I have cast my vote in this federal election. I imagine most people who read this column have as well and those that have not, know who they are going to vote for. So, this article is not about getting out to vote or about who one should vote for. Rather, it is about the campaign itself and what the consequences may be from probably one of the most bitter, acrimonious and hypocritical election contests in Canada’s history. There are no real winners here.
When the writ was dropped almost six weeks ago, my prediction was for a Liberal minority government. In spite of all of the twists and turns since then, I stand by that prediction, even though I am not happy about it. It is pretty clear that no political party is going to get a majority on its own and when the dust settles, my guess is that the Liberal Party will marginally get the most seats.
That being the case, there has been much talk about a coalition government, for only the second time in our history, the first of which was during wartime. The Liberals and the New Democrats would have to win a combined total of 170 seats in order to have a majority and if that were to end in a coalition government, it would not be good for Canadians. Frankly if those turn out to be the only two choices, I would prefer a Liberal majority government.
Both the Liberals and the NDP believe in more government and more spending. Neither are particularly worried about deficits or debt. Combining the two parties and their base-line platforms will inevitably and dramatically, increase both.
Perhaps we can live with that for now. But the day will certainly come when we face another economic turndown and very likely a recession. Uncontrolled debt, at the level we are currently experiencing, never mind the next four years, will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to recover, as inflation and interest rates skyrocket and the housing market crashes. We will be in deep doo doo, long before climate change does away with us. It is a shame that most people do not appear to think about that.
There has also been speculation about what would happen if Andrew Scheer and the Conservatives were to squeak out the most seats. Would they be allowed to govern? Much of the main-stream media, left wing outlets like the Toronto Star and the CBC, are scared skinny about that. There are a number of articles rationalizing why Trudeau should remain in power, if he does not win the most seats. But not quite so fast.
In the likely event of a minority result on Monday night and if there are enough seats in a combined package, I will not be surprised if Mr. Trudeau calls upon his close friend and his predecessor as leader of the National Liberal Party, Bob Rae, to broker a deal with the NDP.
Remember Bob Rae? He also eventually became Premier of Ontario when he was leader of the provincial NDP, by cutting a deal to support a government headed by Liberal David Peterson, even though the Liberals finished second to Frank Miller’s Conservatives in 1985.
There was one catch though. The Rae/Peterson Accord did not result in their immediate rise to power. Frank Miller, having won the most seats in the 1985 Provincial election was, based on expert constitutional advice, entitled to form a government and meet the Legislature. If Andrew Scheer manages to win the most seats on Monday, he, in my view, will have the same right to meet Parliament. He may well get defeated very early in his term, but that too, is part of our democratic process.
But let’s face it. Whatever the results on Monday night, this has been a shitty election campaign and the outcome, almost whatever it is, will very likely result in political instability for quite some time. There have been a number of low points since the election writ was dropped. Here are just a few.
The worst for me, strangely enough, came recently, not from Mr. Trudeau, but from Mr. Singh. The NDP leader was plain about having no respect for people who happened to be Conservatives. I have many friends who are not Conservative and when it comes to politics, we often have trouble agreeing on almost anything. But, in all my years I have never encountered a visible lack of respect among reasonable people, for honest beliefs.
There is a big difference between lacking agreement on policy and showing contempt and disrespect to a huge percentage of Canadians. That is simply not our way. Mr. Singh has since apologized for what he said, but unless he was lying when he said it, it does not change how he feels. And he wants to be part of a national government? Shame.
I am also very concerned about Canadian Unity and believe that the results Monday night will not resolve serious issues in this regard. Quebec nationalism is once again on the rise, and western provinces, especially Alberta, feel alienated from the rest of Canada. Combined, this is a recipe for disaster, and it has been expedited by an acrimonious election campaign that has done nothing to address the serious and hugely important issues of Canadian unity. With an unstable national government, or with a government that isolates part of the country, this can only get worse.
Finally, there is the small matter of former U.S. President Barrack Obama endorsing Justin Trudeau during our election campaign. I was a fan of President Obama, but not so much anymore. It is plain and simple interference by an influential foreigner in our election process, something Mr. Trudeau has said time and time again, is not acceptable … except this time!
Hypocrisy at its best!
