It was mostly a civil affair at the Okanagan Lake West–South ÁðÁ§ÉñÉç All Candidates Forum in West ÁðÁ§ÉñÉç on Wednesday (Apr. 16) â€”until the end of the event.

In his closing statement, NDP candidate Harpreet Badohal said West ÁðÁ§ÉñÉç and the surrounding region doesn't need Stephen Harper's representation anymore—a jab at Conservative candidate Dan Albas which drew loud applause from the approximately 175 people who turned up. Then Badohal added that the Conservatives have been too closely aligned with American administrations in the past.

"The Conservatives are hand-in-glove, they will always work with those guys on the south side," he said.

Liberal candidate Juillete Sicotte went on to one-up Badohal, referencing a previous audience question about integrity and morality.

"I found in the last two-and-a-half years the Pierre Poilievre talking points are so American and he's importing American ideas..."

The rest of that sentence was lost due to more loud applause. Sicotte added that during her door-knocking, voters were telling her that they felt abandoned by the Conservative Party and Dan Albas.

This caused scattered applause, followed by comments of "Are you serious?" and "Brutal" from the audience. When it was Albas' turn to talk he took a swipe at the Liberal government in his closing remarks.

"We've had a lost Liberal decade where we've seen our standard of living deteriorate; questions about our healthcare system; questions about good paying jobs and housing," he said.

Candidates were given questions from the floor as well as pre-selected ones, however, it was the public inquiries that appeared to draw the most engagement from the crowd. One individual asked the candidates how their approach to politics aligns with their party leader.

"I can tell you that my party leader (Jagmeet Singh) is the most compassionate one who talks about everyday people," Badohal said.

Sicotte told the crowd that she believes in Liberal Leader Mark Carney for his stance on environmental integrity and upholding Indigenous rights.

"I knew this was someone I could stand behind," she said. "I just think he has the integrity, especially the environmental part of his platform."

Albas said that he believes people deserve to be heard, echoing his party leader. "He (Pierre Poilievre) believes people deserve to be heard."

Another audience question focused on restoring morality and integrity to politics and holding those who abuse their office to account.

"I would be the voice-to-power," Sicotte said. "I would find an allegiance that would work with me and root that out."

Albas pointed out that every elected official should maintain the public trust.

"That means you take an oath, and you say to people that you're going to do something and you do it."

Badohal stated that, if elected, he would set an example.

"If I see any wrongdoing between politicians and those big billionaire corporations, I can promise you that I will never, ever stay silent."

Sicotte, Badohal and Albas were the only candidates to show up to the event hosted by the Greater Westside Board of Trade. The three other invited candidates; Louise Lecouffe (Green Party), Debbie Robinson (People’s Party), and Gary Suddard (Canadian Future) did not attend.

Board of Trade president Bryan Fitzpatrick hosted the forum and asked the candidates several questions that covered housing, crime, homelessness, mental health, immigration, small businesses, and other issues.

Housing

Albas: "We will start by eliminating the GST on all new builds under $1.3 million. This will help stimulate more housing."

Badohal: "As a federal representative, I will make sure that I will bring enough funding for local governments, and the province, which is making great strides in the development of housing."

Sicotte: "Mark Carney announced that a new Liberal government will build more homes that Canadians can afford. There's a plan to build 500,000 per year and cut red tape."

Small Business

Sicotte: "Mark Carney has already announced that there will be a freeze on GST and HST submissions which would allow businesses to have quite a bit of liquidity from now until June."

Badohal: "(The) NDP has plans to support employers and employees so that small businesses can be successful."

Albas: "Help you to invest here in Canada. The GST is great for home construction which helps our lumber industry, which helps our construction industry, which helps our realtors. The spin-off is good for the Okanagan and good for Canada."

Crime

Albas: "We will put serious, violent offenders away. We will give them jail, not bail. We will use the tools that are available to us so that people can have confidence in our justice system."

Sicotte: "I have met with leaders of local municipalities and have found out what they need and what they would like to have, and the supports that we can provide as the Liberal government. I would fully back them."

Badohal: "From 2010 to 2015 it was the Conservatives who made a cut of $598 million to the RCMP which led to great devastation in those departments."

Homelessness

Sicotte: "It requires evidence-based solutions. This is a mental health issue that requires compassion and different solutions than just throwing everyone in jail and criminalizing poverty."

Badohal: "It needs a multi-pronged approach. That has been the approach of the NDP always. As an MP I will support those measures which are currently taken by the provincial government, and by municipal governments—we are taking steps in the right direction."

Albas: "Pierre Poilievre has a plan to be compassionate. Instead of giving people drugs that keep them deep in the cycle that they're on, we want to offer 50,000 treatment beds to help get people off drugs."

Mental Health

Badohal: "We will make it a priority by passing laws and bills in Parliament where we can dedicate resources to mental health. We need to focus on the mental health of young people because they are the future of our country."

Sicotte: "What we need is to bring in more healthcare workers, more doctors, more therapists and to break down those inter-provincial barriers to let people come to provinces where we need more mental health supports."

Albas: "I do believe that provincial governments need to be held accountable for healthcare spending. Justin Trudeau has given billions of dollars in new funding, specifically to mental health. And yet... when Interior Health comes before a local council or talks to MLAs, I hear 'We don't have the resources.'"

Immigration

Albas: "We will go back to a system, like pre-2015, where we had 200–250,000 people (immigrating). Where it focused on economic migration and skills so we had the doctors and the people that small businesses need."

Badohal: "Yes there have been issues, there have been problems. But we don't need to cut down the number, we need to raise the bar, we need to improve our system, we need to make sure the people we are getting... can become good Canadians."

Sicotte: "It's a balanced approach. We have to make sure we have those supports available to them, especially in ÁðÁ§ÉñÉç where we're having an issue with international students. We need to have more come in because right now there are professors that are getting laid off."

Second Lake Crossing

Sicotte: "I think that the City of ÁðÁ§ÉñÉç anticipated this being an election issue, and just last week said there will be no second crossing. But there are ways we can optimize the bridge we have now."

Albas: "This needs planning. This needs municipalities to agree on where it would best be placed. This needs the provincial government to say it's willing to fund it and bring that proposal to the federal government, but I'm always listening and prepared to work."

Badohal: "I would be working with those levels of government which would be the decision-makers and what works best for them."

The federal election is on April 28.