Bitter and bewildered: The sad plight of the disillusioned left-wing Canadian voter
Do you ever feel like you're a rock 'n' roll fan stuck in the Eighties? Or a science teacher at a Republican education convention down in the southern U.S.? Or an environmentalist in oil sands-ravaged Alberta?
Well, if so, then you're quite possibly a left-wing Canadian voter. Because feeling discouraged, depressed, dejected, and downhearted is all part and parcel of being a progressive voter here in this country these days.
In fact, this must be what it feels like to be a Toronto Maple Leafs fan after a while.
It might even be close to how a young Stephen Harper must have felt growing up here in Canada, a place he once called "a second-tier socialist country" and "a northern European welfare state in the worst sense of the term".
Not since the days of Brian Mulroney's consecutive majorities have things seemed so bleak to those of us on the left here in Canada.
It is, of course, wonderful that Harper and his Conservatives haven't been able to win a majority in parliament and therefore haven't been able to ram through their right-wing agenda; nevertheless, this feeling of despondency remains.
Cynicism and Apathy
Last year in a speech in Toronto Harper said, "Cynicism and apathy is the last thing Canadians, especially young Canadians, should feel, about politics or about anything else about this country".
However, I'd say that unless you belong to the minority of Canadian voters who are right-of-center, how can you possibly not be feeling at least somewhat cynical and apathetic?
The fact remains that a vote for the Greens here in Canada means no representation whatsoever in parliament, even if they were to get 15–20 percent of the national vote. And that's simply undemocratic.
Then there are the Liberals—never all that progressive at the best of times—who are presently led by Michael Ignatieff, their most right-wing leader in decades. Someone who not only supported the Iraq War, but also Guantanamo Bay and the enhanced interrogation techniques (that is, torture) that went on there. Who the hell wants someone like that leading our country?
Then we've got the NDP, who after years of mocking the Liberals for propping up the Conservatives in parliament are now doing the exact same thing. They say it's because they support the Conservatives' employment insurance reform bill, but in reality it's pretty obvious that it has a lot more to do with their rather dismal standing in the polls right now. Presently sitting at around 15 percent or so if an election were held today, they face losing seats and have therefore decided to try and avoid an election at all costs. Even if it makes them look completely hypocritical and pathetic.
So, what's a poor lefty to do?
Obviously, the worst case scenario would be Stephen Harper and his Conservatives remaining in power, or, worst of all, gaining a majority. That would clearly be downright depressing. Still, do any progressive types really want to see Michael Ignatieff leading this country? Once again it comes down to the lesser of two evils instead of a government to actually feel excited about.
What I Really, Really Want
Personally, I know exactly what I want and it's called electoral reform. Specifically, what this country really needs is a form of proportional representation. See my earlier piece on that topic here: What Canadians Need: The Canadian Election Rant (Part 2).
The way I see it, Canadians are generally quite a progressive lot and many more would undoubtedly vote both Green and NDP if they actually saw a possibility of them winning power and didn't view such a vote as "wasted".
Presently, many admit to voting for the Liberals not because they support them, but simply to keep the Conservatives from winning a majority. Under a P.R. system that would never be a real concern, since I can't see the Conservatives ever winning anywhere near a majority (50 percent) of the votes in this country.
You may call me crazy, but under a revamped—that is fair and truly democratic—political system I someday see a Green-left coalition governing Canada, just like the one that governed Germany in a stable coalition for years up until 2005.
But until then I guess I'll just keep "wasting my vote" and hoping for anyone but Harper and the Conservatives to form the next government. Though I can already envision feelings of dread and dismay when I first hear the words, "Prime Minister Michael Ignatieff".
Well, at least it won't be quite as bad as being a rock fan back in the mid-Eighties.
Mike Cowie is a freelance writer who writes about politics, music, film, travel, and much more. You can read more of Mike’s views on his Web site.
Comments
35 Comments
Juliet
Sep 20, 2009 at 1:52pm
For what it's worth, Ignatieff recanted his support for the Iraq war, and has apologized.
Morty
Sep 20, 2009 at 8:46pm
The biggest problem with our electoral system is that the economics of mounting a campaign make MPs beholden to their parties, to the point that virtually all of them place party interests ahead of those of their constituents. Under PR, that can only get worse. With no need to face voters directly, MPs would become accountable _only_ to their party. How does that serve our interests, exactly?