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S. Derek Shelly says
I can’t agree more that this has been a very strange campaign, It is easy to see why many people continue to be cynical about politics. I think part of the change in campaigning has to do with the emergence of social media, it has become easy for “fake news” to be spread by all involved and according to our “leaders” all the parties have been doing the dirty deed. It has been considered strange that the leader of one party had to resort to wearing a bullet proof vest, With the increase of violent crimes not only in our big cities, that our politicians would become targets as well, There seems to be a lack of respect for life itself that is leading such violence and there clearly has been much disrespect shown by our political parties, so why are we surprised,
Debates are now considered shouting affairs rather than telling us what telling us what we should expect, we see that we can expect – no respect at all.
Ray Vowels says
Your Right on the mark Hugh It bother me that a govt that made it much harder for people to get a mortgage to buy a home can take the country into more and more debt and think it’s just fine. I sure would like to see a balanced budget in the next few years makes me mad when I think ten cents of every dollar I pay in taxes goes to a bunch of billionaires just for interest on our loan. And I think it may get worse.
Cindy Waters says
It seems Andrew Scheer began as a holier than though right wing Christian and is ending the election period as an American citizen who originally claimed to be a university graduate slash insurance broker and turned out to be someone who HOPED to graduate and grow from his position as an office helper in an insurance firm.
Andrew Scheer and his cronies hired a marketing group to smear Maxim Bernier in an attempt to wipe out any threats to Scheer. It feels like Scheer has lied nearly every day and refused to put out a political platform until the dying days of the campaign.
As much as Scheer thinks one should have the opportunity to govern should he be granted the most seats, I doubt he would feel the same if another party was in that circumstance.
Elections in this period of instant news and social media judgements need careful consideration to wade through the CRAP. But I think the Canadian electorate is up to the task to get what’s best for the time.
We need to trust the people of Canada and their decision. I trust us as Canadian voters to see through the mud.
Ray Vowels says
Well no matter who you vote for they all have faults so your not going to get an angel no matter what you do they all tell none truths about what they will or wont do. Most of them tell us they re going to do this or that for the people but in the end if they are giving us anything at all they are taking it away from us in the first place or borrowing it so then we have to pay interest on it and our grand children will be paying it back because sooner or later it will have to be paid back.
Waldi Frankiewicz says
Whatever the predictions and forecasts are, nothing is able to change the fact that Canadians have practically no one to vote for.None of the parties participating in the elections has practically any program to heal the Canadian economy.Practically none of the programs of these parties includes a radical improvement in the social conditions of the poorer part of the Canadian community.Pensioners without dental care.University students throughout the country from low or very low-income families are left at the mercy of fate and without any care from the state…. and dozens of other urgent issues requiring a quick solution.In order to achieve all this the most important thing seems to be a fair and transparent government policy. So far, none of the important decisions made has been consulted with the public in the national referendum (Right to euthanasia, easy access to drugs, easy access to free abortion, etc.).So who is to be trusted by the voter and who to vote for?
John Boysen says
Whatever the outcome, I want to point out that in Muskoka-Parry Sound we were blessed with four excellent candidates (until I received my ballot this morning I didn’t know we had an Independent), who showed civility and courtesy to each other!
Bill Beatty says
There is one positive about this election , it’s that the Ex President can’t vote in it !
Jacquie Howell says
Interesting that you object to “ex president but we all loved it when Reagan was with Mulroney!
I wish, we could hear some honestly – must admit I am bias but wish Elizabeth May could be PM and have a mixed bag in parliament – then everyone WOULD have to work together
Terry McCaffery says
Hugh, I am sure Mr. Obama will be saddened to learn that you now hold him in lower esteem because of his vocal support for Mr. Trudeau! Mr. Obama has every right to comment on our election as he is now a private American citizen! Speaking of American citizenship, Andrew Scheer is a dual citizen of our great country and our southern neighbour: remember when the Cons were making political hay out of Mr. Dion’s and Mr. Ignatieff’s dual citizenship! Oh, the irony and hypocrisy! To my mind, Andrew Scheer wouldn’t qualify as a carbuncle on former president Obama’s, I think it’s a French term, derrière!
Terry McCaffery says
I absolutely agree with you! I had the privilege of hearing Ms. May speak last month down in Gravenhurst along with our Green candidate, Gordon Miller! She is the most intelligent, thoughtful, articulate and caring political leader in our country, hands down! I fervently hope the Greens win some seats in this election!
Rob Millman says
I, too, was saddened to hear Mr. Singh’s comments. Not only did it denigrate him in my opinion (he had impressed me significantly prior to that major gaffe); but it possibly installed the Bloc as the premier king-makers. How scary is that? Now the PM has two wildly diverse alternatives to approach; dependent on the substance of the proposed legislation.
