It's been about a year since the federal Liberals and Conservatives nominated candidates to challenge Churchill's NDP MP Niki Ashton for a fall 2009 election that never was, but both Sydney Garrioch and Wally Daudrich say they are grateful for the break.

“I don't mind,” says Daudrich, who beat out retired RCMP officer Derick Hilliker and education worker James B. Wilson for the Conservative nomination in July 2009, “it gives me a chance to get out and talk to people. Being able to get out and shake hands and meet people, that's what this is all about.”

Though Daudrich fully expected to be fighting an election battle within months of his nomination – this was the period between Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff announcing that he would no longer support the Conservative government and the NDP and Bloc Québécois refusing to cause an election by voting for a Liberal non-confidence motion – he has taken the extra time he's been given to improve his public profile through a series of news releases and letters to the editor, particularly targeting the long-gun registry, as well as continue to operate the Lazy Bear Lodge lodge in Churchill.

Liberal candidate Garrioch calls the gap between nomination and a potential election “a much-needed break”, noting that he has been in politics for 28 years and that he's glad a rest will allow him to “concentrate on performing at my peak if called upon.” That doesn't mean sitting at home twiddling his thumbs, though, as Garrioch estimates that he spends around 45 hours per week overseeing and maintaining the Mistasaneek Gas Station in Cross Lake. He also thinks that a series of quick, rapid-fire elections takes its toll on the electorate, and says that “spread-out elections are much better for the people.” Before being nominated by the Liberals in July 2009, Garrioch had been the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) grand chief since 2003.

Current MP Ashton is more nonplussed about any electoral speculation. “The election will come when it will,” she says, “but for now I will keep working hard to represent my constituents. What's most important is to do the work to represent our area.” Specifically, she points to transportation, investment in the winter road system, and social services as three issues she is working on in Ottawa. “The government of Canada is increasingly disconnected from Northern and rural areas,” she claimed, “we deserve the same quality of life that any Canadian in an urban centre can enjoy.”

For his part, Garrioch suggests that his focus would be on the economy, maintaining business and employment opportunities, as well as education—especially the University College of the North (UCN), of which he says “we worked on it for the last 12 years … there was nothing there, really, until 2004.” He envisions a future in which UCN is much larger and stronger than even its present state, a broadly respected provincial institution where “our people will go to the south, their people will go to the North.” Garrioch's overall philosophy of Northerner education is to “bring it to the North, closer to the homes and closer to the people.”

Garrioch is optimistic about his chances in any upcoming election, noting that “people understand the difference between the NDP provincially and the NDP federally … the NDP will not form a government federally.” He suggests that his previous experience leaves him well-suited to a role in government – “I can represent the people and make decisions, instead of just being in opposition and being critical. Since the time of Elijah Harper, [the Liberals] have never had a candidate of this calibre.”

Daudrich, who previous ran for the Conservatives in 2008 and finished fourth in the 1993 federal election under the Reform ticket, suggests that his candidacy might be worth a vote because “we've had 30 years of Liberals and NDP in this area … everything bad has increased, and everything good has decreased.” A self-described libertarian and “big freedom advocate”, Daudrich is also a vigorous opponent of the long-gun registry, dismissing its supporters by commenting “they just want to confiscate everything.” He also echoes Garrioch's criticisms of Ashton, commenting that “everything she says if fluff, there's nothing substantial … she's basically in election mode all of the time.”

Ashton notes that “an election is always imminent” in a fractious minority Parliament like the one currently in place, but “with or without an election, it's important to stand up and represent our region.” She is glad that the layover between elections has given her extra time to travel across the Churchill riding and meet people, but also says that the current government is doing “things that are not beneficial for the North,” and vows to “ensure that Northerners are at the forefront of economic development.”

After an unsuccessful attempt in 2006, Ashton first won the Churchill seat in 2008 with 8,735 votes, or 47.4 per cent. She beat out Tina Keeper, the Liberal incumbent, who managed 28.8 per cent of the vote with 5,313 supporters. Daudrich finished third with 3,774 votes, good for 20.5 per cent, or nearly double the 11.6 per cent Conservative candidate Nazir Ahmad received in 2006, though voter turnout was higher in 2006 and Ahmad finished with 2,886 votes.