By knocking on 22,000 doors, this Conservative paramedic is trying to turn an Ottawa suburb blue

OTTAWA — If you live in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, chances are that Greg Kung has knocked on your door.

The 37-year-old has been campaigning since February 2024, after winning the nomination to become the Conservative party’s candidate in the Liberal-held riding, one of many in and around Ottawa.

“I hate talking about numbers,” Kung says, when asked how many doors he has knocked.

“Probably by this weekend, I’ll have hit 22,000 doors, personally.”

His campaign has lapped the riding five times, he adds.

But for Kung, and every other candidate with their name on a ballot, this latest round of door-knocking will be the most important one.

With voting in advanced polls underway, campaign teams have transitioned to the all-important task of making sure each voter they have identified as a supporter actually goes to cast their ballot.

And with less than 10 days to go before the federal election concludes, it is also the last chance campaigns have to convince undecided voters.

Kung’s pitch is one of change — a message Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is trying to send loud and clear as successive public opinion polls show his party to be either tied with or trailing the incumbent Liberals.

It is a far tighter race than the 20-point lead Conservatives enjoyed for the 18-months before Mark Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, and U.S. President Donald Trump launched his trade war.

For Marc Toste, a Conservative supporter who recently moved to the riding, the chances of the party winning were top of mind when Kung appeared at his door Friday. It marked the third time Kung had done so.

“I actually asked Mr. Kung what he thought,” Toste told National Post.

“He says internal polling looks good for us, but the mainstream media says it’s close,” Toste says, “so he’s out gallivanting trying to promote himself and the voters locally here, and see what happens.”

While the suburbs around Toronto and Vancouver form the country’s biggest battlegrounds, the suburbs around Ottawa can also swing with the prevailing electoral winds.

During the last federal election, which was held under the riding’s former boundaries, the Liberals recaptured Kanata by a little more than 2,000 votes.

In the past the region has also elected Conservatives, such as former foreign affairs minister, John Baird, whose Ottawa West—Nepean riding included parts of the newly-formed Kanata riding when he served under former prime minister Stephen Harper.

Nearby is also home to Poilievre’s own riding of Carleton, some of which now belongs in Kanata.

That means if there is a Conservative win nationally, Kung could find himself in Parliament.

As a paramedic, he says he actually has a shift booked two days after the April 28 election. It is one he still hopes to work, no matter the outcome.