I’ve seen a number of people on social media comment: I
don’t like this or that leader; I don’t know who to vote for. It seems to me
that choosing which party to vote for by deciding which leader you like does
not take into consideration what a party stands for and what they may or may
not do once they are elected. In Canada, after all, we do not have a separate
election to vote for our prime minister contrary to the United States where
they do have a separate election to vote for their president. Although we may
think that Stephen Harper has shown that a leader can have a lot of power even
in Canada, it seems to me that if a party does not go along with its leader, he
won’t have that power.
I spend little time listening to election speeches and I
usually don’t watch leadership debates. My decision-making process in regards
to who to vote for starts with where the parties sit in terms of their policies
– right, left or centre. Then I prefer to look at their record, the history of
what they have done.
For example, the Conservative Party governed first after
Confederation. There have been 16 Conservative prime ministers and 12 Liberal
prime ministers. If my math is correct, Conservatives have governed Canada for
a total of 65 years and Liberals for a total of 84 years. The NDP has never
governed federally, though the party (CCF/NDP) has governed 19 times in the
provinces. The Green Party is a recent addition to the mix.
Both a Conservative (Macdonald) and a Liberal (Laurier)
prime minister championed national railways. Also under Laurier, immigration to
settle western Canada was endorsed. The Royal Canadian Navy was created during
Laurier’s tenure. A reciprocity treaty (trade) with the United States was Laurier’s
undoing. Conscription was introduced during the First World War under the
Conservatives. During the Depression, the Conservatives at first championed
industry and imperial trade; when this did not work, they called for social
programs to assist the poor, but this came too late to save their government. It
wasn’t until 1957 that a Conservative leader (John Diefenbaker) was able to
excite the country again, though he formed a minority government. The following
year, however, his party won 208 out of 265 seats in Parliament, including 50
in Quebec. In the 1960’s Pearson’s Liberal governments established Medicare,
the Canada Pension Plan, and the Canadian flag. (Side note: My parents were in
Germany during the flag debate and this was so intense that it received
coverage even in Germany). Under Pierre Trudeau’s Liberal governments the Canadian
Constitution was repatriated, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was
established, and the Official Languages Act (making Canada officially
bilingual) was passed. Prior to his term as prime minister, Trudeau had been justice
minister in Pearson’s Liberal government and presided over divorce law reform,
and Criminal Code amendments on homosexuality, abortion, and public lotteries. In
1984 the Conservatives under Brian Mulroney won the largest landslide majority
in Canadian history. However, by the time he left office, his personal
popularity had fallen lower than any other Canadian prime minister. During his
tenure we got the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, the Goods and
Services Tax, and the Environmental Protection Act. In 2004 the Conservatives,
led by Harper took 99 seats in Parliament.
As for the CCF/NDP, you can read their history on line in
many places. Some of the legislation the party has enacted in various provinces
and issues they have championed include universal public health insurance,
government planning, old age pensions, workers’ compensation and employment
insurance. The party has called for national dental care and child care
programs, favoured higher taxation on corporations and the rich. From its
founding in 2008 the NDP has obtained an average of 15.6% of the vote in
national elections. Because of our electoral system they have consistently
received a smaller percentage of seats than the percentage of votes. In 2011,
for the first time, the party formed the official opposition in parliament.
Green Parties have been global movements developing from
grassroots environmental and ecological movements. There are currently over 100
Green Parties around the world. Belgium had the first Green members elected to
parliament in Europe in the 1970s. In Canada there are currently 2 Green
members of parliament.
So given all this, how do I choose who to vote for? I vote
for parties not individuals. There are parties I will never vote for. I am not
a one party person, and have changed who I vote for from time to time. I do
take into consideration if a party has any chance of forming a government -
under our current electoral system percentage of vote doesn’t count. If a
particular party has alienated me with recent policies, scandals or deeds I
will not vote for them at that election. However, I also don’t let polls
dictate my vote – the polls have been wrong in the past. I usually make up my
mind fairly early in the election campaign.
