“The Englishman has long been proud of his liberties. Freedom of speech and worship, freedom to choose his own rulers, freedom from arbitrary arrest and all the other despotic impulses of tyrants have been our birthright for centuries.” – Martin Lindsay, The House of Commons.
So is true for our snowy brethren across the ocean, as Canadians will soon be heading to the polls to cast their votes in decision of their next Government and Canada’s 41st Parliament. To some, the quote above might be a bit (or a lot) out of tune with their beliefs on the country’s current Prime Minister and his tenure. To others, it is an apt description of Canadian parliamentary democracy today just as it always has been, inherited from its so-called Motherland all those years ago. Well, minus the Englishman part.
Yes, Canada has an election underway – its fourth in only seven years. For those of you who may not be as knowledgeable about Canadian politics (pretty much everyone I know in the UK), here’s some background information.
Canada has four main political parties which comprise its own House of Commons. These are in order of most seats first, although naturally this is liable to change:
The Conservative Party of Canada. This is Canada’s centre-right party, currently led by Stephen Harper, which has been in power since 2006 with a minority government. It was formed via a merger of Canada’s Conservative parties – the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance (formerly the Reforms) Parties in order to unite the previously split Conservative vote. Ideologically, it is similar to many other centre-right parties, advocating small government, low taxation / spending and social conservatism. Harper’s party has 144 ridings under its belt, close to the required majority of 154.
The Liberal Party. This is Canada’s centre / centre-left party, which has comprised the majority of its governments and has achieved remarkable success electorally. It tends to be regarded as Canada’s ‘natural ruling party’, though it has been in opposition since 2006 and suffered heavy losses in the federal election of 2008. The last Liberal Prime Minister was Paul Martin, and it is currently led by Michael Ignatieff. Being centrist or left of centre, it is supportive of social liberalism, state welfare, a larger government and progressive policies, though it is by no means a far-left party, as it has some history of strong fiscal conservatism. As of writing, the Liberals have 77 MPs.
The Bloc Québécois. Canada’s separatist movement led by Gilles Duceppe, which fights for the continual sovereignty of the French-speaking province of Quebec (much like the Scottish National Party for Scotland in the UK). At one point, it was actually Canada’s main opposition. It only runs candidates in Quebec, and its policies are mainly centre-left. They currently hold 47 seats.
The New Democratic Party. Another socially / economically progressive party in Canada, the NDP has been led by Jack Layton, Lord of all Moustaches, since 2003. It has never received enough support to form a government, but once managed to land itself a Premier of Ontario with Bob Rae (now a Liberal). It has the least seats in the House of Commons with 36 MPs, even though it receives more votes than the Bloc, and under Layton it achieved some decent level of success in a number of by-elections. Its policies are rather more left than the Liberals, supporting high taxation, trade unionism, large state spending and strongly fighting climate change. Even though Layton has been Canada’s most popular party leader for a time, the NDP itself cannot match this popularity during elections, although in 2008 they managed to gain eight seats, their best showing since the 1980s.
From top left to bottom right: Michael Ignatieff, Stephen Harper, Jack Layton, some random French bloke.
Other parties include the Green Party (which has no seats, but in 2008 increased its vote share dramatically) led by Elizabeth May, the Marxist-Leninists, Communists and my personal favourite, the Marijuana Party. The Canadian House of Commons also has two independents.
Stephen Harper has been Canada’s Prime Minister since 2006 after the resignation of the then incumbent Paul Martin, who led a Liberal minority government since 2004. In both the 2006 and 2008 elections, Harper has only managed to muster minority governments, whereby the Conservatives have not earned enough seats to form a full majority government.
The 2011 federal election arose after Stephen Harper’s party was defeated on a motion of contempt for parliament, the first time this has ever happened in not only Canada’s history but the history of the Commonwealth. The Liberals, NDP and Bloc joined forces to bring down Harper’s minority and trigger an election. This is interesting because, before this motion occurred, it was widely believed the opposition parties would simply defeat the Conservatives on their “out of touch” 2011 budget.
