For the first time since 1959, Ontario has elected the same majority government for a third consecutive term. That time it was the Conservatives, and this time it is no different. This three-peat is endemic to a much deeper problem with our political system. But for a seemingly majority of people, it isn’t a problem at all.
Between 1867 and 1943, Ontario elections came down to two parties, most of the time those two parties being the Conservatives and Liberals. It was only during the 1943 provincial election when the NDP started becoming a viable third party option for voters. Since then, there have been 24 provincial elections to date, a span of 82 years, and in that time, all but 6 elections have been won by Conservatives. Even more interesting, 14 of the 18 elections won by Conservatives have been by a majority, including this years’. When you look at the federal elections, there seems to be a lot more parity, with Conservatives winning 19 elections out of the 44 total. Dig a little deeper, and you find the problem that I’m talking about. In fact, you don’t need to dig very deep at all.
They’re Not Like Us
It tracks that there are numerous similarities between the US and Canada; being neighbouring countries, perpetual trade partners, majority English speaking countries, there’s a lot of overlap. But ask anyone who lives in Canada or the US, and they’ll never really say they’re the same. Americans see Canada as the little brother, happy to tag along and be part of whatever conversations the US is having, and be privileged to sit at the same table as the big kids. An afterthought, in essence. Canadians alternate between rolling their eyes at the general ignorance of Americans, while maintaining a slight inferiority complex because of that lack of respect shown by the US. When push comes to shove, Canada would also be the one to put its foot down and staunchly declare it is not the same as the US, whereas the US doesn’t care all too much.
The reason I bring this up is to illustrate the actual difference between Canada and the US. Even though there’s a massive overlap in culture, it is plainly incorrect to paint both countries with the same brush. However, at some point in time, with my estimate putting that point around 2016, some of Canada started acting as if we were the exact same as the US. We started talking about issues that were more US-focused, we took a much keener interest in what the US was doing, and it’s almost as if we tried to adopt the same issues and behaviours.
Of course, I say 2016 because it was the year Donald Trump was elected, which caused a massive shift in the political landscape. Being a neighbouring country, of course Canada and Canadians felt the impact, and we’re still feeling the impact to this day. But it seems like both sides of the political spectrum understand that impact in different ways, though it affects them both in a similar fashion. On the right wing, you have people adopting Trump as one of their own, flying Trump flags and adding Trump stickers to their car, mimicking the unhinged American parasocial relationship to him. There’s not much else I can say about this parasocial relationship other than how embarrassing it is, to act like a fan of a politician in general, let alone a politician that isn’t even from your country.
On the other side, you have people equating the Conservative party to the American Republican party, an equation that confuses me on numerous levels. For the past three elections, I’ve been hearing how voting Conservative means you are against women’s rights, minorities, and support white supremacy. If we were talking about the Republican party, I would have no problem agreeing, because Republicans have a proven track record of an active effort against women’s rights, minorities, and perpetuating white supremacy. The Conservative Party of Ontario? Not as much. By virtue of it being a provincial party as opposed to a federal one, already the damage that could possibly be done is dramatically reduced. That’s not to say that it’s impossible for the Conservatives to pass bills that negatively affect people (very much the opposite, in fact). But the type of massive repercussions that are peddled by people who have seen the demonstrably catastrophic political state of the US, and are afraid the same will happen in Ontario, are by and large not things to be worried about on an election-to-election basis.
I absolutely recognize that I’m speaking from a place of major privilege, as a straight, cis, able-bodied male, and there may absolutely be policies enacted by the Conservatives that harm the groups I am not part of. But based on my observations, and keeping track of bills introduced during the past few years, the Ontario Conservatives seem to act more like traditional conservatives instead of the cultish, fascist-esque Republicans. They reduce government spending, sometimes in very important areas, to reduce taxes, they fund projects with the intention of stimulating economies, they protect the wealth of the upper class, which again, is not very different from any normal country’s right-wing parties.
One Vote Does Not a Good Citizen Make
Speaking of election-to-election basis, one of the things that has absolutely contributed to the current state of politics is people only tuning in every four years whenever provincial or federal elections come around. While both these elections absolutely will affect your way of life and existence in Ontario and Canada, just voting in either of these elections does not indicate an “informed voter”, nor does it absolve you of your civic duty completely.
If I were to ask you to name the opposition MP in your riding from the last election, could you do it? If I were to ask you how many times you’ve communicated with your MPP in the last four years, what does that number look like? If I were to ask you the name of your ward councillor, would you have any idea?
