While many see the cost of a 12 week election campaign to be a waste of money, there is an upside to it, particularly for those running in large rural ridings like Foothills.

Because of the sheer size of the riding, formerly known as Macleod, the needs of constituents from one end to the other are rarely the same.

So having the extra time is good for whoever's running, regardless of their political stripe, as candidates will be able to dig deeply into those issues.

Something incumbent John Barlow is keenly aware of.

"When I was elected last year, I said my focus was going to be accessibility and communication," he says. "Making sure that residents had every opportunity to meet with me for whatever their issue is. So I spent this past year going around this riding multiple times. Meeting with residents, community leaders, municipal councils, just to get a really good sense of what the issues are in Macleod."

Canadians head to the polls Mon. Oct. 19.

Questions, comments, or story ideas? Email us at news@okotoksonline.com