It’s not easy. Not easy to sit and wright a post about a election that stole 600 million dollars away from Canadian people, not easy to think about the current issues of the world and how currently there seems to be nothing happening about it, and definitely not easy to realize that one of the last hopes to resolve these issues, struggled to stay in the 2021 Canadian election.
Every five years there is usually an election in Canada, and every five years people think about what problems are most dear. Sometimes its the economy, others its the housing market, but in a year like 2021, how do we decide which problem we care to the most? To most, the election seemed like a waste of time and money, and it definitely was, but to have the chance to turn Canada in a different direction should have been much more appreciated.
If you didn’t know already, the world is in a climate crisis and, currently our world leaders really aren’t doing enough about it. In the world, there are always problems and like I said, every time there is an election, people place themselves on the political spectrum and vote for the party or leader that best represents their values. Although some people really invest time into elections and gather as much information on each party as they can, sadly, most Canadians tend to vote for the candidate who has the best or most relatable promises in their campaign. Sometimes people just don’t know what they want in a government so they end up just voting for who everyone else is voting for, or at least who the media says everyone is voting for. This brings me to a theory I call the Sheep Dog Effect.
Throughout Canadian history, even though there are usually several parties that campaign, there has really only been two that have ever governed the nation. Its crazy to think that parties such as the NDP, or the more recent Bloq Québécois, spend so much time and and money to campaign and share their visions, only to be met with another defeat, every-single-election. well, there is a reason they never have won. Much like a sheep dog herding sheep into a pen, polling and media will often try to predict the results of elections, unfortunately causing people to vote for the party that is most likely to win and that also shares more similar views than the other rival party. This is similar because instead of people voting for the party that they truly like, they will heard into two boxes so their vote “counts”. It was upsetting to me that this is what structured our political system, but it wouldn’t be easy to change this and it litteraly would take a nation to change.
Focusing our view onto the most recent election which was a snap election called by the current Prime Minister, this effect was more prevalent than ever. The point of the election was to gain the Liberals a majority in parliament meaning, the Liberal Party of Canada would receive 170 seats as a result of the election. Flash forward a quick month, and 600 million dollars later, we still have the same results, and a missed opportunity to put Canada in the right direction.
Like I said above, there’s a lot of issues with not just Canada, but the world in general. In a time like this, running for prime minister is much more than saying you will make the future “better”. In order to be fit for this position you have to have a more-than-concrete plan on not just what you are going to do but exactly how you are going to do it. We’ve seen in the past few years a government that didn’t take strong enough action on the issues of this period of time, partially because they did not have a majority government, but also because there was not enough backing and thought that went into the promises made. In a time like this we needed a government that had the backing and had the grit to advances us through the difficulties we are living in.
After following the campaigns of the different parties, I decided to extend my understanding by thoroughly researching the different groups that were running in this election. I decided I would start with the Green Party of Canada. Being someone from western BC, the environment makes up most of my life and my appreciation for the pure beauty of it is pretty superior. I knew the Green Party has those same values, so I decided I would begin with them. My understanding was pretty average. like most people, I thought they just cared about the environment and nothing else. I began at the municiple level, researching the candidate running in my ridding. I soon found myself on the official Green Party website which led me to the discovery that influenced this post.
A green future, life with dignity, and a just society are the Green Party’s three focuses. Although they sound like empty promises, when you click those three links it feels like you enter an encyclopedia of solutions. Like I said, a time like this calls for immense work and concrete solutions. I sat there reading those promises for more than an hour, dumbfounded by the attention to detail and the immense thought that went into the platform. I sat and wondered: “why?” Why dose this party have no chance, why in a time like this where climate change is almost irreversible, is this not the easy choice? For a while I felt kinda hopeless. Then I realized that there had to be answers to these questions.
I started by implying my past knowledge on how the Canadian government was structured to get a better understanding of what may influence people’s decision making. Using the permanent notes I made on this topic, I came to the conclusion that people’s political ideologies really don’t change unless there has been something in their life to trigger it. When it comes to climate change, it isn’t prevalent in most people’s eyes. Most know its there but the common thought is: why take the risk to vote for something that is said to hurt the economy just to help something that doesn’t effect my life? Although that is the belief for some people, a lot of Canadians know that climate change is a top priority but still don’t vote Green. In a survey I took with five different groups of people in Vancouver, Canada, all of them said that the number one priority of this next government should be the climate crisis. I’m sure most of Canada would have the same response, yet, Green only got 2 seats in this election.
