The campaign of Maverick Party candidate Tariq Elnaga is in full gear in preparation for the possibility of an early election call.

He says the political climate is right for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call an election this fall.

"We think considering the ways the polls are looking, and the way Justin Trudeau has already started campaigning with our own money, a fall election is pretty likely."

The party's Banff-Airdrie candidate was in Cochrane last night (July 21) for a town hall meeting, and it was the third one he's held across the riding in the last two weeks.

He'll be back in Cochrane next Tuesday (July 27) for an informal meet and greet in the Historic Downtown at Centennial Plaza, and one of his board members will be playing guitar.

"I'm just going to hang out and meet members of the community individually because there's also value in doing informal events."

He's also holding a virtual town hall next week.

"My teams and I are continuously out knocking on doors, putting the message out. We've already done four or five doorknocks in the Cochrane area alone."

Elnaga was pleased with the diverse crowd of nearly 50 people participating in his Cochrane town hall.

"There was lots of engagement, lots of questions. By the time we were done, I would say we did about an hour's worth of questions, which is great, and every member of the community here was well represented. I loved it."

Most of the questions centred upon what the Maverick Party stands for and how it will represent the West in the House of Commons.

The Maverick Party is running exclusively in the West and has zeroed in on winnable ridings from Manitoba to British Columbia. It believes our democracy is broken and that the West needs to be treated as a true partner. So far, it has 18 candidates nominated.