I’m not asking these questions to be accusatory, or to cast judgement, I’m trying to dispel the notion that voting in provincial and federal elections is the only way to make a difference. Local politics has a massive effect on our day to day life, and many of us overlook these pivotal parts of politics because, let’s face it, they’re not all that glamorous. Federal voting is a mass, collective, action, which makes it feel much more impactful, but we often forget that we’re not only voting for the premier or prime minister, we’re voting for who represents our area specifically. The phrase “think globally, act locally” comes to mind, and is often used in regards to the environment, but can absolutely be applied in a political sense. Your local actions, communications with public officials, will inform you about the provincial and federal picture much better than relying on random snippets from social media and the news across four years.
I also have a problem with the way voting is presented as an end-all, be-all solution to every problem that currently exists in the province and country. There’s a conversation surrounding voter turnout that usually goes this way:
“Only x% of people voted? Wow, the rest of you have no right to complain about whatever happens here anymore.”
An infuriating statement, for multiple reasons. Firstly, just as we all have the right to vote, and it’s great to express that right, the whole point of the right existing is so that people have a choice. Not voting, inherently, is a vote too. The idea that people must be forced to vote would, quite literally, make voting not a right anymore. Secondly, voting is rarely the only way to make one’s voice heard. Back to the point about local politics, going to town halls, being in communication with your local representatives, all that makes you an active participant in society, which absolutely gives you the right to complain. Thirdly, the fact that you live here and you pay taxes, inherently gives you the right to complain. The response will be “because you didn’t express where you want your tax dollars to go, you can’t complain about them being put to things you don’t agree with”, and while I understand the sentiment, the entire premise of “free speech” that the Western world prides itself on, is predicated on the basis that anyone can criticize the government free of consequence, with voting have absolutely nothing to do with that freedom.
Additionally, I’m growing extremely tired of people acting like casting a vote makes them the saviour of the province or country, and that they have absolved themselves of any and all further responsibility to be an informed, active citizen. It takes the least amount of effort to go to a polling station once every few years and check a box next to a name, and pretend like you’ve changed the world. The response to that will be “at least I made the effort”, to which I’d say, it’s not the effort you made, it’s an effort. Just because you voted once, and turnout was low, it does not mean you’ve “done your part of the group project”. We need to continuously add pressure to our public representatives by making our voices heard more than once every few years, by showing up constantly and consistently. To place the blame on individuals and private citizens for not voting, or voting a certain way, absolves the publicly elected officials who are neglecting to do their duty and listen to the people. When such a large mass of people don’t vote, for whatever reasons they cite, clearly there’s a greater problem at play.
Who To Blame
Another commonly discussed talking point is that of people not understanding the difference between provincial and federal governments. People voted Conservative because they were tired of Justin Trudeau, even though he’s the federal leader, and the Conservatives have been in power in Ontario for the past 7 years. I recognize that this is a logical inconsistency, and it’s absolutely correct to point it out. What I find issue with, however, is to paint voters as stupid and uneducated for not being aware of that. I’d instead shift the focus to two things in particular: the lack of formal education about civics in our schooling system, and the terrible messaging from provincial political parties.
Civics is now a compulsory class in Ontario high schools, taken in grade 10. In grade 10, you’re usually between the ages of 14-16, still at least two years removed from being able to vote. Your priorities as a student are different, and you may not understand a lot of the issues being discussed among the general public, especially when it comes to economics and finance in general. After that singular civics course, you’re on your own. There’s no consistent information on Canadian politics, the parties, what they stand for, the issues people currently face, outside of news and media outlets, which contain their own biases, biases that a 16 year old is absolutely susceptible to. Of course, parents play a role in that education as well, and most will not go further than “Liberals/Conservatives are bad, we need to vote for x party”. Once you become old enough to vote, you are now voting based on the information you’ve gleaned from: one civics class you took two years ago, your parents, and the messaging you’ve been inundated with through the media you consume.
The argument will be that everyone has a personal responsibility to be informed about the region they live in, but we often see that the messaging and information presented is so inaccessible to people that it feels more like a chore than a fulfillment of responsibility to get informed. How many people do you know have the knowledge that taxes are the way that governments gain revenue, and that to lower taxes, governments would need to spend less and cut costs? If you’re a business student that fact may be second nature to you, but not everyone is oriented that way. On top of that, there is a deliberate effort by political parties to craft their messaging in a way that touches upon people’s sensitivities. You may be able to see through their messaging, but it’s ridiculous to assume that everyone will scrutinize and critique messaging to a degree that is strong enough where they can then make their decision without any bias. In essence, the difference in who you vote for comes down to what your bias is and what your set of circumstances is.
The solution is really to ensure there is publicly available and accessible information about the Canadian political system, as well as how those systems work and affect people. It’s very difficult to present that information without bias, but it will only benefit people to know who and what they are voting for.
The Illusion of Choice
The last two things that I want to talk about are the concepts of bipartisanism and “strategic voting”. Bipartisanism refers to a two-party system, the most common form of it being seen in the US with the Democratic and Republican parties being, essentially, the only two options for people to vote for on a state and federal level. We’ve seen the frustration that stems from that over the last few elections, with people lamenting the fact that neither party really represents them, and feeling obliged to vote for a party they don’t want to, for the purpose of damage control.
George Washington, in his Farewell Address of 1796, said about political parties, that the spirit of party “serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another…”. That’s exactly what we are seeing today. In the US, and because of the importing of American issues to Canada, here as well. People treating political parties as if they are sports teams, and pledging lifetime allegiance to red, blue, orange, or green.
The one saving grace we have in Canada is that there is a viable third party, the NDP, as an option for people to vote for. Not only are they just an option, they frequently win elections in other provinces, but in Ontario, they’ve won just 1 of 28, and have been the official opposition 6 out of 28 times. Federally, they’ve never won an election, and have been the official opposition just once out of 44 elections.
Why we insist on choosing between one of two parties has always, and will forever be beyond me. The entire point of having options is so you can choose the party that you feel represents you best. It ends up working in favour of those who are on the right-wing, since the Conservative party is an amalgamation of multiple right-wing beliefs and policies, and for the left, the vote ends up getting split between the Liberals, who are closer to center, and the NDP, who are slightly further left. I’ve seen calls to merge the Liberal and NDP parties together, and I can’t think of a quicker way to fast-track our imitation of the disastrous US political system than that. Yes, you may not win as many elections with both parties being separate, but having more options will always be a good thing. What really needs to be reformed is the electoral system, because it is baffling that the Conservatives win 43% of the vote, but win 65% of available seats.
That brings me to strategic voting. While I understand the sentiment behind it, I have problems with it conceptually, and in its execution. The idea is that instead of voting for the party you want, you’re encouraged to vote for whichever non-Conservative party stands the best chance of winning the riding. Conceptually speaking, I very much dislike the idea that you may essentially vote against your own interests because you dislike the alternative that much. When we revisit the conversation about exercising your civic responsibility and fulfilling your right to vote, strategic voting seems to act against the spirit of that right, by not exercising your own opinion, but exercising the opinion that has been determined to be mathematically efficient.
While on the subject of mathematical efficiency, having taken a look at some of these “smart voting” websites, I’m not entirely sure they’re providing accurate projections or data at all. They claim to use historical data and current polling, but elections in the past few years have very regularly proven that pre-election polling data and projection is not the most accurate indicator of how an election will end up. Some ridings where the Liberals were the “smart vote” ended up going to the NDP by a mile, and rarely did I see the opposite. Sure, mathematically that may have made sense, but in what practical world is the Liberal Party of Ontario, a party that still has the stink of Kathleen Wynne on it from 2014, a party that was technically not a registered party before the election, a party in complete disarray, the “smart vote”? Surely the smart vote would be to rally behind the party that is already the official opposition, that could signal a shift in Canadian opinion towards socialist policies? Instead, the Liberals gained 6 seats, the NDP lost 4, and the Conservatives remained the status quo.
A more minor gripe is the attitude towards people who don’t take part in strategic voting. You can’t shame someone for not voting, and then also shame them when they don’t vote based on the strategy you’ve concocted. At that point you’re just upset they’re not doing what you want.
Heads Down, March On
So now we’re here. Low voter turnout, a third Conservative majority, and a federal election coming up. How do we proceed? For starters, now is not the time to sit back and pretend like our work is done. To be an active, involved citizen is to be consistently active and involved. Stay up to date with your local politics, your city council, get acquainted with your MPs and MPPs, the current ones and the prospective ones. See what they’re about. Research what you don’t know, and communicate your research and information to those around you. Read into party platforms, their promises and costs, and hold them to those promises.
Stay active, stay informed, stay hopeful, and march on.