Federal Election 2015- Why Canada Changed Parties?

Clearly, the majority of Canadians won their vote of non-confidence in the Conservative Party. The NDP misread the reality of their “season of power” and the Liberals resurrected themselves from an era of party mismanagement. The political party mindset of Canadians should have been better understood.

Conservatives:

The Conservatives lost our confidence and support long before election night. Our minds had been made up long before they deployed their distasteful opponent bashing election tactics and their untrustworthy messages of lower taxation and balanced budgets.

Canadians had become alienated by Conservative policies: no protection of our potash industry, abandonment of our Wheat Board, 20% of our oil sands sold to China, alienation of the USA in the Keystone Pipeline Affair, Bailouts to the global automobile cartel, no action against multinationals fixing prices in Canada, secret deals incurring long-term obligations in Trade Agreements and subsidized foreign manufacturing projects, unpopular use of our armed forces overseas, no Canadian quantitative easing or support for the $CDN, Senate scandals, police state legislation, etc.
In all these areas and more, the majority of Canadians felt that wealthy foreign interests were being favoured over the needs of ordinary Canadians. We are also intelligent and cannot be manipulated by Action Plan Canada propaganda and malignant election advertising. 

In a fearful world, Conservatives stand for might and power, so many Canadians still voted for them in spite of their arrogant disrespect for the desires of most Canadians. If the global monetary crisis and Islamic State weren’t threatening our lifestyles, the Conservatives very likely would not have even become the official opposition after this election.

NDP:

The NDP based their hopes on strong opposition to Harper’s apparent autocratic leadership. But even a day after the election, few Canadians remember what they stood for, other than a presumed only alternative to Harper. They did not respect the fact that Quebec rejected the weak Liberal leadership and the PQ in the last election and the NDP was in the right place at the right time with Jack Layton and Olivia Chow winning many hearts with their long tenure of serving Canada. The NDP political platform was weak before then and it was never truly strengthened in Canadian minds since then.

Their desire for 35 more seats was a naïve strategy which assumed they would get the votes again from the last election’s new supporters. Canadians don’t vote parties into office, they vote them out. The NDP still doesn’t understand the attitudes behind this fundamental attribute of the Canadian cultural mindset. We prefer to focus upon the needs of our families and selves, and as long as those in government appear to be doing the best they can, we are inclined to let them do their thing. But when our family stability is threatened, we will choose whatever alternative gives us hope for better times.

Liberals:

Liberal strategists understood that Harper had lost the confidence of most Canadians. They also understood why the Liberals lost Quebec in the last election and why Quebec could be won back by Trudeau. They saw that complex policy promises wouldn’t wash in an election, so they kept their message to the point and very simple. A grass roots campaign to win back Liberal families began with Trudeau’s election as leader, so by election time every riding was relatively well organized to reach out to the voters on an individual basis.

Canadians have always loved an underdog and they strongly believe in giving young people a chance to show what they can do. In many ways the Conservative campaign backfired against them and helped Mr. Trudeau gain sympathy and support where none may have previously existed. One might say that the Conservative ad budget did more to elect Trudeau than the Liberal ad campaign. Also, Trudeau’s image of compassion for hurting and needy Canadians was a breath of fresh air to the many Canadians who have been thrashed in so many ways since 2008.

The pollsters got the numbers wrong. Polling before we actually began to recognize how we were feeling about our government and our future produced misleading umbers. The Mulcair/ Harper debates were seen as pugilists fighting over their assumed right to lead the country.  Canadians know an adversarial parliament will get nothing done. We will be better off to let the young fella give it a go.

PQ:

Quebec is fed up with the divisiveness of the PQ. It has repeatedly embarrassed Quebec both nationally and internationally. France is almost officially bankrupt.  Francophone Canadians recognize that Canada is actually a pretty good country to belong to. Along with Anglophone soldiers, their soldiers have died for our values. It’s time to respect and work with our federal politicians. The PQ are alone in Ottawa.

Green:

With 3-4% of the popular vote, Canadians still like to have environmental crusaders in Ottawa. Without a full national platform, they will never form our government, but Canada is fortunate to have people like Elizabeth May in Ottawa to speak to our national conscience.

CFP* Conclusions:

One can almost feel a sigh of relief flowing across Canada. The controversies and drift towards autocracy of Prime Minister Harper’s reign have been cut off.  Our fresh start may not be quiet and smooth, but at least Canadians can afford a little more optimism as we enter a time of reconstruction and renewal.

Many Canadians are still concerned that the Liberal’s secular humanism philosophy is a road to immorality, self-indulgence and foreign cultural imperatives that will wipe out our traditional Judeo-Christian heritage and values. Hopefully, our new Prime Minister will respect our Canadian traditions and encourage new Canadians to adapt to and support these foundations of our society and culture.

Prime Minister Trudeau II will be tested. We pray that he pursues policies to restore family finances and optimism before the winds of war overseas pick up momentum. We need a period of internal rebirth as we will soon be called upon for leadership by the rest of the world in our near future.

God bless Canada.

Jim Reid, Founder
*CFP- Canadian Federalist Party (Virtual)