time to vote strategically

Today I was stopped outside the Safeway on Davie St. by an Adrianne Carr volunteer. Ms. Carr was standing close by, but her volunteer did a good job of defending the party and promoting Ms. Carr without having to rely on Carr herself to keep my attention. It is heartening to see Carr out with her volunteers chatting up citizens of the West End. Vancouver Centre is much larger than just the West End, but it is in this neighbourhood (my neighbourhood) that the Green Party needs to pick up most of its votes. The West End is generally the most progressive part of the riding.

While I am excited that Adrianne Carr is running for the Greens, and that Michael Byers will almost certainly be the NDP nominee, I am saddened that in the next election the only sane choice, in my view, for progressive voters is to swallow hard and vote for Hedy Fry and the Liberals. I have lived in the Vancouver Centre riding for 6 years, voted here twice, both times for the NDP, but next time around I cannot see how a vote for anyone but Hedy Fry makes much sense. Federally the Liberals and the Conservatives remain very close in the polls, the campaign will matter a great deal and either party could win. The Liberals need to win as many seats as possible, and losing Vancouver Centre would be a big blow to them. In both 2004 and 200y6 the Liberals were led by Paul Martin, who is in my view too conservative. Now with Stephane Dion at the helm, and a real chance of forming the next government, it is important for progressive minded Canadians to do what they can to make sure that Dion’s Liberals, and not Harper’s Conservatives, form the next government.

I am generally a proponent of voting for the candidate and or the party that you most want to vote for, and not voting strategically. I think that our electoral system is not democratic enough. If you vote for anyone but the winner you effectively get no representation. I have in the past chosen to vote for who I wanted and blame the electoral system for failing to properly represent my vote. In the past this has meant voting for the NDP even when I was certain that they had no chance of winning in my riding. Now however I will likely vote strategically and vote for a candidate that I would rather not support. It is important to end the reign of Stephen Harper. Issues like immigration reform, and potential censorship of Canadian film and television through discretionary tax credits are just two examples of underhanded and devious moves by the Conservatives to move Canada towards the right. Harper simply cannot be trusted and must go at the soonest possible opportunity. The only other party that has a chance at forming a government is the Liberals.

My mind is still open to being changed. I would like to be able to vote for Adrianne Carr or Michael Byers if their main opponent were a Conservative. I do not like Hedy Fry much and would rather not vote for her, but every Liberal MP will be of the utmost important in the next government. I will do what it takes to help put Canada back on the path of social justice and environmental leadership. Ms. Carr or Mr. Byers could change my mind, and I am sure that they could change the minds of many voters in Vancouver Centre, but it is going to be a tough sell.