6. Stop Celine Dion from making any more albums and exile her to Nunavut.
Each of the four main parties have campaigned on highly differing priorities during this election.
Stephen Harper has taken his suspected route, arguing for low taxes, corporate and otherwise, that will secure Canada’s economic recovery and spur job growth. He is on the side of small and large business, concurrently holding a tough on crime stance, and is arguing that if the Liberals or a parliamentary coalition between them, the NDP and the Bloc was to gain power, it would be a severe threat to Canada’s economic security. They also advocate cutting spending in certain areas to handle the deficit, while continuing it in others (e.g. job training).
Michael Ignatieff, on the other hand, plans to scrap the Conservatives’ corporate tax cuts and constantly refers to Harper’s government as undemocratic and deceitful. The Liberals have a steady plan to reduce Canada’s deficit, which in many areas includes retaining certain taxes and inducing spending cuts, and plan to invest money in post-secondary education and pensions. Where they say they would get this money apart from scrapping the corporate tax cuts, however, is not very clear. They also see Harper’s stance on crime as arbitrary, want to scrap the $30 billion expenditure on fighter jets and put a stop to what they deem is constant economic mismanagement by his government. They claim Harper has no priorities for families and instead wastes millions of dollars in the defence of large corporations and business barons.
Jack Layton and his NDP posse aim to take concentration away from the Liberals and Tories and are fighting for the “family table”, not the tables of certain corporations. They also state that the government is, well, not fit to govern. They wish to increase tax on so-called “big polluters” and pull Canadian troops out of Afghanistan. Layton constantly says that he is ready to become Canada’s Prime Minister, but his more realistic position is arguably to hold the balance of power in a minority government – a bit like our pal Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats did.
Duceppe wants to create a space station out of Bordeaux cheese and invest in swords. Everyone must speak fluent French or they will be strung up on the gallows. They must pledge allegiance to the great Quebecian breadstick and sing France’s national anthem every hour or they will be fined 1,000 SQFs (Shiny Quebec Francs). Also he wants to make the province its own country and stuff.
Stephen Harper engaging in a good old Canadian pastime: pelting Labrador seniors with snowballs.
So far, it’s been quite an interesting election. As I study in Canada, it’s been a remarkable experience to be in another country during election time, and I have my own opinions on the parties and what’s going to happen on May 2nd, the day it all comes to a head.
If you look at my blog’s (not so) illustrious title, you might assume where my vote would go in Canada could I vote here. I’ll say it’s really not that easy, for me anyway, when it comes to the politics of the Canucks.
My overall opinion on Stephen Harper is quite mixed. While I believe he’s done a great deal of good for Canada’s economy during his time, and I agree with a lot of his sentiments on low taxes, to me there is really no excuse for spending so much money on an array of expensive aircraft. We’re not in the Cold War anymore, and I don’t believe Canada needs to worry so much about its Arctic North with regards to defence, especially when it has the United States below it. This is not to say that Canada should have no military or defence spending. I do believe, however, that Harper, despite this silly action of hiding documents, is a better and more effective politician than the opposition and much of the Canadian media paint him. His environmental record is not nearly as acceptable as I’d like, but I think on the question of the economy, he’s got the job done for Canadians, and his support of business growth is to my liking. I also believe he values Canadian families and the welfare of those on lower incomes a lot more genuinely than might be told. If the Conservatives here were not as socially conservative as they behave, they’d have a deal more support from me. They also need to stop attacking someone just for living outside his own country or going to Harvard which, in my opinion, is rather pathetic.
