Oh dear Lord, I think I have to vote Liberal.
During the last election I had a conversation with a long-time acquaintance of mine. I had just told her that I was going to vote for the NDP, and that I prided myself on being a “proud socialist”. She looked at me in the strangest way. “I didn’t think there were many of you left. At least not our age” she said. “I used to be” she added, “but…” Her pause implied that she had grown up. She had seen the realism of the world and decided to support the Liberals. The implication — perhaps — was that I was a dreamer. This pause allowed me to begin my rant:
“We get caught in a Liberal vs. Conservative cycle!”
“Why are we so against the NDP?”
“The Liberal Party are not doing enough!”
“Stop sitting on the fence!”
Yet, as the election came to fruition, I was left again on the losing end of another election. The Liberals had beat the Conservatives by 12% and my NDP was left demolished. Yes, I had seen the wind of change coming. Mulcair — a leader I truly respected — decided to appeal to fiscal Liberals, and Trudeau-Mania 2.0 emerged. I was left on my lonely high horse warning those Liberals of the impending doom of a Trudeau leadership.
Over these past four years I have watched as Trudeau has slipped into a national-crisis that has renewed arguments about the Environment, Oil, Western Alienation, and Provincial powers. I have watched him hypocritically appeal to voters on issues like proportional representation only to pull the rug out from under us. And, I have most recently watched him through his blackface scandal make a mockery of systemic racism in Canada. I have thoroughly disliked the Trudeau 2.0 years. And, from my view atop my high horse, I can raise my hands, and wail “I didn’t vote for him!”.
I have never liked the idea of strategic voting. I have rarely done this because I hate the lingering taste it leaves in my mouth following an election. We in Canada have a system that Americans must envy. We have four fairly major parties (six if we include the Bloc and the Peoples’ Party) that represent the ideas of many Canadians. When I hear Canadians say “none of the parties represent my values” I hear “I haven’t taken the time to figure out what the parties stand for”. The truth is that apart from Vegan Trotskyites there is a party for just about every Canadian voter.
So, it may come as a surprise to hear me say that this October I am voting f0r a party I don’t agree with, and a leader I don’t have a whole lot of respect for. This year, I will vote for Justin Trudeau.
I should start by saying that I really like Jagmeet Singh. I would love to see him make inroads in this election. The policies of the party are firmly focused on the Environment, which has become a more important focus for me, and I genuinely still agree with the majority of their policies. However, Singh has been all but missing on the national political scene. I don’t blame him for this. I blame the marketing and public relations team with the NDP. Because of this, I do not see a way in which he can secure a win, or possibly even a respectable finish.
I can already hear the chorus of Green supporters saying it; “Why not vote for the Green Party?” Certainly the focus on the Environment, the rise of Generation Z (many of whom will vote in their first election this year), and the election in Ontario of Mike Schreiner has shown gains in Green Party support. I like their stance, but in all honesty, as someone living in the suburbs of southern Ontario, our Green Candidate doesn’t stand a chance. If I was five minutes closer to town, perhaps, but here, no way. They seem to be a potential contender against the NDP, and should be my most likely vote. But, this is where my problem lies, and this is why I contemplating the unthinkable.
For the foreseeable future we are stuck with a First Past the Post system. This means that we are stuck with either The Liberal, or The Conservatives. The fact is that yes, there are other options. Namely that of the The NDP and the Green Party. However, there is a major issue with either of these choices. Mathematically they make no sense. The best case scenario is that one of these parties will hold the balance of power in a minority government. But, with each of them sniping at each other, I see them instead tearing the left to shreds and giving the election and potential future elections to either The Conservatives or The Liberals.
In May of this year David Caletto of Abacus Data shared his thoughts on Twitter. His analysis showed a strong connection between what he deemed the “Cosmopolitan Left” and the “Green Left populists”. Two groups that in many ways appear similar, but yet move to their own individual and honestly ineffective parties. The data that Caletto cites shows that if these two factions could come together we could really bring about serious change. Although Caletto notes that this will not be easy, he does suggest that if “the Left” expect to have any impact they need “to unite the cosmopolitan left and green/left populists”. An article in Macleans notes that a merged party would have resulted in a 27% share of the popular vote in the last election. Furthermore, they note that a “Green Democrat Party” would “win an average of 59 seats, more than twice the current combined seat projections for the NDP and GPC”. But, one can’t help but think of how many people may move to support a Green Democratic party that could actually prove formidable.
And, here lies the reason, for my vote. The last election showed a strong split in the NDP, and the emergence of the Leap Manifesto. The Green Party of Canada seems to be on a tipping point of sorts. However, neither party will become the Government or even the official opposition. In fact, by splitting the left vote, they could actually make things worse, and create a clear pathway for a Conservative government. This year my vote is a protest vote against the NDP and the The Green Party.
The time for divisions is over. The standoff within our political left has got to end. After this election, the NDP and the Green Party must put aside the petty lines that divide, and come together to actually mount a tangible third party. When they do so, I will be the first in line to join the party, but until then, I can no longer bet on which fringe party can “prop up” a Liberal government. So, on October 21st, I will plug my nose and vote Liberal. I only hope it is for the last time.
