So there we were, the Conservatives forced an election, over $300 million was wasted on campaigns that resulted in another minority government that managed to squeak in another seat or two. Yes, that was well spent money. The next day I was listening to CBC and a Conservative member was trumpeting to the stars about how the Canadian people has sent a “strong message of support”. Really? Are you sure?
What was astonishing was the low voter turnout. Apparently the lowest since Confederation. The apathy was appalling.
So lets do some math: The election yielded the Conservatives a 1.38% increase in the popular vote to achieve 37.65% of the votes overall. A Canada wide average (I did a quick calculation based on Provincial voter turnouts) shows that 57% of Canadians actually cast a ballot. So…if the Conservatives received 37.65% of he popular vote which was made up of 57% of Canadians who voted…they were supported by 21% of the Canadian population.
So, our Prime Minister is supported by 21% of Canadians. And he’s our leader?
Jump ahead a couple of months and he’s happily pissing off most everyone other than his little 21% piece of the pie so the other three parties start talking. They do the math and realize that all total, they represent more of Canada than the Harper government does. In fact, they hold 54.42%of the popular combined vote. True, they all have rather different philosophies…but don’t we all have different views of the world? Even without the Bloc, the NDP and Liberals hold 44.44% combined…more than the Conservatives do that’s for sure. And if we do our math from earlier, that means that the other three parties actually represent 31% of the Canadian population. Still not great, but better than 21%.
(Who knows what the other 43% think since they didn’t see fit to cast a ballot, so if you are one of those, tape your mouth shut since you have no right to vocalize anything. Get out and vote next time you idiots!
So when the coalition was announced I couldn’t help but think, now this is smart. Other major countries do this and have since the 50’s. Italy, Japan, Germany, Norway, Switzerland….these aren’t backward countries, these are some world powerhouses. So why are so many Canadians afraid of this type of government. Why are so many afraid to let the people decide who sits in government and then make them work together to represent ALL Canadians rather than just their own voter base?
Canadian voters are fickle. They tend to go with the flow and when a member of parliament pisses them off, they punish the entire party by voting for the other guy. It’s idiocy. Because of these flip flops we haven’t seen stability for years. If we always had a coalition government, I really think things would work because everyone would be forced to the same table and be forced to compromise for the benefit of all Canadians.
So what does all this have to do with family? Well, my brother sent around a petition against the coalition. I tend to ignore political propaganda that he sends me since we sit on opposite sides of the fence on politics and it’s easier to just let it go. My Uncle chimed in with a pro coalition message and I couldn’t help myself…I agreed openly. The next thing I knew I had messages from both my brother and my mother that, if I might paraphrase, implied that I was an extreme leftish separatist who didn’t realize there was life outside the Lower Mainland.
Fascinating!
The Conservative government is so skilled at fear mongering and public manipulation that it has actually managed to sway my mother (who is not a Conservative) and my brother (who I was pretty sure was NDP) away from their own parties. Why? Because one doesn’t like the party leader of her own party and the other hates Quebec. It reminds me of being in grade three “let’s turn our back on Susie and make friends with Rachael (even though we don’t like Rachael) because it will punish Susie for talking to Lucy…”
My Canada includes Quebec and I think a coalition would actually force everyone to reach some compromises that would benefit all of Canada.
I also think that Canada needs to adopt the Australian model (other countries also follow this) of making every eligible voter do just that….vote…or face a fine.
Finally, I think Canada needs to change its voting strategies and move to a single transferable vote model. Think about it, no wasted votes, and the individual candidates are held individually accountable for their platform. The STV system would also even out the current unequal bias with respect to the disproportionate number of seats between Provinces.
Unfotunately, the Governor General of Canada chose to grant Stephen Harper prorogue and Parliament has been suspended until late January. I heard a great analogy for Mr. Harper. Someone likened him to a schoolyard bully, but beyond that, he was compared to the kid who didn’t study for the final exam and then pulled the fire alarm just before he had to write the test to get a few more hours/days of study time. Well, Mr. Harper just got 2 months to study, and to slander the other side and spread his fear and manipulation wider. I hate that we are getting more and more like the Americans in our political tactics and that we are buying into the fear mongering techniques used by American media…
But I won’t be discussing this with family….I may get called a Communist next..