It’s not that Justin Trudeau has done anything to offend me as a voter. According to some people on the street through, there is no other single person responsible for every bad thing that has happened to Canada in the past ten years than Trudeau, which is unfair and simply wrong.
Personally, I think he has actually done a pretty good job. I think he has done his best in very difficult circumstances and has sacrificed a lot to serve Canadians. I would vote for him if I could; however, that’s where we begin – I can’t vote for him, the only Canadians who can vote for Trudeau live in his riding in Montreal.
This post isn’t about defending Trudeau though, it is about challenging you and people you know to reengage in our democracy before it’s too late.
As a country I believe that everyone eligible needs to vote, we need to engage, we need to ask questions of our leaders, and we need to hold them accountable; I just believe that too many of us are only engaged superficially, and most dangerously, see simple solutions as realistic answers to very complex issues.
Vote – We live in a democracy, we believe we have the right to freedom and to make our own choices; however, more than half of us in each election don’t bother to vote. Many are apathetic, many don’t believe their vote matters, and all who don’t vote miss the point about their responsibility to protect their freedoms using their second most powerful tool when it comes to their rights.
Learn about the issues – This is the most important tool when it comes to rights, which is our ability to think critically about what’s being told to us by politicians, candidates, and the media. Too many of us are swayed by rhetoric, slogans, and simple solutions to complex problems. Justin Trudeau is not to blame for our current situation nor can he take credit for our successes; a leader is simply the most visible representation of the current government and hundreds of thousands of people who shape and influence our country. Ask questions, decide what you believe, and look for politicians who share your values and hold them to account.
Learn about the candidates and what their thoughts are – People who stand for election are worthy of our praise, few of us could withstand the scrutiny, the second-guessing, the relatively low pay compared to what they could make in the private sector; but they are people just like us. They have opinions, biases, strong points, and weak points; take the time to learn about them, and the same for their parties. Simply voting for the same party each time without knowing about the candidate is part of the inertia that plagues our democracy today.
Learn about municipal, provincial, and federal areas of responsibility – So much of the “Fuck Trudeau” slogans are about issues that he and his government are not responsible for. To effectively hold politicians accountable, we should at the very least blame or praise them for the things they control.
Understand how our elections work – Canada like the United States and other countries has different forms of rules for their elections. In the United States, a presidential candidate can have the most votes and still lose because they use “electoral colleges” or zones to determine who wins; in Canada, one party can have the most votes overall and still lose because the country is divided into more than 300 ridings or zones and whichever party wins the most ridings win. Provinces work similarly and so do some municipalities. You don’t vote for the leader; you vote for your local representative of whichever party you support.
Understand more than just what is behind the rhetoric – Sound bites and slogans undermine democracy as they provide the illusion of understanding without any real basis in fact. “Make America Great” is a popular slogan with many American candidates and few people ever really understand how Trump is going accomplish the statement. “Get tough on crime” is a populist slogan that appeals to the masses; however, given that crime is less prevalent now than it was, isn’t that message moving us backward instead of forward? Knee-jerk reactions seldom solve problems, usually only making them worse.
Understand the issues candidates don’t talk about – Politicians make promises that we should hold them to, and they also do things after elections that we had no idea they were doing; for example, in Ontario in 2024 the provincial government is expanding the supply of liquor while more many people don’t have a family doctor, the liquor supply was not even on the radar in the past election.
Ask questions – I have mentioned this before, ask questions about anything you don’t understand, anything you question, and/or anything you want to know more about. More than ever before candidates and politicians should be easy to contact through social media; if a candidate or someone from their office does not respond that should be a sign to vote for someone else.
Realize your vote counts – It is our collective duty to vote and it is through this collective that our votes matter; by asking questions, by getting involved, and by holding candidates and politicians accountable – that makes democracy work.
Your vote might change for every election – Political parties should not count on your vote, each election every candidate should be competing for and earning your vote, constantly supporting one party without question undermines democracy.
Understand who is voting now and how they vote – Every party has a “base” of supporters and often it is the most conservative voters who vote and skew the election results because of voter apathy and as a result, many populist rhetoric-spouting candidates win with less than 50% of the vote.
Vote splitting can have unexpected and/or unpleasant results – For much of the first decade of the 21st century, Canada federally had a Liberal government because the governing conservative party split into two factions, the Reform Party and the Progressive Conservatives and as a result they split their supports allowing the Liberal Party to form governments. Voting strategically is something that should be considered when voting.
Beware of candidates with simple quick solutions to complex issues – We live in a complex world where our current environment is the result of millions of decisions, things like the housing issue cannot be solved simply by building any one type of housing. Solving the housing issue is going to require mixed-density housing, rental and owned units, billions of dollars, and should not be built on designated green spaces just because it is convenient. Much of the “red tape” promised to be eliminated was designed to protect our environment and our climate.
Beware of parties and politicians who don’t regularly sit in parliament – Our democracy is designed with checks and balances, major announcements should be made where they can be debated, not at press conferences where questions are limited. Our politicians represent us and their legislative assemblies are where the work of the people is supposed to be done … but increasingly this is not the case in Canada.
Corruption happens and wrong decisions get made – Any time large groups of people are involved in decisions the potential for mistakes and corruption happens; we should not be surprised AND we need to hold our leaders to account when it happens and at election time. Politicians are not above the law at any level, and any politician who believes differently is dangerous and is violating our rights and freedoms.
Our system is not perfect – Apathy does exist, and the media reduces information to fit sound bites that leave most of us woefully uninformed while giving us the opposite impression. In Canada elections are coming that will change our lives and remarkably few people are well enough informed and many more only believe the rhetoric. We need everyone to actively engage in exercising our democracy.
My challenge or ask to you – Vote in the next election and challenge yourself to be more informed and engaged, to take at least one person with you to the poll who did not vote in the previous election; you will make a difference.
We believe freedom is a right; and that democracy is a right, but too many people forget most of the world doesn’t live with these rights, we have to defend our rights and freedoms, and we need to be educated, informed, and think critically using facts, not slogans and talking points. Would I vote for Justin Trudeau, if I could, I would because I think he is the best leader; if you don’t think so, do these things and become educated, become informed, and make your decision just like I will for the best candidate in my riding that represents me and my ideas.
Good luck,
Paul.
PS. For my American friends, please take a page from this post and apply these same skills to your upcoming elections, more of us and you need to appreciate the importance of critical thinking and making decisions based on truth, not slogans and rhetoric.