These voters say support for new Canadians, affordability and homelessness top concerns in Ontario election

Fatah Fatah says he's excited as he prepares to vote in his first election as a new Canadian.

Originally from Iraq's Kurdistan region, Fatah has lived in Canada for seven years and became a citizen a few months ago. He works at the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre and says shortly after he arrived in Canada, he felt a connection to this country.

"So it is very important for me to participate in this political action," he said of voting in his first provincial election.

CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's Carmen Groleau stopped by the K-W Multicultural Centre this week to talk to people about the election. Fatah saysthe rising cost of living is a top issue for him.

"We need someone to stop this because the life, it's become very hard for a lot of people," he said.

He's read the party platforms and has watched the debates.

"We are in the promises period," he said, adding the parties may not actually do what they say if they win power.

He said there needs to be more help for small businesses and middle-class people.

"Strong middle class means strong community. And this is beneficial for all people, even the richest people;the big and giant companies, they need middle class for their economy," he said.

Fatah would also like to see permanent residents get the right to vote. Currently, permanent residents are people who live in Canada for more than three years, they work, pay taxes and are part of the community but cannot vote.

"So I think you should be part of the whole political process also," he said.

From opioid crisis to climate change

Eliseo Martel has been a volunteer at the multicultural centre for a number of years. He says he's been paying "half attention" to the provincial election, but when asked about his top priorities, he listed several.

He wants the next provincial government to address the drug crisis.

"Drugs are still killing people and mostly young people. You feel so sad when you read about it," he said.

"I believe that we need to do something, maybe more aggressive ... more facilities."

He says more could be done to help people experiencing homelessness, not just in the region but across the province.

"In these times, many, many people who are not necessarily poor are becoming homeless because of the high cost of rent and the high cost of housing," he said.

He says housing costs are going up, but he's not sure building more homes is the answer. He says people should be discouraged from seeing homes as an investment.

"Housing is more a commodity," he said. "So they don't really care about the homeless people or the people who need to buy a house. They care about the profit."

Martel also said he felt COVID-19 deaths in long-term care homes havebeen forgotten in this election, as has the NDP promise for dental care and the need to address climate change.

Post-COVID economy concerns

Lutfiye Tutak is an employment counselor at the K-W Multicultural Centre and she says she's been reading up on the party platforms to see what they promise, not just for the next four years, but 10 years from now, too.

The post-COVID economy is among her top concerns.

"I think our government did very humanitarian decisions when they helped the community [during COVID-19]. I think we now are looking for more creative ways how we can recover," she said.

"I think it's really important for the next five to 10 years to recover from this. And what's the plan? I'd really like to hear more about it and then I think I'm going to make my decision based on that."

Tutak says immigration is a big part of helping the economy because new Canadians can fill open jobs. She has concerns she has about seasonal migrant workers and the conditions they face while in the province, often for the summer months.

"They are always isolated at the farm and their work conditions, I think it should be more inspected and just ensure that they are working in a way that it's safe and they also partly engage with the local people," she said.

She also thinks the province could do a better job of helping new Canadians get settled and provide services to connect families and young people with organizations in the community.

'Just go and vote'

Martel says he hopes people will make the time to go vote because politicians who don't keep their promises should have to answer for that.

"Let's make the politicians accountable, that they really suffer when they are not implementing all the things that they mentioned in their campaign," he said.

Voting also sends a message to the politicians about just how much support they have from people in the province, he said.

"Just go and vote. Just do it. I mean, it's a right that we have," he said.