From terrorism to automotive and healthcare to small business, the all-candidates debate gave voters an unscripted look into those running across Windsor-Essex.
Dino Chiodo with Unifor Local 444, which sponsored the debate, says there were some clear winners.
"I think Brian Masse ran away with it, with regards to Windsor West," says Chiodo, who will be asking his members to vote NDP.
"When you talk about Tracey Ramsey and her debate, she did a great job. When you take into consideration the amount of skill Jeff Watson has and all he could do is try and point fingers at how bad everybody else is."
The Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce put on the event and decided to only include the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP. They feel only parties with status in the House of Commons should be included. Although the Green Party has a leader in Ottawa, it holds fewer than 12 seats.
Despite the exclusion, chamber president and CEO Matt Marchand says the debate was animated and full of strong messages.
"Our objective was to help set the debate on key issues facing our region. I think a lot of that was accomplished -- jobs, auto strategy, single sports betting -- big issues that our community has faced and is still facing," says Marchand.
Each candidate was asked six questions with a minute-and-a-half to answer. A rebuttal of 30 seconds was also given.
It became heated when automotive jobs were brought up. The NDP was called out for voting against the bailout of Chrysler and GM, something Essex Conservative candidate Jeff Watson says his party takes credit for.
Chiodo says that can easily be misunderstood because of omnibus bills, which include a number of unrelated topics.
"What they do is put a whole bunch of bad things with something that the community wants. Then they pride themselves on saying 'see, they're voting against it,'" says Chiodo. "The reality is that's what an omnibus bill is made to do and this Conservative government is doing it better than anyone else."
The agriculture industry was another hot topic, with Essex NDP candidate Tracey Ramsey slamming the Tories for "gutting" the Canadian Wheat Board and killing valuable programs.
Supporting small business was also top of mind. Windsor West Conservative Henry Lau claims to know the needs of small business better than most because he created one from the ground up. NDP Brian Masse says his party will lower taxes for small businesses by 20% in the first two years.
Meanwhile, Windsor West Liberal David Sundin says his party will reduce small business taxes to 9% from 11%.
Sundin went on to say he believes no current programs should be trimmed.
"Invest in bad times, trim in good times," he says.
In Windsor-Tecumseh, Conservative Jo-Anne Gignac mentioned her experience on city council several times as a reason she should be elected. Gignac says she'll stand up for the auto industry and deliver jobs for the region.
"I'm ready to get the job done," she says.
Liberal Frank Schiller counters by saying the Harper government is shameful. He too plans to focus on the auto and manufacturing sectors.
Former Tecumseh deputy mayor Cheryl Hardcastle says as MP for Windsor-Tecumseh she also promises good jobs, better healthcare and improved retirement security.
"The Conservative agenda hasn't worked," says Hardcastle.
