Ballot boxed-in
When Mark Carney declared he was running for Liberal leader, I liked him. He certainly came with a potent resume. I voted for Justin Trudeau in 2015, the first time I had voted Liberal since 1968 when his father, Pierre, swept into office. I thought Carney had the potential to win the next federal election. I even toyed with the idea of voting Liberal once again.
But during Carney’s first public appearance, Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, Carney was so smarmy that I quit watching halfway through the twenty-minute interview. Ever since, whenever there’s a news clip of Carney, he looks scrawny, with his neck poking out of his shirt like a chicken about to get its head cut off.
As for Chrystia Freeland, I haven’t liked her since I saw her speak to several hundred high school students at an event in her Toronto riding four years ago. When question time came, the first at the microphone were two young girls, maybe 11 and 9, who wanted to know how to become a Member of Parliament.
“The prime minister asked me,” Freeland replied haughtily. “I said ‘No.’” Justin called again. Freeland replied “no” again. Finally she said “yes” despite the fact that her family was against the idea. She dragged them back to Toronto from New York where they’d been living.
All Freeland had to do when asked that question was to congratulate the two young people on thinking about such a contribution to society, tell them to join clubs at school, be active in the community and, over time, seek leadership roles.
In the French-language television leaders debate last night, Frank Baylis and Karina Gould each had an excellent command of French. Carney and Freeland both spoke using a level of French that was so basic, even I could understand them. Freeland at least was lively. Carney was stiff and tended to run out of steam after three sentences.
Henry Kissinger once offered some wise words about leaders. He said that leaders do not grow in office because they can’t find any time to learn amidst the crush of crises. Rather, said Kissinger, they come into office with what they know and proceed to use it up. In this coming election I don’t see any great depth of leadership talents that exist to be used up, either Liberal or Conservative. On election day, for the first time in my life, I may just stay home and not vote.
As McQueen goes – so goes the nation — or at least a large proportion of it, I would wager
Like you, I also cast my first ballot in a federal election for PET. 1980 in my case. As you of course know, Canada faced an existential threat at the time with Quebec separatism. I find we are now also at a pivotal moment, for a number of reasons, not least of which being the turn of events south of the border.
Unlike you, I have voted predominantly Liberal but not exclusively. I’ve never understood steadfast dedication to one party; seems to go against democracy. At this juncture, I will be voting Liberal in the next federal election regardless of who emerges as the party’s next leader, and I would urge you to reconsider your position.
I looked on in dismay during the last three American presidential elections thinking, despite my (largely) Republican sympathies, why GOP voters couldn’t bring themselves to vote for the lesser of two [pick your adjective]. The Republican Party has been co-opted by Trumpism. Even Ronald Reagan wouldn’t be the party’s nominee today. Likewise, today’s Conservative Party of Canada is not the PC Party of Brian Mulroney.
Donald Trump unleashed, and now normalized, a uncivil tone of political discourse relying mainly on ad hominem attacks. This approach has found a home in the person of Pierre Poilièvre. It is a turn that I do not wish our country to take. Add to that a lack of sound policies (to date in any event), this leaves me unwilling to support the CPC.
I also share your views about Ms. Freeland. In fact, based on her journalism, if you had told me 12 years ago that she would run for Canadian elected office, I would have assumed she would have been an NDP candidate.
This brings us to Mark Carney. For my part, I really don’t care what his neck looks like, nor that he struggles in expressing himself in French (and I’m French-Canadian). I do care that at a time where our country’s biggest challenges are, and are bound to remain, economic, we have a key decision-maker who has deep knowledge of, and a genuine interest in, economics. Simple as that.
Lastly, I’m inclined to think that coming into politics at this stage of his life and with his stated goals, Mr. Carney is unlikely to overstay his welcome. This would be refreshing.
There is another solution to your voting dilemma. Vote for the person who seems to be the strongest local candidate in your riding, no matter what their party. After all, we still vote for an MP, and while their power can be limited, a good one can still can make a difference to the people living in their constituency. I hate to think of anyone as well-informed and thoughtful as you not voting at all.