It was the first day of the Door Knocking campaign for the RCP in Calgary. We had started in one of the poorer working-class neighborhoods of Calgary’s northeast, and together with my two other comrades, we knocked on many doors but struggled to talk to people when they answered. But every time we spoke to someone, we got better and better at conveying our ideas. We spoke about the cost of living crisis to a single mom living in government housing, and she sympathized with our program so much that she decided to put aside the little money she had to buy a paper. However, some people were more reserved about our ideas than others.
One lady I talked to looked at our paper about Alberta separation and stated that she was an Alberta separatist because Trump would improve trade with Alberta. She seemed to be expecting a condescending reaction from me that would typically come from liberals, but instead of being patronizing, I wanted to know where she was coming from. I asked about the social programs that would be cut under Trump, to which she brought up the government funding drug users through safe injection sites while she can barely get by. I brought up how much more money gets spent on corporate handouts and how that can be used to help workers, to which she agreed. The conversation then shifted to money in politics and how no matter who she votes for, it’s only ever about money. We bonded over our mutual hatred of Carney and the ruling class, and she was genuinely interested in our program. She unfortunately didn’t have the money for a newspaper, but she took a pamphlet with a big smile on her face.
– Ethan O., Calgary
