Trust top of mind for voters as Kitchener South-Hespeler candidates knock on doors

When local politicians knock on doors and talk to voters, among the issues that get raised is that of trust, and whether people can take politicians at their word.

Alan Keeso is running for the Conservatives in the riding of Kitchener South-Hespeler and he says broken promises by the Liberal government means he's hearing about trust a lot.

"People get very concerned that politicians can live up to what they're saying," Keeso said.

"I have a background in the armed forces. So coming to politics for the first time here I'm coming to politics out of service to country, service to Canadians and from a very honest place."

The Liberal government has faced scandals including SNC Lavalin, which the Conservatives have said they'll open up to a judicial inquiry, and the way Jody Wilson-Raybould was treated by the party.

Early in the campaign, photos emerged of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau in blackface.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has been called out for his work history and that when he talks about his experience in the insurance industry, that amounts to, he said, "six or seven months."

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has so far avoided any major controversy, although there was a pre-election spat with the Green party over candidates in Atlantic Canada leaving his party to join the Greens,while Green Party Leader Elizabeth May has been accused of altering a photo to turn a disposable (albeit biodegradable) cup into a reusable one.

'Long lists of unethical behaviour'

Kitchener South-Hespeler People's Party of Canada candidate Joseph Todd said the distrust in the government is the reason his party came into existence a year ago.

"There's a lot of corruption," he said. "Most Canadians don't even want to look at politics."

He said support for his party shows other Canadians feel the same way.

"The majority of our candidates, including me, we're not politicians. We're regular everyday working class people who are fed up with what we've seen spending decades of broken promises. And we want to make that change," he said.

David Weber of the Green Party said it's easy for voters to go online and look up "long lists of unethical behaviour and broken promises" by politicians.

Weber is a former police officer and he says while doing that work for 30 years, he had to be fair and accurate.

"I had to testify in court. My credibility was impeccable and it needed to be in order for me to be able to do that for a career for 30 years," he said.

NDP candidate Wasai Rahimi was not immediately available to comment. CBC Kitchener-Waterloo reached out to Marxist-Leninist Party candidate Elaine Baetz and Veterans Coalition Party candidate Matthew Correia through their parties but have not yet received a response.

Need to move forward

Marwan Tabbara is running to retain his seat in Kitchener South-Hespeler and he acknowledges the Liberal party has had controversies.

But he said Trudeau has spent the last four years holding town hall meetings and hearing from Canadians about what's important to them.

"Our prime minister has been going around the country doing many consultations, opening up to to Canadians like we haven't seen before," he said.

"Locally here, too, I've been doing many town halls to hear from constituents from the riding, from the region, how we can move forward, how we can build a better community and city for all of us to prosper."

Watch the candidates answer the question here: