It was with a sigh of relief that I watched the closing of the polls in Toronto. “Election Night in Canada” has come to an end, without the 6-month-long turmoil and anxiety-inducing fanfare that we have been witnessing south of the border.
True, we spent a lot of taxpayers’ money with very little in the way of return – Harper’s Minority Government is still a Minority, to the great disappointment of many die-hard Conservatives, who were sure going into this that they would acquire a resounding mandate for their policies.
Let me say right up front that once again I followed my conscience and voted for Mr. Layton’s NDP. Initially I had thought that I would vote Liberal this time, in an effort to minimize the all-too-common “split vote” that we see on the moderate left in Canada.
With an economy that is tilting under the threat of world collapse it would seem sensible to support the Conservatives, and indeed many of my most respected friends are doing just that. They argue, quite rightly, that the Conservatives have historically presented the most feasible solutions when faced with economic crisis. Too often we point fingers of blame, instead of looking toward reasonable solutions.
My reasons for voting NDP were simple. In the end, it came down to this: in times of economic crisis, all too often our hard-won Canadian ideals come under attack. I believe in Medicare and universal access to a world-class educational system. In our country, these beliefs are best represented by the New Democrats.
Perhaps a Minority Government is not really a case of the “glass half empty". Maybe it truly is the best of both worlds: a Conservative government, though never my favourites, at the helm as we enter economic turbulence, and a strong and always vocal Liberal and New Democratic opposition, to keep our ideals alive and to ensure that the common person never has to suffer in this country.
From a number of viewpoints this could be argued to be a win-win-win-win-win situation, with Mr. Harper increasing his overall seats for his Conservative Party, M. Dion’s Liberals maintaining a firm opposition, Mr. Layton’s NDP Party gaining well-deserved respect and trust of the Canadian people, M. Duceppe’s Bloc Québécois retaining a strong voice in Quebec. The lovable “underdog”, Green Party leader Elizabeth May, ran a strong albeit doomed (this time) campaign, and raised public awareness and support throughout the country.
The Minority mindset that we seem to have developed in Canada is somewhat of an enigma wrapped in a mystery. If you ask any handful of people why they think we keep doing this, you will get any number of answers. Perhaps it isn’t even a Canadian anomaly so much as it is a North American one, (witness Florida’s November, 2000 case of Bush vs. Gore, which darn nearly split the State as well as the country down the middle) or even a Global one. The world is becoming more polarized by the day, it seems, and that strong division, while not felt on a physical level here in Canada the way it is in many other countries, is becoming more and more pronounced.
Lines are being drawn in the political sand, my friends, and with the world’s economy taking a swan dive, it will be prudent for all of us to find a way to step over those lines to work for the common good.
Thankfully here in Canada, at least, we still enjoy the “many shades of grey”. We are used to expressing a broad spectrum of political views, as evidenced by the fact that 5 – count ‘em, 5 – major parties plus assorted Independents share in our popular vote.
Other countries could take a lesson in cooperation from Canada. With this many viewpoints, we learned long ago to work together despite our differences.
The mud-slinging and name-calling that we’ve seen in the US 2008 Election Campaign never happens here.
Well, hardly ever…..
Donna Carrick, October 15, 2008
