Voters casting ballots in Greater Victoria on Monday voiced their displeasure at the mudslinging and squabbling they saw during this election campaign.
鈥淔rankly, I was surprised by the nastiness I witnessed,鈥� said Shannon Hryhoryshen, 61. 鈥淚 just ignored a lot of it.鈥�
Hryhoryshen was voting at Cloverdale Traditional School, where a steady stream of Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke voters was undeterred by Monday鈥檚 steady drizzle.
Cliff Riley, 65, called some parts of the campaign akin to a catfight.
鈥淎lthough I found the televised debates helpful, I usually take whatever a politician says with a grain of salt,鈥� he said.
Donna Dynes, who is in her 70s, said she appreciated the televised debates, even if the message was somewhat confusing at times. 鈥淛ustin [Trudeau] didn鈥檛 do himself justice this time. He should have clarified himself 鈥� but didn鈥檛.鈥�
Dynes said she voted based on both the local candidate and the federal party she wanted to support. 鈥淭his time my candidate fit both 鈥� which is unusual for me.鈥�
Voting at Tillicum Elementary School, Karen Clifford, 60, said she didn鈥檛 like the constant interruptions during the debates.
鈥淚t was like witnessing a recess at school. I seem to recall previous elections being a lot more civil.鈥�
Clifford was voting with her daughter, Jennifer Lybbert, who was participating in her first federal election.
鈥淚f politicians argue like this all the time, I鈥檓 not looking forward to my next election campaign,鈥� said the 30-year-old.
Lybbert admits that her vote was probably influenced by her mother, but she took the time to do her own research to pick a candidate. She chose to vote by party, not the local candidate.
She also would support electronic voting 鈥� as long as Elections sa国际传媒 can guarantee its security. 鈥淚 am all for it, if it gets more people voting.鈥�
Gudrun Sabrina Hirt, who was also at Tillicum Elementary, voted for the Green candidate because of what she sees as that party鈥檚 environmentally friendly and progressive policies. 鈥淣o one notices those under the poverty line,鈥� said the 37-year old, who is the primary caregiver for her 35-year-old brother Cody, who uses a wheelchair. 鈥淚 believe the Green party displays more idealism and offers more help for children and single mothers.鈥�
There was a lot of talk during the campaign about attracting younger voters. But many of them weren鈥檛 impressed with what they saw. 鈥淣obody seemed to be talking about their strengths. What I heard was a lot of bad-mouthing at the end of the day,鈥� said Albert Chou, 29, who was also casting his ballot at Tillicum Elementary. 鈥淚聽would have liked to have heard more about the campaign.鈥�
Chou said he did not see the parties as being engaged with younger voters.
鈥淲hen I was on social media 鈥� Facebook or YouTube 鈥� all I聽would see were attack ads.鈥�
Rosalie Stevenson, 30, who was voting at Cloverdale Traditional School, said while she was irritated by the attacks, she 鈥渏ust tried to ignore the hate in this election 鈥� it聽just felt un-Canadian.鈥�
鈥淚t was super simple for me. I voted for [the NDP] because I think [Jagmeet Singh] is such a cool dude.鈥�
