Calgary·Canada Votes 2025

Hey Canada. Time to speak up! We want to hear your priorities for the federal election

This year, CBC journalists are hitting the road with a special election project that we're calling What Matters. We’re asking Canadians: What matters to you this campaign?

The politicians have their key messages. But what about you?

A collage with six different people speaking to a journalist.
CBC journalists have been talking with Canadian voters across Canada. Here are a few of the Canadians who shared their views. (CBC)

You can bet politicians and party strategists know what they want the 2025 Canadian election to be about.

But what about Canadian voters?

You're heading to work, maybe raising kids and paying the bills. If you could set the agenda, what would you ask the candidates to talk about as they try to win your vote?

This year, CBC journalists are hitting the road with a special election project we're calling What Matters.

We're in communities across the country asking a simple question: What matters to you? 

We hope to hear more about the personal challenges, fears and hopes that are shaping your vote. We're also inviting anyone to participate through a simple email.

  • What issue matters the most to you this federal election, and why? Share your personal stories with us at [email protected].

Drop us a line and listen for these stories on our radio shows and podcasts, on TV, our streaming channels and, of course, online. We're also on YouTube and TikTok.

Check out a few of the stories we've heard so far below, and check back for more throughout the campaign.


These farmers want cost of living, cutting taxes and tariffs to be the focus this election. Here's why

A man stands in front of the setting sun in the middle of a field wearing rubber boots.
Sam Van Uden took this photo of himself after a day working. He runs a seeder and sprayer on a farm near Vauxhall, Alta. (Submitted by Sam Van Uden)

Sam Van Uden, 21, and runs the seeder on a prairie farm in southern Alberta. It's good hours, but the paycheque doesn't stretch the way it did for young adults who used to start this way.

That's what he wants this federal election campaign to focus on, and he's not alone....  Read the full story here. 


Politics and pond hockey in Grimshaw, Alta.

Hot election issues at the pond hockey championships

12 days ago
Duration 2:31
Last weekend, hockey players gathered in a northwest Alberta community for the annual Alberta Pond Hockey Championships. In between games spectators and players took some shots at the yet-to-be-called federal election, sharing their thoughts on issues that matter to them.

In the Peace Country in northern Alberta, voters took a moment away from a massive pond hockey tournament to talk about their priorities for the upcoming federal election campaign.

They said the parties need to focus on support for agriculture and small business, the national debt, equal rights for Indigenous people and the cost of living.

"Our money doesn't go as far as it used to, that's for sure," said oil and gas worker Brad Payne.


Survival in the face of tariffs top of mind for these Waterloo region voters

smiling woman with dried eucalyptus
Karen Bramble is an interior stylist who sells dried flower arrangements and other lifestyle products twice a week at the St Jacob's Farmers Market. (Aastha Shetty/CBC)

For Karen Bramble of Waterloo, Ont., the trade war between the United States and Canada is personal.

The interior stylist is feeling a direct impact on her business because she sources eucalyptus from California and may have to raise prices of each floral arrangement by about $3 on average.

"This is my bread and butter so I need to do what I need to do to survive," she said.

She's hoping this will be an important issue for candidates this federal election. Read the full story here.


What issue matters the most to you this federal election, and why? Share your personal stories with us at [email protected].