"Electoral reform" has been trotted out repeatedly by both the left and the right (depending on who lost the previous election) for years. It's also been rejected by voters every time it's come up. There's a reason for that. Changing the rules may seem like a quick fix, but it doesn't address the real problems with our democratic system.
Pride
Sep 20, 2009 at 9:09pm
I don't feel the least bit cynical. And I will proudly vote for the NDP again federally and provincially.
I think you have internalized the spin. Glen Clark's deck, fastcats, Jack Layton's mustache,...
The fact is these are people that represent ordinary Canadians and Canadian families. They do not support foreign corporate interests or other cronies and because of this they pay dearly in the corporate controlled media outlets - which amount to most of them.
But if you or anyone thinks for just a moment about the atrocious crimes being perpetrated against Canadians right now by our neo-con regimes the NDP's so called mistakes are not even worth mentioning.
Our public debt has been privatized (find out what that means it's terrifying). Taxes have been continuously shifted from the wealthy and corporations to the poor in the name of building wealth through "trickle down". We participate in torture, illegal rendition, corporate warfare, and we have some of the worst suffering in the world in our slums.
If anything I think people look around - and see Canada for what it is - and they are afraid. And rightfully so. Look what happens if you try to unionize. Look what devastation is laid on those social programs that once ensured people were housed, fed and generally treated humanely. We have been successfully divided. I think it takes bravery to look around see who clearly has the power right now and who is cruelly wielding it - and to vote for something else.
Double Whammy for Progressives in BC
Sep 20, 2009 at 9:25pm
I can relate so much to this article. And not only do things look bleak in terms of the federal politics, but there is little chance that the provincial NDP will ever come to power as long as they keep picking weak leaders like Carole James. The day that Peter MacKay's conservative party joined with Stephen Harper's reform/alliance party marked the beginning of the end of progressive of politics in Canada.
Joe Chip
Sep 21, 2009 at 9:28am
I am also an advocate for electoral reform, but Proportional Representation is a disastrous system, and even worse than our current one. I've written detailed arguments against our current system and Proportional Representation, and explained why I think Preferential Ballots are so much better here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=39602671693
shla
Sep 21, 2009 at 11:45am
This environmentalist in oil sands-ravaged Alberta agrees 110%!
I vote Green every election, I don't give a rat's ass if it's a wasted vote, it's not as wasted as if I voted NDP or Liberal - Ignatieff for PM over my dead body! Might as well be Harper! Same excrement, different pile, really.
Lefty McLefterson
Sep 21, 2009 at 11:51am
I am SO happy to read this article and know that I am not the only one who feels this way.
laketrout
Sep 21, 2009 at 2:22pm
What Layton did to support the Conservatives is nothing like what Dion and the Liberals did for years. The Liberals would at every confidence vote say publicly that they did not supports whatever it was the Conservatives where proposing, but when it came time to vote they either failed to have enough members show up to swing the vote or would vote for it anyway.
Now I know Harper has had no intention of operating parliament in anyway a minority parliament should work. That is making compromises with at least one party who can give you a majority of votes. Paul Martin understood it.
So for this one instant, Harper knew the poles where too close between him and the Liberals and he couldn't make the same miscalculation he did last year when he forced an election. Which reminds me, Harper is the one being hypocritical when he lashes out at Ignatieff for trying to be an opportunist and force an election.
So I don't feel like a dissollusioned left-winger because of what the NDP did. They did what every party in a minority parliament should do - that is make it work, make compromises.
asp
Sep 21, 2009 at 5:30pm
Minority of Canadian voters are right-of-center? I don't think so.
http://www.politicalcompass.org/canada2008
If you voted Green, Liberal, or Conservative, you are right-of-center. That is the majority.
Jim M.
Sep 21, 2009 at 7:34pm
I agree with sentiments expressed in this article, but the writer must not have been following the pro-rep debate in this country for the last decade. Proportional representation is now dead in Canada for at least a generation.
The final stake in the heart was driven in by the small amount of BC voters who bothered to vote in the last provincial election and who rejected BC-STV at that point. With it having failed once in BC already and in two other provinces the chances of it going national are gone.
The NO-STV movement was brought to us for the most part by the right wing of the BC NDP, who unlike their federal counterparts do not see any value in proportional representation. Georgia Straight writer Bill Tielman and party insider David Schreck were at the helm of that movement, ably aided and abetted by the Georgia Straight's Editor Charlie Smith, who posted a number of fear-mongering hatchet jobs against STV leading up to the referendum. Thank you BC NDP backroom boys.