Tracing back all of the steps to becoming elected, I decided to begin with the campaigning process. I quickly found that the Green Party had very little campaign ads or media presence. After digging a bit I found that there had been some sort of problem within the party itself. A few representatives had left the party to either run with the Liberals or leave the election process. This is what most Canadian’s had heard and is why the media has such a big influence in peoples lives. Even connecting back to The Media Is The Message project, it is crazy to see the role it plays in the world. The leader of the Green Party, Annamie Paul, made her biggest mistake right there. There was no clear understanding of what happened, just accusations and un-answered questions. As a leader, I thought she was what Canada needs. Sturdy, productive, intelligent and understanding of the majority of Canadians. Her platform was bulletproof and she was running in the right time, but the flaws in her campaign are what led to her failures in the election. As a leader she could have put a stronger message of the urgency for her party in this election and she could have a bigger presence on social media. Taking in the past history of Canadian politics, she could have strengthened the message of being bold and the urgency of voting for a concrete plan instead of empty promises.
As the election came to an end, more questions arose for me, so I decide to construct one more interview with an average Canadian that would help me understand why people didn’t go for the Green Party.
Like I expected, the main reasons for him not voting for the party was the un reliability in the green party’s success. It was interesting to see that even someone with some knowledge of the Green Party platform, the idea of voting for the greens would be too much of a risk. for me that not only strikes wonder, but also sparks ideas of how Canada’s political structure influenced many Canadians like my father. Placing yourself on the political spectrum gives most people comfort and ease of choice. This allows people to not have to worry about spending time researching each party and allows them to vote for whatever party, historically, shares the same political views. When Canadians vote they not only ignore the unique political ideals of the municipal election ridings but the ideas of the federal representatives that make up the party. In Canada, we have a parlimentary democracy, meaning we have three different levels of government that take ownership of different issues. Although the provincial level of government has a say in climate in each province, it is the federal government that makes the big choices. A parlimentary democracy also means that there is very rarely just one party that makes those big decisions, in the House of Commons, which is one level below the prime minister. When you elect a representative in your riding they form a seat in legislature. When you don’t have 170/338 seats, you have a minority which means you do not have majority of the senate to meet your political views. This makes the disicion making more difficult, as seen in the past six years. That group of representatives also have a strong role in politics, which is why people are usually unhappy with the governments performance.
That really strikes the importance of reading into the parties and not just what the news is providing. I think voting for the party that YOU think is best suited to resolve the nations issues is much more important than left or right. Because sometimes the left is right and sometimes the right is right as well. It really depends on the period of time, and like I said, in time like this, some issues are just too valuable to put on hold.
To guide this post we were given the question:
how is the Canadian government structured and elected?
the response is simple and does not require any big words.
The Canadian government is technically elected through the riding and democratic system, but the most powerful influence is the image and message the candidate puts into the eyes and ears of canadaians.
To conclude the post, I would like to recognize a recently, learned tool called the Zettlekasten system. It allowed me to gain all of this knowledge and form the views and opinions I shared in this post. Below I have attached a quick example video of how I created these and what some of them are about. Thanks for reading and please voice any opinions or questions you may have towards this topic in the comments below.
Hey Ryder,
Catchy writing style to begin your post… and I agree with you – ‘it’s not easy’ thinking about many of the current issues of the world, as wells as their possible implications. And $600 M is a lot of dinero, too, for an election… and I read that the Liberal Party didn’t even get its majority parliamentary rule as was hoped by many; btw, I recall – from one of the links – that someone satirically wrote that the government might as well have spent the money for the election on painting the sidewalks red! – well, at least that color would match their Liberal Party…
Sounds like the situation in Canada is similar in some ways to what is now happening here in the US Congress, where the Democrats have a slim majority in the House of Representatives while in the Senate, there are 50 Republicans and 48 Democrats with two independents (Sanders from Vermont is one) likely voting with the Democrats. If there’s a 50-50 vote tie, the VP (Democrat) can cast the deciding vote.
As I expect you are aware, the political situation in the US is very divisive and contentious these days. So, it’s a challenge to understand why people hold such different views on a variety of topics. No doubt, there are a lot of explanations for why people disagree. Of course, values and beliefs (opinions) are an important part of the equation.
Still, it’s challenging to comprehend how values and beliefs interact – both individually and collectively – to shape the political discourse and policies. Do you agree? Like, what is the primary difference between a value and a belief?
For instance, does someone usually first form a belief and then say he/she values such and such… or can someone also just value something without necessarily having reasons for doing so? It seems at first glance that both can be true…yet, maybe this is in part why politics is so very tricky…because people have certain views and attitudes on particular issues that are motivated by some combination of both emotionally-imbued values and reasoned beliefs.
