Campaign tips and tools:
Things you can do to press for action on lung health
The success of our campaign depends on the support of thousands of Canadians whose lives have been affected by lung disease. Here are some important things you can do to help build support for action on lung health.
- Send a message to your candidates
You can use our new online tools to send a quick and easy e-mail message to the candidates in your riding. Personal messages from voters like you can have real influence on candidates and their parties.
Send a message to your candidates
- Spread the word about our campaign
The more people who support our campaign, the greater the impact we will have. Use our quick and easy online messaging tool to send an e-mail to your friends and family encouraging them to get involved. There's strength in numbers!
Tell your friends about the campaign
- Ask the candidates at your door where they stand
When the candidates or their representatives come around to your door – or you meet them at the mall – use the opportunity to ask them whether they will support strong action on lung health. To help you, we’ve prepared a series of election cards with important questions on one side and key facts about lung disease on the other.
- Raise lung health issues at "all candidates" meetings
All–candidates meetings are a great place to raise to raise lung health issues with the candidates. Gather a group of interested friends for moral support and head off – with copies of our backgrounders and election cards in hand.
Be sure to talk to the organizers of the all–candidates session either beforehand or at the meeting when you arrive, to find out how you can get a question put to the candidates. Some meetings have an open format, allowing questions from anyone attending. Others require written questions in advance. Feel free to use any of the questions set out on the election cards. If your life has been directly affected by lung disease, you might briefly mention that when you speak to add a personal note to your question.
Usually the time just before and just after the meeting will provide good opportunities for chatting with the candidates about our issues. These interactions are usually brief, so try to make your message to the candidates brief and to the point (e.g. "Hi, I’m ___________. I hope I can count on your support for strong action to clean up our air…"). Short and sweet is the best bet.
- Organize a "meet and greet" session with the candidates in your community
If you are a member of a community organization or social club with 20 or more members, you could think about organizing a meet and greet session with the candidates. These can be held at a community hall, condominium recreation room or the normal meeting place of your organization. Provide some refreshments and bring the candidates in on a schedule, one after the other, giving each a half hour or more on their own with your members. If you can muster at least 15-20 people from the candidates’ riding, they will be more than willing to attend.
Meet and greet sessions like this provide a perfect opportunity to ask the candidates whether they will support action on lung health. Feel free to use the questions on the Lung Association election cards, which you could print and distribute to the members of your organization – and the candidates.
Materials you can use to support the campaign
You're welcome to print out these items for your own use or to distribute to supporters and candidates.
Lung Association election postcards
Backgrounders on our key issues
Find out more about more about lung health issues by reading/ printing out these useful backgrounders. Make copies and pass them along to your friends.
Thanks for your support – together we will put lung health on the national agenda!
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