". . . to put hardworking families first"

I’ve always been a bit of a political junkie. I grew up in a constituency that mostly elected Liberals, but in a province where the CCF (Canadian Commonwealth Federation) later NDP (New Democratic Party) had become the apparent natural governing party. My father voted CCF; he believed in the cooperative movement with which the CCF was easily associated, what with its declared socialist leanings, particularly as regards universal health care.

In keeping with the adage that the apple never falls far from the tree, I’ve generally voted for NDP candidates except when living in a constituency where it seemed more logical to vote strategically. In Spruce Grove, Alberta, I was a reluctant Liberal supporter.

One thing I have to admit; like most everyone else, a “victory” in Saskatchewan of the CCF/NDP was cause for celebration, even before I knew next to zero about platforms and policies. 

I’ve grown up some since then, but the feeling of victory/loss lingers, not unlike the triumph/failure of the Roughriders vs, the Blue Bombers nonsense. Remember “This will be our last “first-past-the-post election,” promise? Show me a political candidate whose primary interest is the country and its future as above his or her victory/defeat anxiety and I’ll show you a paragon of thoughtfulness and honesty hard to find in every liberal democracy I’ve observed. 

We’re again into an election cycle and I hope that most Canadians, as I also am, are weighing the options. Right now, I’m feeling discouraged about all the parties and living in a constituency that will vote Conservative even if the candidate should turn out to be a fence post, the incentive to be active, even to cast a ballot, is decidedly weak. Keeping in mind that my information is generally filtered by the media, what can be known doesn’t argue for certainty, doesn’t make choices clear. But here’s what the political scene looks like—to me—right now:

Liberal Party: I’m not bothered as much as some by Trudeau’s holiday with the Aga Khan, nor about the trade trip to China that wasn’t, not even about the Trudeau family parading through India in costumes too Indian even for ordinary Indians. I am, however, bothered by the Liberal’s sloppy communication skills, their band-aid approach to reconciliation with Indigenous People, the reneging on promised electoral reform, their tendency toward knee-jerk politics-of-expedience. I’d have to get past all this if the local Liberal candidate is to get my vote. In their favour, I thought the NAFTA episode was negotiated as well as could be expected. On pipelines? Well, the jury’s still out.

Conservative Party: Andrew Scheer seems to me now to be gearing up for a campaign that will heap scorn and whatever whiff of real or imagined scandal can be found to denigrate the Liberals, Trudeau particularly. At the same time, little is heard from him that would give me a reason to vote for the CPC candidate . . . policy-wise. He strikes me like a puppy-dog sniffing around to find anti-Liberal bones only; it’s a mentality I dislike. It’s not what great leaders project. “He is in politics to put hardworking families first,” the CPC website intones. Wonder who came up with that pithy policy statement.

NDP: Jagmeet Singh strikes me as a lead-wolf who’s running at the rear of the pack, trying to catch up, howling hoarsely once in a while to remind himself that he’s the leader . . . that’s the image I have at present. If only we’d chosen Nathan Cullen or Guy Caron or Charlie Angus or Nikki Ashton to lead us, the current disarray might have been averted. For a leader to have put himself in the position of fighting a bye-election in an election year smacks, unfortunately, of political incompetence. “Jagmeet is building a fairer, more just Canada where everyone can realize their dreams,” says the NDP’s website, pointlessly. (I can ignore for the moment the use of a plural pronoun with a singular antecedent.)

Green: The Green’s best shot at becoming a force in Canadian politics lies in the obliteration of the NDP, in the absorption of their vote share. The NDP seems to be doing its best right now to help them with this project. If the local Greens politicked flat out, put piles of money into my constituency, they’d still be happy to get 5 – 10% of the vote. I know that not-voting for a party because “they can’t win” makes a bit of a mockery of democracy’s greatest strength. Of course they can’t win if everybody decides not to vote for them because they can’t win! And thanks to Trudeau’s broken promise of electoral reform, the wasting of votes (like for the Green’s, the NDP’s, the Liberal’s in my constituency) will no doubt influence me to not-vote for the Greens again “because they can’t win.”

That’s it then . . . unless one of the parties comes out with a platform that can once again ignite my fervor for national politics. That platform would include at least these: 1) a specific alternative to first-past-the-post, 2) a reconciliation proposal with teeth, like eliminating the senate and replacing it with an all-nations treaty parliament in which Canada and First Nations would have equal representation, 3) a basic-income scheme to replace welfare and other current entitlement programs, 4) an energy plan that realistically projects both climate change mitigation and energy conversion needs well into the future, 5) a universal pharma-care plan, 6) a realistic plan for converting our military into a peace-keeping, disaster mitigation and search and rescue force paid for by reducing combat-specific provisions.

Present me with this platform and a leader with actual leadership skills and at least a modicum of charisma and you’ve got my vote! Even call yourself the Progressive Conservative Social Democracy Green Party of Canada (PCSDGPC) if you like. (If I get 100 or more comments below, I’ll get to work on forming the party. The acronym might be awkward; I think “Pizduhgipsee” would work, eh?)

. . . on the other hand, when every party we have now is a disappointment, do we really need one more??