08 05 03	Peg Let Pete 99.234.197.75
You'd have to look long and hard to find a more rural riding than Northumberland-Quinte West. Add to that the very conservative voting record of military families like the ones at the Trenton base and you have a dream riding for good old boy, Ricky Norlock. Norlock may not be a shining star in our nation's capital but he plays up to the military folks and the farmers in his riding very, very well. There's no question that Ricky ‘supports the troops’ and the war in Afghanistan while the Liberals and NDP are seen here as not doing what's right and supporting our troops. Others will continue to point out mistakes Norlock has made and will probably keep making but they don't add up to a hill of beans when matched against the conservative base of this riding. I say Norlock wins by 5000 votes here in the next election.
	08 04 14	E. Burke 192.197.82.153
The expansion of the base in Trenton, Norlock's good visibility and availability in the riding, and Harper's steady performance as PM makes it an unlikely loss for the Conservatives. It would be unlikely for the West end of the riding to go Liberal given the expansion of CFB Trenton and the East end of the riding has no real cause to rally in big numbers against the Conservatives (and Harper) and for the LIberals (and Dion). If more people decide to go Green or NDP this also only plays in the Conservatives favour as the post below suggests. I think given the situation now, 90%-95% chance for the Conservatives is about right.
	08 03 21	Free Brenda Martin! 99.230.121.239
I don't think Rick Norlock helped himself by going to Mexico with Jason Kenney and engaging in a useless 'photo op' with Brenda Martin, the imprisoned Canadian woman who is his constituent after all. Still, consider he beat then-incumbent Paul Macklin (who is offering himself up once again as the Liberal candidate) by a pretty solid margin I think this seat will stay Tory for the time being.
	07 12 22	R.O. 209.91.149.232
Well was leaning too close to call here but now more conservative in favour of local mp Rick Norlock . have noticed a few issues came out of this riding one port hope nuclear issue and police officer who was murdered and couldn’t get medal. But got the sense mp has a good idea of issues important to his riding., but think these types of ridings are unlikely liberal pick ups sure they might be leading in Ontario but winning in Toronto doesn’t equal a win outside GTA. But if this riding was just cobourg and port hope it might be a different story. But as of now it also includes a military base and large rural area. And these are the types of areas federal conservatives do well in Ontario.
	07 08 06	A.S. 74.99.222.209
On paper, this should now be a fairly easy CPC hold; after all, it's mainly rural/small-town, and old school Tory country--trouble is, it's also Toronto-izing itself into a hotbed of rural gentrification, Norlock's an ex-Alliancer, and '06's anticipated blowout of Macklin turned out to be a rather modest 3-point swing--in fact, the NDP (who, as a sleeper phenomenon under Russ Christianson, has risen to verging-on-20% heights yet unseen around these parts) gained more over '04 than the Tories! (The demos are also inherently Elizabeth May-compatible, and the Greens have done surprisingly well in the past on the Port Hope uranium-contamination issue.) Though there's a factor that *could* counteract the gentrification on behalf of the Tories: the Afghan-mission-tweaked presence of CFB Trenton at the E end of the riding. Still, based on previous results, an upset Macklin takeback wouldn't altogether surprise me--or even of Norlock winning reelection under a Saanich-Gulf Islands 3-opponent-split circumstance.
	07 04 02	M. Lunn 74.99.130.109
I am 90% sure the Tories will hold this as this is a rural riding and with Rick Norlock now having the incumbent advantage, it will be pretty tough to win here. However, if the Liberals can get up to where they were right after the convention, they could potentially win this, but otherwise as long as the Tories are within 10 points of the Liberals in Ontario, they should hold this one.
	07 04 01	Cnote 69.157.51.93
Today the local Liberal Riding Association acclaimed Paul Macklin as their candidate for the next election. In 2000 the combined Alliance/PC vote was greater than Macklin's total. In 2004 Macklin won by only 300 votes over former Mike Harris Cabinet Minister Doug Galt. In 2006 voters in this riding held true to their Conservative roots and elected Rick Norlock by over 3000 votes. I remember the days when the Liberals would have hotly contested nomination meetings where well over 1000 members would cast votes in the direction of several contestants. The venue would usually be a high school gymnasium or Arena. Today the Liberals met on the second floor of the old Grafton Town Hall. A beautiful facility, but not very big! Those days appear to be over. These Liberals are said to be in financial dire straits. Macklin is the logical choice for candidate since his name is already on their election signs. Usually when prospects look good nominees come out of the woodwork to try to become the next Member of Parliament. This uncontested victory for Paul Macklin tells me that there aren't many Liberals who felt that the time was right to become the candidate in an effort to beat Norlock. This riding will continue to be Conservative. Norlock is a man of the people. He has a great team, and his constituents have trust in him to represent their views in Ottawa, not to try to advance his own personal profile, unlike their previous MP-Paul Macklin.