These Christians and Sikhs say faith will guide their vote in this federal election

Isidore Agokei and his three children went to mass early on Palm Sunday, the start of the Easter week. He says Easter reminds him of salvation and hope, and those themes guide him as he considers his vote. 

This year, the federal election falls roughly one week after one of the biggest holidays on the Christian calendar.

So as part of CBC's effort to understand what matters to communities across Canada this campaign, we decided to visit several communities of faith. 

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Agokei was at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in northeast Calgary. He's a financial advisor in the insurance industry who moved from Nigeria three years ago. 

"My faith guides me because I will be listening to what candidate resonates with these characteristics I've spoken about — hope, renewal and strength, and of working toward a more united and strengthened Canada," he said, standing in the sunshine as worshippers left mass. 

He said he's heard a lot of promises so far, which makes him skeptical. But he's leaning toward voting Conservative.

"In the spirit of renewal and hope, I think going in a different direction, maybe a path toward renewal."

In the 2021 census from Statistics Canada, about 60 per cent of Albertans identified themselves as being religious. Christianity was the most common religion, followed by Islam and Sikhism. Since last Sunday was both Palm Sunday and Vaisakhi, we visited two churches and a gurdwara.

At the Catholic church, the key election issues were affordability, the integrity of the party leaders and their approach to Canada's relationship with the United States, and the sense of hope.

Among the six people we spoke with, voting intentions were mixed between Liberals and Conservatives. Those voting Liberal said it was because of Leader Mark Carney's character and approach to the United States.

The issues were different at the Pentecostal church. Southside Victory Church is near the Chinook transit centre.

Pastor Craig Buroker described it as a church that believes in a literal interpretation of the Bible — that Christ died on Good Friday and came to life again on Easter, which is what allows people to have their sins forgiven and find new life. 

The issues worshippers talked about at the Victory Church were abortion, a traditional interpretation of gender identity, supporting Israel, reducing crime through stiffer sentences, and restricting MAID in cases where mental health is the concern. 

Bona Cortez was walking into church with her children. She said her faith is important to her because it gives her a sense of guidance.

"For me, I know that for everything I do and my decisions that I make, that Jesus will be helping me in those decisions.… I feel like I'm never alone," she said. 

And as for how her faith guides her as a voter, she said, "I'm looking for policies that support my beliefs. So some of those things would be my views on pro-life, my views on identity and also even Israel — the policies supporting that."

"I just want to support the view of, just for me — two genders, male and female," she said. And then added, "I'm clear who I'm going to vote for. I'm going to be voting Conservative."

Mark Forrest was the worshipper who identified medical assistance in dying (MAID) as the key issue shaping his vote.

"It's a big issue in Canada. We're the highest in the world, and it's actually terrible how high it is and how loose it's gonna be for people to commit suicide," he said. "I've had depression, other people have had depression; they got over it and they're doing life. I'd like to see an end to that."

"The Liberals brought that in, so I definitely won't be voting for them. I will be voting Conservative."

Canada is second to the Netherlands when it comes to the percentage of people now choosing MAID, but it has the highest total of deaths per year. The federal government delayed until 2027 legislation that would have allowed MAID in cases where the only underlying medical condition is a mental illness. 

Janet Brown is a pollster who focuses on Alberta. She said it's hard to ask about faith in public surveys because people feel it's too personal a question. But she has been able to ask people about the importance of religion in their lives.

She said those who are more religious tend toward voting more conservative. Often the conservative parties represent themselves as standing for family values and more traditional views on gender.

Also, religion is just one part of a person's identity. Their work and ethnocultural or other communities can also shape their vote. 

"Having a firm affinity to religion, it cuts across different religious groups," Brown said. "We've seen recently in Alberta, it's just sort of a fear that old fashioned values are eroding that people are worried about, about the strength of families and supporting family values."

But not all Christians are conservative. Brian Dijkema is president at the Christian think tank Cardus. He said you'll find differences in voting patterns even between churches of the same tradition, and as for the assumption that most Christians lean right, that hasn't been the case historically, he said.

"The New Democrats used to rely heavily upon religious voters, what you would call mainline [church] voters, Anglican, Presbyterian Church of Canada, United Church," he said. "Those churches are largely, they're not gone, but demographically they're facing … a demographic cliff. As people die off, there's no one coming into them."

That's one reason why NDP support has been shrinking, he suggested. 

The New Democrats used to rely heavily upon religious voters- Brian Dijkema

The other significant change among Alberta's faith communities is the growth in other religions. In 2021, people identifying as Muslim made up 4.8 per cent of Alberta, up from 3.2 per cent 10 years before.

Sikhs now make up 2.5 per cent of Alberta's population.

The Dashmesh Culture Centre in Calgary's Martindale neighbourhood expected 60,000 people to come for Vaisakhi, which celebrates when Khalsa was created as a way for Sikhs to commit themselves to social justice and equality.

In Calgary's northeast, many of the candidates are Sikh — three for the Conservatives, one for the Liberals and one for the New Democrats.

That's partly because the Sikh religion encourages people to get involved with politics, said Gurjit Singh Sidhu, chairman of the centre.

"They teach us that every Sikh individual has to participate in politics regardless of if you are running or not. You have to get the knowledge of politics," he said. "You have to be very watchful, vigilant to what's happening around you." 

When asked, voters were divided on which party they will vote for.

Baljit Singh Pandher said he's been living in Calgary for 10 years and always votes Liberal.

"It is separate from my faith. It is my political decision," he said. 

"Justin Trudeau, he did a lot on immigration. Although some systems [have been] disturbed, overall he did so much for the immigrants and for the small businessmen and for our community. He stood firmly with us. That's why I want to vote Liberal."

Standing nearby in the food line, Jaskaran Brar said he is voting for the first time. He's 18 and is finding it tough to make up his mind.

"Consensus building is really crucial in our religion, also reconciling. First of all, we need to reconcile with the Indigenous people because this is their land essentially," he said.

That's what his faith tells him, and as for casting a vote, "it's a lot of stuff going on in the world with tariffs and everything. But I feel like we need a strong prime minister that can join Canadians together, right?

"I was looking toward the Conservative side because I was saying maybe a new government can bring us hope."