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“The best outcome of this election, short of electing 11 Communists, would be a minority government,” she said in an interview. “Minority governments have to listen to the public a lot more than majorities.”

Her ultimate goal is higher.

“We are the Communist party, so our ultimate goal is a socialist Ontario, a socialist Canada,” she said. “Increasingly, it’s the power of the biggest corporations, many of them multinational corporations, that set the agenda in Ontario. And a lot of people get hurt as a result of that.”

Changing that “won’t be done by one political party. It will be done by working people in their millions who decide that they want to make that change.”

Rowley laughs a lot. “We’re the second-oldest party in Canada so we have staying power!” (The party is almost 95 years old).

She has seen a lot of elections come and go with no Communists elected.

“It’s not discouraging,” she said. “We know that it takes time for people to get past the stereotypes. And for many years, for decades, people thought that capitalism worked just fine … If they didn’t like their job, they would go get another job. But that’s not the way it is any more. We’re finding in this election campaign there’s a lot more interest in us.”

Dissatisfaction with the lengthy war in Afghanistan and with issues such as the robocalls scandal add support to her party, she says.

The party leaflet is headlined “People’s needs not corporate greed.”

“That sort of sums up our whole platform,” Rowley says. In the brief contact a candidate gets at someone’s door, she tells them the party is for strong social programs, jobs and affordable housing.

“We want the corporations and the wealthy and the (richest) one per cent to pay.”

Ottawa Centre candidate Larry Wasslen campaigned with her. He says the party is also active as part of broader coalitions, such as the Quebec students’ strike and the labour movement’s Common Front opposition to austerity.

Espoir Manirambona is a candidate for the party in Ottawa South.

“We’re a small party and we’re too small, but we are growing,” Rowley said.

tspears@ottawacitizen.com

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