Michael Ignatieff is a fantastic speaker. I’ve seen him talk twice, and both times he’s given a performance that brought me in and made me think deeply about what he’s saying. The issue I have with him is that, both times, he never really spoke on the things Canadians truly care about. He rarely ever properly discusses what he’d do on jobs, or the economy, or the environment, or deficit reduction. His history and the collective rhetoric he uses is all very impressive, but I find he has considerable trouble actually talking policy, and this is where he’s suffering. He’s an extremely intelligent guy and a beautiful writer, but as a leader, I’m not sure he’s as capable. Iggy’s arguments about the “nefarious” actions of Harper and his contempt are understandable but, for the love of Trudeau, tell people what you’d do with their tax dollars for once. I found this is where Cameron (long may he reign) tripped up occasionally – he threw far too much flack at his opponents without offering a clear alternative. Ignatieff is walking the same path, and I think it’s going to severely hurt him on Election Day if he goes on. The Liberals, as I find people on the left typically do, promise investment and give lots of nice spending sums, but rarely say where they’d get the money from. Also, you can never trust someone with eyebrows that thick. He’s definitely hiding something in those fluffy strips. All that being said, I do find that I favour the Canadian Liberal Party in comparison to centre-left / progressive parties in other countries. They’re a damn sight more respectable than our rotten Labour Party, especially economically. As leaders go however, Ignatieff’s got a lot to work on, and an increasingly short amount of time to do so.
Jack Layton is probably the farthest politically from me. Virtually all of his policies are what I oppose – big government, high spending and taxes, etc. He too, based on videos, appears to be a good speaker, and as an individual he’s done well with winning support. His party, though, is not as attractive – at all. Their record in many areas, from my personal knowledge and research, is fairly bad. Their time governing Ontario was abysmal, racking up huge amounts of debt, losing jobs and crippling the province’s economy. My my, it reminds me of someone ... Anyway, Layton might have a bright stance on families, but his standing for the health of the economy is murky and dark. He also needs to remember that, in three successive elections, Canadians have rejected him and his platform.
I have no real opinion of Duceppe. His ideals remind me of Alex Salmond’s, which is not a good thing. I think his dreams of a separate Quebec are just that, a dream, and after the 1995 referendum always will be. He’s far too wax-like and, to top it off, he’s French and therefore my mortal enemy.
Since the election began, Mr Layton has been losing considerable ground to the Liberals. Even so, the latter has still not managed to eclipse Harper's Conservatives in the polls. Could Canada have its very own coalition formed between these two vying men of stark facial features?
So, if I was Canadian, who would I vote for? That’s a hard question. I’m not Canadian, therefore my opinions here matter nothing electorally. It would most certainly be between the Conservatives or Liberals, as I’d want nothing to do with the NDP policy wise. I really cannot say more than that. I have a lot of admiration for Jean Chretien’s economic policies in the nineties, and I believe the man is a shining light for Britain’s current circumstances, but I have an equal view on Brian Mulroney’s time in Sussex Drive, and Harper has my support in certain areas. Then again, so does Ignatieff. I’m just going in circles really, so I’ll leave it at that.
I will say this to Canadians: go and vote. Voting is a practice we in the democratic world constantly take for granted, and we should all be involved in it when the time comes. Millions everywhere wish they had the chance we do, to decide our future and choose our leaders – to make our voices heard. Look to the events in Egypt, Syria, Libya, the Ivory Coast and elsewhere. These people are crying out for democracy, and here it is in our everyday lives and on our doorsteps. Many of us don’t realize quite how fortunate we are. If Canada did not limit voting strictly to its citizens, I’d probably have marked my ballot already. Those who haven’t yet should crack on with it.
So, whether you support the Conservatives, the Liberals, the NDP, the Green Party ... whatever, just make sure you vote on May 2nd. Don’t give your politicians an easy ride. Get them on their toes and remind Harper, Ignatieff and Layton that you’re in control, not them. The student vote mob that greeted Harper here in Guelph hopefully got the message to him that you lot plan on voting, so keep it up.
Make me proud, you timbit scoffing children of Victoria.
"Imagine there's no opposition ... it's easy if you try ..."
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