As you wrote, people may think in terms of being somewhere on the political spectrum and then “vote for the party or leader that best represents their values.”
So, I’d say that a lot of political strategy and effort seems to be focused on persuasion and garnering enough support from the electorate to hold power in order to implement policy.
And then, maybe to complicate politics even further, there’s the more overarching category of a person’s ‘world view’ within which one may strongly identify with a particular group or ethnicity or religion, for instance, that supports particular ideologies about the proper role of government, the best economic system, social justice, or even the correct sort of relationship between humans and nature…so, maybe this starts to explain why there are so many political parties?
I like your ‘sheep dog effect’ metaphor because in this 24/7 age of media coverage (with so much polling data), and social media too… well, all this election, ‘horse race’ commentary must have a major influence on which candidates are considered capable of electoral victory…thus, it does appear that media can help to create a self-fulfilling scenario, where, as you say, voters want their votes to ‘count’, particularly when the so-called “opposing” major party might end up winning if too many people vote for a “third” party that almost certainly won’t win.
Still, notwithstanding the diversity of political opinion, there are many pressing world issues, as you aptly pointed out.
I hear in your writing how climate change is an important issue for you and, like you, I also think not nearly enough action is being taken by national leadership – and, also, in terms of internationally cooperation. The UN climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland is right around the corner, so, I’ll plan to definitely tune into the proceedings…
Right now, as you may likely know, there is a heated debate going on here in the US about this “Build Back Better” bill in Congress. Part of the legislation focuses on climate policies. I think it’s very important, of course, that our governments steer our societies away from carbon-based energy…obviously, fossil fuel companies don’t want, or still lack the will, to give up a lot of their predicted future profits!
As I read your post, I get the impression that you have high regard for the Green Party and their panoply of “concrete solutions.” I was also impressed by the Green’s comprehensive platform. I briefly read through some of their proposals and priorities, and, wow, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the detail too.
Of course, it’s a lot easier creating lists with bullet points on a website as compared to actually working within a diverse parliament with presumably many members who don’t share the same views and values. Nonetheless, obviously folks in the Green Party have spent a lot of time, thought and introspection carefully imagining a more prosperous, just, secure and, in some ways, healthier future…and that’s a crucial first step.
Just an aside, I was thinking, too, maybe the Green Party might do well to consider changing their party’s name… because (at least here in the US where there’s also a Green Party) there seems to be such a strong (though, I’d say incorrect) association made by many people between ‘green’ and the promotion of ‘environmentalism’ at the expense of jobs and economic prosperity, and, even personal liberty…and, so, therefore, maybe a lot of voters will sort of reflexively discount the Greens b/c they’ll just assume the economy will do a lot worse under their majority rule… what do you think?
Plus, protecting and sustaining the natural earth and biodiversity is also very much “blue”… i.e., the oceans and rivers and lakes… (so, how about the blue-green party? like blue-green algae… just joking : )
Well, I really like your astute political analysis throughout your post. How you are stepping back, it seems to me, and really thoughtfully considering how politics functions.
Your observations and bold writing style remind me, too, of guests and hosts on cable news shows discussing the political scene and all the sparring and strategizing that is constantly going on between political parties…
So, I’m thinking that you are interested in understanding politics from many different angles and how elections and policies are connected to human characteristics and real world issues. And this is cool because it’s really applying an interdisciplinary approach and this is so valuable for synthesizing information and gaining new insights.
So, terrific post considering the recent Canadian election and political tides and thanks for mentioning some of your own concerns and values, as well as hopefulness for some new and meaningful solutions.
Thank you so much for your thoughts. Your comment has sparked a lot of new ideas and questions that I would love to talk about in a conversation. It really makes me feel though I was able to sufficiently get my ideals across when you, the viewer, can not only understand, but innovate my ideas and thoughts in this post. We can get into more detail in our conversation, but I think the question you arose of the difference between a belief and a value is quite interesting. Personally, I think there nor different or the same, but connected in web that determines our future. I think they both stem down to world view and your life experiences. I think one’s worldview will influence values and one’s values determine their beliefs towards different topics. The is beliefs lead to choices and the choices determine who someone is. For instance, and we can talk about this in more depth, someone is born into a family in Alberta that relies on the oil industry to pay their bills. This person grew up surrounded oil and only ever knew oil. This persons world view would be this fact which would lead to a strong value of the oil industry. This worldview would also probably lead to little value of the environment. When this person hears that people are protesting a pipeline or protesting fossil fuels, he will inevitably have a belief that those people are bad, and maybe even that climate change is not a priority.
I would love to talk about this project with you, including the press release post as well. Thanks again for taking the time to share you thoughts on my work.