Hugh Holland says
The sky has not fallen. It is still up there. The Liberals will finish the Trans-Mountain pipeline with support from the Conservatives. The pipeline will improve the economy of Alberta and pay for a national pharmacare program that most other countries with universal health care already have, and that the NDP and Greens will support. The pharmacare program will reduce the overall cost of health care. And hopefully all parties can work together like adults to mitigate our biggest problem; climate change.
dave Kealey says
Hugh; your, now, disdain for Mr. Singh is a bit hypocritical is it not? Your choice, the American Insurance broker, has spoken out against many things that most civil people agree should not be discussed any further and he has also cast dislike onto those same folks. Saying that one dislikes Cons and then apologising is totally Canadian and very political! I never did hear an apology from Scheer for his comments on same sex marriage or abortion. not so savvy politically speaking.
Trisha Pendrith says
Much has been written in Doppler comments about Canada’s deficit and debt. Here’s an interesting viewpoint on the deficit and a bit on debt in a recent edition of a reliable, well respected Canadian journal, The Walrus.
Don’t Worry About the Federal Deficit
Waldi Fankiewicz says
To sum up, these elections were not the standard elections in which Canadians could ever take part.The whole election campaign without the nevi we’re used to…Trudeau’s Liberal Party is now facing a new reality of not having a majority in the parliament which means they will have to depend on one of the smaller left-leaning parties to push through key legislation. In my opinion, The New Democratic Party will come to the rescue, but the nature of their future relationship in the Canadian parliament seems unclear. NDP would be drawing Trudeau in an even more “progressive” direction. How this will be taken by Trudeau’s electorate and his critics remains a question.So there’s only one question to ask at the end of the day. What will such a marriage of convenience bring to the voters?
BJWalker says
Thank you, Hugh, for this complete and informative summary of where the majority of Canadians voters, given the electoral system currently in effect, have positioned Canada. There are so few who understand the implications of a further Justin Trudeau reign perhaps one, even more alarmingly, cobbled together with equally dangerous NDP and Green, and I find this unforgivable. October 21 2019, actually it was October 2015, should be known as the day Canada died. Horrible that our own people chose to do this to us. Many succumbed to the climate change paranoia, although none of the dire and hysterical predictions that unleashed this worldwide alarm about the climate has been proved accurate. Anyone who claims certainty on this subject is a charlatan. Historians of the future will wonder how Western Europe and Canada became so preoccupied with this issue. It is fact that the international left, defeated in the Cold War and domestically by such leaders as Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, seized upon the environment as a fruitful vantage point from which to continue their assault on capitalism while masquerading as conscientious earth people. Canada has one of the world’s cleanest environments and no real influence whatever on the world environment. It is distressing that Canadians are so naïve as to buy into this idiocy and remain oblivious to the real issue, that Canada’s greatest problems are capital flows and national unity. There is a torrid drain of investment capital in Canada, as the world stays away and Canadians invest capital elsewhere.
Today the clocks begin their countdown to a time where Canada loses its identity, its respect and value. The people of Canada begin to lose their rights and freedoms and future generations lose an affordable way of life.
Today we see what the power of mass immigration can do to a divided country, the power of those who wish to change Canada into something generations of brave people have fought to protect Canada from. Today we have witnessed the beginning of the end of a once-great country.
We did not learn, after 4 devastating years, what a corrupt government can take away, destroy and pervert. We failed to heed the warnings of so many other countries that have fallen as a result of governments who choose UN agenda over sovereignty, choose to invest in other countries over their own. We elected a government who wishes to allow foreign ideals and laws to flourish in Canada and support these ideals by silencing opposition of them. A government who will cause suffering and hardship to those that oppose them while supporting countries who’s ethics and ideals oppose that of the world by supporting their products and resources.
BJWalker says
The roots of climate alarmism that is so deeply believed that citizens are willing to destroy their countries.
For an informative read on the reality of climate change alarmism-Green Tyranny: Exposing the Totalitarian Roots of the Climate Industrial Complex
Green Tyranny : Rupert Darwall’s Green Tyranny traces the alarming origins of the green agenda, revealing how environmental scares have been deployed by our global rivals as a political instrument to contest power around the world. Drawing on extensive historical and policy analysis, this timely and provocative book offers a lucid history of environmental alarmism and failed policies, explaining how scientific consensus is manufactured and abused by politicians with duplicitous motives and totalitarian tendencies.