Yeah, that's right, I vote. I have since I reached the tender age of majority. The only time I didn't vote, was in a municipal election that happened a few months after my family moved to a new town and I didn't really know the issues or politics in our new town. That's my deal. If I don't know enough about the candidates, platforms, or issues, I don't vote. But, I try to be as informed as possible in order to exercise my right to vote. I am not particularly partisan. If I agree with the leader and the platform presented, I would be comfortable to vote for any party. Having said that, historically I do tend to lean in a particular political direction. I'm not going to get into that because well, I don't think you really care, and that's not what I'm interested in blogging about.
Initially, I was a bit upset about the fact that we were headed back to the polls yet again, and that from all indications all of the leaders new from the beginning that we were likely to spend about $300 million to end up in pretty much the exact same place... I really didn't see the upside. Maybe Michael Ignatieff just didn't like his job anymore? (Under the Liberal system, once a leader loses an election, the party can replace him.) I don't know.
Now, things have changed. The NDP came out of nowhere and are surging past the BLOC in Quebec, and we face the possibility that Jack Layton could very well lead the Official Opposition and, if what many are saying is true, and The Conservatives lose the confidence of the House of Commons, Jack could even find himself as Prime Minister.
Suddenly, I think this election was a worthwhile exercise. Short-term, the governing party may not change. And some polls indicate they may even achieve the majority Mr. Harper would give anything to have. But, long term, it looks like the political landscape is changing.
Something I hope the leaders start to realize is, Canadians don't like attack ads. As far as I'm concerned, I can form my own opinion on each party... I don't need to be told who I should fear, not vote for, etc. What I would like, is ANY party to simply run a campaign based on their platform. I'm not going to vote for party X, if all they do is tell me everything that's wrong with party Y and it's leader, platform and policies. Tell me what YOU will do right if I vote for you... not what the other's will do wrong if I don't. If a party actually did that... I'd probably vote for them.
Something else that has changed is that people are paying attention. I mean, we have "Vote Mobs" and people who may never have voted before, are planning to vote. We had record voting at the advance polls, and the younger generation seems to be starting to get involved. Somehow, based on how the campaigns are being run, I don't think the leaders really expected that.
If nothing else, Canadian politics is interesting these days. (personally I think it has been for awhile) I mean, in our current system, with as many as 5 major parties. (If the Green's can get a seat) It is highly unlikely that most Canadians will ever vote for the person who ends up as Prime Minister. In fact, it's the opposite. The Prime Minister is almost always someone that most of the country didn't vote for... (or voted against perhaps).
And, where else would you have a national party running in a federal election where the sole purpose of the party is to separate a province from the country entirely? This party has once even formed the Opposition! Seriously, Gilles Duceppe is running for the job of Prime Minister of a country he wants to leave!
To be fair, I have respect for Mr. Duceppe, and the fact that he can never technically win enough seats to become PM makes it possible to speak his mind very candidly is something I find refreshing. He's a great debater and has a very quick and keen mind. If he was the leader of a non-separatist party, I may even be tempted to vote for him.
In all of this, Mr. Harper seems to be running a very calm, calculated campaign. It almost seems out of place in this election. Maybe he's hoping the other parties will simply beat each other silly, and hope that in doing so, people decide that we should let him continue with his plan and maybe even turn enough ridings to give him the majority that has eluded him in the past two elections. Who knows?
All of this just to say, this election has gotten interesting, and I hope that the numbers form the advanced polls are an indication that Canadians are waking up and are realizing that their vote DOES make a difference. I have no idea what things are going to look like on Monday night, but I'm going to be a part of defining it. I hope you will too.
Oh, and something about a wedding tomorrow?....
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