to vote Liberals but when I saw all these lies floating around, I decided to not to vote for Liars. You know sir, lies has no footsteps. Lies evaporate with the speed they come in. The moment people of this riding came to know that opponents of liberal candidate are stretching lies about him, they stood firm with Liberal Candidate against liars. I would advice any conservative candidate in the future that keep him/herself away from negative campaign and lies. Keep liars out of his/her campaign team. He/She would have better chance to grab this riding.