One sure thing about this year’s Canadian Wheat Board director elections is that the percentage turnout will be higher than four years ago.
However, given the drastic reduction in the voters list from 2004, that may be a misleading statistic.
As of Nov. 21, one week before the Nov. 28 voting deadline, 11,142 ballots had been returned to the elections co-ordinator Meyers Norris Penny.
That represents 36 percent of the 31,168 eligible voters in the five even-numbered districts.
In the election four years ago, only 32.7 percent cast a ballot, the lowest turnout ever.
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However, the higher percentage turnout this year may reflect the fact there are far fewer voters on the list.
In 2004 there were 47,378 eligible voters in the four districts that had elections (one candidate won by acclamation), and 15,199 cast ballots.
Nevertheless, several candidates interviewed Nov. 24 said they’ve encountered a lot of interest from farmers during the campaign and expect a good number of ballots will be cast in the final week.
“I would say interest is quite high,” said Cam Goff of Hanley, Sask., running in District 6.
“There may not be much talk about it on coffee row, but when I talk to individual voters they’re very aware of what’s going on.”
He added that among the voters he has talked to, only one issue ever gets mentioned: the future of the CWB’s single desk marketing system.
“That’s clearly what this election is all about,” said Goff, who supports the single desk.
One group of voters sees this year’s vote as crucial to the survival of the single desk, he said, while another group sees it as the best chance ever to bring in an open market system.
Directors who support the single desk represent four of the five districts holding elections.
The CWB’s 15 member board is made up of eight single desk supporters, six open market supporters and chief executive officer Ian White, who has taken no public position.
Single deskers need to win four of the five districts to retain their majority. If open marketers win three, they will gain a majority.
If both sides end up with seven directors, then White will become the tiebreaker on issues related to the future of the single desk.
Jeff Nielsen of Olds, Alta., running in District 2, said interest among farmers in his district is “very high.”
He said that might be in part because it’s the first time in eight years there has been an election in District 2, which was won by acclamation by Jim Chatenay in 2004.
Nielsen, who is in a two-way race with Cam Pilger, said most of the farmers he has talked to about the election agree with his call for marketing choice, with an open market and strong CWB.
“Not one has said, ‘trash it and start again,’ ” he said. “They all want the CWB to remain as a marketing option.”
Rod Flaman of Edenwold, Sask., a single desk director running for re-election in District 8, said he hopes farmers will realize that the idea of a strong CWB in an open market is a myth.
The election results will be announced Dec. 7. If a recount is required, they will be delayed one day.
