So an election has been called, promises are being made and here in Ontario broken promises have caused a stir; and all of this in just one month. What a month it has been and it has made for a difficult decision about what this article should contain. However, because of the importance of the election I am going to make it the topic for this month.

This election is deemed to be the closest race since 1979. That was the year Joe Clark had a minority government, and in my mind I don’t think a minority government would be all that bad. We have had a few minority governments in the past and they have turned out to be some of the best governments in Canadian history. Two of the most successful minority governments in Canada would be Pearson’s and Trudeau’s minority government. These two governments were more progressive, more insightful and more delicate than any other government. The effects of a minority government forced both Pearson and Trudeau to come up with public policies that needed the support from other parties, thus we get a type of coalition and conformity in the house. Thus if a minority government occurs in this election, I strongly hope that it is a Liberal minority. This will have a two-fold response, 1) the Liberals are probably going to look towards the NDP for help, and 2) it will tell the Liberals that by moving too far to the right they have caused a panic within Canada and they need to start finding that mushy middle in a more left-wards position. With that said, I would love to see an NDP government, but as history has shown they have never formed the government, nor has any third party in Canada ever been able to be successful at the ballot box. This leads me to a question I have been pondering for many days, and the question I am going to dissect in this article. Why is it that Canadians have been afraid to support third parties, like the NDP, as an alternative to the Conservatives and the Liberals?

This is a very difficult question for me to answer because of my interest in Canadian political history and in Canadian politics. When I study Stephen Harpers policies and political ideas I cannot help but relate them to Brian Mulroney’s platform of 1984 and 1988. Tax cuts, better health care (in the form of a privatization; don’t kid yourself here), balanced budgets, free trade, and other old orthodoxies. If you’re not successful it is your fault and your fault alone. Then, once they realize their policies puts Canada into debt they do two things, one create a new tax (like Brian Mulroney and the GST) or two they leave it alone and put the burden no the newly elected party (like the Conservatives in Saskatchewan in 1990 and Ontario in 2003).

The problem I have with Conservative philosophy is that it benefits the wealthy and does not create any form of equality. Historians have stated that Mulroney and his government was one of the worst governments Canada ever had, thus brings the question, why should we support Harper? If the policies are the same and if the motif of government is the same, wouldn’t it be fair to say that Harper and his party will duplicate the damage Mulroney did to Canada? I think so. As a matter of fact, can anyone name a Conservative prime minister that was successful, well liked and affluent in Canadian history? The only one I can think of is Sir John A. Macdonald, and even he and his government was stung by a few scandals. Think about all the Conservative prime ministers we have had, and while a few of them are noble and well noted, their policies never really helped Canada; Robert Borden, Arthur Meighan, R.B. Bennett, John Deifenbaker, Joe Clark, Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell. Not one of them was able to move Canada in a direction that Canadians want to go. So if this is the case, why support the Conservatives?

The next party to dissect is the Liberals. I don’t know about you, but I am upset with the Liberals and their scandals, their cuts in social programs, their lies, their deceits (refer to their 1990 Red Book) and so on. This Adscam scandal makes me believe that this government is corrupt, and the cuts that Paul Martin made in 1995 have led me to believe that his promises cannot be kept. It is very difficult to believe a guy who has done one thing, but say’s another. His Liberal party is moving far too much to the right and has lost all the values that were incarcerated in Trudeau’s Liberal government. With Paul Martin equality, fairness and honesty have gone out the drain and this is a very scary thought. Fundamentally Martin seems to understand the values that Canadians hold, but in practice Martin does not fully implicate the values of Canadians. In some circumstances it seems like he is willing to watch privatizations of products infiltrate our prized possessions, like Health Care. With the Adscam scandal and a discrepancy between what he believes and what he does makes me think that Martin is not the guy to lead Canada. He keeps moving our nation more and more to the right. It seems to me that he has holds on to old orthodoxy attitudes, much like the Conservatives.

If I am going to call Martin a liar because he does one thing and saying another, I will do the same thing to Harper. Before he became leader of the Conservative Party, Harper supported a two-tier health care system, was against gays and lesbian equality, and against marijuana laws. Now he is in support of the public health care, he is for some sort of marijuana laws and seems to be in support of the gay rights movement. He wants Canada to be different then the Unites States but was president of an organization that wants Canada to be more like the United States.

I am very perplexed and confused. With the lying and thieving Liberals, and the untrustworthy and destructive Conservative Party, why do we continually support them? Why is it that Canadians are afraid to challenge the status quo, get away from these liars and support a party that would bring honour, respectability and honesty back into politics and back into Canada? In my honest opinion, it is leaders like Harper and Martin that continually hurt Canada and we need to move away from this.

However, this is hopeful thinking, and I do not for see a change in the future. So why is it that Canadians continually support the Liberals and Conservatives? Well I believe loyalty plays a part in peoples decisions. If my grandfather supported the Liberals and my father supported the Liberals therefore I should support the Liberals. I will fully admit that this same theory could be said about NDP and Conservative supporters. Another reason could be found in competition. Our media is filled with Liberal and Conservative ideology and this is the type of information we continually read day in and day out. The media portrays the election battle between the Liberals and the Conservatives, and which one of these two will win? The NDP, the Green Party or the Bloc would never have their names in this question, thus making the appearance that the only two real choices are the Liberals and Conservatives. It is this kind of media that pushes us away from supporting a party that brings the best policy to supporting a party that will win. No one will ever admit that, they will say things like, “I like Harper’s tax cut policies”, or “I like Martin’s ability to lead a country” and so on. However, my question is why not support a party that brings better, new and different policies to the table. If we are angry at how the Liberals and Conservatives treat us, lie to us, and deceive us, why do continue to support them?

Other reasons why these two parties are supported are because they have been the only parties ever elected. They are the ones that people put their trust in and they are the only party people want to trust. Canadians need to re-exam the two traditional parties; they need to look at how the Liberals and Conservatives have run this country. Canadians need to understand that it is these two parties that have put us in the position where we are today, and I would suggest a new change in government would be and adequate solution to our problems. But again, to convince the electorate of this is a mighty tough challenge.

To conclude I will say that voters do have other choices and if they want to make a change they should choose a party that has not been there before. If you are tired of the wastes in government, if you are tired of the liars and thieves, and you want something that really is a fresh and new star, I would suggest voting for the NDP. The NDP seems to have made a small break into the media. They have been well known, and talked about for many years and they are gaining support. They seem to be the best alternative to the Liberals and the Conservatives. They are also the only party that is willing to talk about the issues and have a clean debate. Jack Layton will not get involved in the dirty part of politics, he is willing to discuss and debate the issues. This is what we need, a government that is willing to discuss and debate important issues on a vast range of topics without fear of labeling a party to what they have or have not done. We need new faces in our government. We need a true change, not just a change from Conservative to Liberal, and I believe it can be found in the NDP. However, with the kind of media we have, and they type of attitudes most people in Canada have, it is wishful thinking that Canada would do the honourable thing and really shake this country up.

To read Nathan's May column click here

If you have any comments for Nathan you can email him at nathan.willard@ottawacentre.org