Have you decided yet?
As one of the longest election campaigns in Canadian history draws to a close with the federal election being held, Monday (Oct. 19), we hope the long drawn out affair, with its televised candidate bashing, controversies over Conservatives not attending forums, parties changing tacks mid-campaign, long lines at advance polls, no polling station in Exshaw, etc. hasn’t alienated valley voters from marking their ballots.
If you haven’t decided, tonight’s (Oct. 15) all candidates forum at Banff Community High School might help with your decision. Nobody knows if incumbent Conservative Blake Richards will appear, though, so it may be another three-quarter candidates forum as was the Canmore event on Sept. 29.
At this point, it’s encouraging that Elections Canada is reporting 3.6 million Canadians have turned out at advance polls, up 71 per cent from 2011. Advance poll statistics don’t necessarily mean anything as far as an election outcome goes, but at least the interest seems to be there.
In 2011, just 61 per cent of Canadians cast ballots; we’d love to see that number soar into at least the 80 per cent range to prove citizens actually care about who ends up with the responsibility of running our great nation.
Being that supposed issues like wearing niqabs during a citizenship ceremony, launching a barbaric practices hotline, national security in the face of terrorism and acceptance of Syrian refugees did nothing but deflect from issues of true importance, we do hope valley citizens will plow through all the rhetoric to choose the candidate who best represents their own ideals.
If anything, health care, the environment and First Nations issues seemed to be out of favour this time around, with little lip service paid to them.
We hope area voters will ignore the plethora of polls that are always out there, pushing and pulling voters every which way, and that they don’t sway many votes. We also hope fear voting doesn’t play a large role in electing our next federal government.
So much electioneering, particularly among prime ministerial hopefuls, was disappointingly of the fear variety. Rather than continually espousing their own platforms and strongly professing their qualities, party leaders leaned toward predicting what a disaster the country would suffer if another was elected; or if a minority government should be elected, or the vote split …
In the end, the only thing that makes sense is to vote for someone you think will best represent you in Ottawa. Otherwise, what’s left? Voting for someone you wouldn’t otherwise support in an effort to reduce vote splitting? Voting for someone you wouldn’t otherwise support to keep another party out of power?
What if a vote made to avoid vote splitting only split the vote in another direction? What is a vote made to avoid vote splitting only resulted in a minority government come Monday?
Voting isn’t a crap shoot, or a turn of a roulette wheel, it’s not the time to be weighing options, calculating the odds, being fearful if you’re wrong – it’s your one chance, every few years, to support the candidate you want working for you in Ottawa.
Please, get out and make an informed vote. In our democracy, unlike in many nations, at least you have the opportunity to make a difference.
