My day with Michelle Robinson, Alberta Liberal Party candidate for Calgary East in the upcoming provincial election, started with meeting her in a McDonald’s on International Avenue (17 Avenue SE).
We had breakfast and an introductory conversation. Dr. David Swann, Alberta Liberal Party member and former MLA joined us shortly after.
Dr. Swann was the person who asked Robinson to run in the election.
“How can you say no him?” Robinson said, having great respect for the former MLA. Swann was there to accompany Robinson in her day of door-knocking in Calgary-East.
The two were off to a good start, meeting residents along 44 Street SE. Those who answered the door were mostly friendly and open to a conversation. Some allowed Robinson to put her sign in their lawns.
Around noon Swann leaves to attend a lunch meeting and Robinson goes back to her van to pick up some lawn signs. She needed more wires for her signs so we head to her home.
Robinson is an active member of the community and have been a part of many campaigns and causes in which she believes. The wires she grabbed were from the lawn signs she had used from previous campaigns in which she was involved or ran herself. She also used this time to let her two rescue dogs out to the backyard, and water her plants.
Robinson is proud of her Indigenous heritage. She is environmentally-conscious. Her house is filled with posters and buttons and signs of the community causes she supports. And she believes in protecting the hard-earned democracy we have by being involved and taking action for our rights.
We headed to the International Avenue again to have lunch. You can find food from all over the world on this Avenue, Robinson said. We had shawarma after we found Robinson’s favourite Mexican restaurant closed.
Robinson is friendly and she gets into conversation with anyone we come across. She tries to find out about their concerns and challenges they might be facing in their life as a community member.
Robinson continued door-knocking after lunch. “Sorry I missed you,” was what she wrote on the pamphlets she left at the doors were her knock went unanswered.
Her next stop is Prince of Peace Lutheran School to talk to two classes of students about democracy and the upcoming election. Robinson’s daughter who goes to the same school is also in the audience. Robinson is popular among the students since she’s actively involved with the school. She had recently ran a campaign that helped save the school from closing and getting a five-year lease extension.
At the end of the school day, Robinson waits in her van for her daughter Samantha to be done with her school safety patrol responsibilities and be ready to head home.
Samantha is eager to be involved in her mother’s activities and Michelle hopes she would run in the election one day.
