How does campaigning work in a COVID-19 world?

A busy election season is fast approaching.

In a three-week period later this year, there will be a provincial election, a municipal election and a United States presidential election one after another.

With the possibility of a Canadian federal election being raised earlier this month, there are sure to be plenty of candidates looking to garner attention and spur support — but how does that work in the midst of a pandemic?

University of Saskatchewan political science professor Joe Garcea believes campaigning in 2020 has candidates adjusting their typical strategy, especially when it comes to door-to-door canvassing.

“The thought that they can show up to somebody’s door and expect to get a warm reception is unlikely,” Garcea said. “It’s probably likely to be cooler, so while some candidates will rely on the traditional door-to-door (campaigning), most candidates will begin to explore other modalities for campaigning.”

A resident that is apprehensive to open the door and speak with a candidate who could be wearing a mask from a distance could force social media to be more of a determining factor at the local level than ever before.

Dale Richardson, the director of campaign operations for Saskatoon mayoral candidate Rob Norris, feels that a polished digital campaign, billboards and lawn signs help any campaign. However, COVID-19 or not, you can’t have an election without candidates knocking on doors.

“There’s nothing that replaces door-to-door canvassing because that’s actually going to somebody’s house, knocking on their door and seeing if they’ll support the candidate,” Richardson said.

“Candidates that don’t go door to door, I don’t think that they would have a very good chance of winning that campaign.”

According to Michelle Beveridge, the campaign manager for Mayor Charlie Clark’s re-election bid, candidates miss out on a lot more than just the support of a candidate while hitting the streets.

“The personal connection of the door-to-door (strategy) really is important in campaigning,” Beveridge said. “To connect with residents that isn’t door to door is a challenge for everyone.”

While Norris has been on the campaign trail for the past few weeks, Clark is looking to ramp up his campaign presence in the next two weeks.

Both Beveridge and Richardson agreed there is still a desire from residents to see candidates on the doorstep, as long as masks, hand sanitizer and some distance can be applied.

Backup plans and other options if COVID-19 cases increase in the fall are also on the table.

“We definitely know that we’re not going to be running a typical ground game, so we’re exploring new digital tools and new communications tools,” Beveridge said. “We could make a plan for September, and then depending on the (COVID-19) caseloads, things could completely change again.”

With more people presumably working from home and spending more time online, social media advertising is expected to be more of a factor than the municipal election in 2016.

Garcea thinks the threat of “door-to-door alienation” should be a concern for candidates. Even if there is a slight increase in residents not answering the door when a candidate knocks, that could change the way a campaign is run.

“People are not that favourably predisposed to door-to-door campaigning, generally. People find them to be a disruption of their day, their evening, their dinner as robocalls are. Candidates will need to adjust to this new world,” he said.