A Pickles-Approved Message -> A Word from Karin on the Upcoming Canadian Federal Election

Please forward this info/website on to as many eligible Canadian voters as possible...


Are you frustrated with what is happening with the election campaign?

Do you feel pressure to vote Conservative or Liberal just to make sure your vote is heard?

Are you planning to vote based on who you dislike the least?

Then you find yourself in the same position as I find myself. I went to all the party websites to read up about my riding’s candidates and came away with more questions than answers. Most of my ridings’ candidates’ parties’ websites purport the same types of things…

We are for healthcare, we are for tax cuts to ordinary Canadians, we are for education, we are for children, we are for the future of this country…blah, blah, blah

If they are all saying the same thing, then how does one decide where to pledge allegiance?

After feeling moderately frustrated I resigned to picking from the big two (Liberal or Conservative), as I have done in all the previous elections where I’ve been eligible to vote.

Then, something struck me. I became angry at the fact that I was basically being bullied into choosing between the two parties that are ahead in the poles. I felt that they were both arrogantly out front and neither could possibly fathom any threat from any other alternatives.

Here were my alternatives:

1. I don’t vote, but then I have no right to criticize the new government because I removed myself from participation in the democratic process.

2. I vote either Conservative or Liberal, based on who I am feeling least negative towards, thereby hopefully supporting the election of a majority government to avoid this same situation in another year, and Hope that there be a strong enough opposition that debate can actually occur in Parliament.

3. I vote for one of the smaller parties, finding the one that best reflects my values and ideology, yet risking the “throwing away of my vote” because everyone else has virtually been painted into the Conservative Versus Liberal horse race.

So why did I create this INFOSHEET?
(beside the fact that I am technically incompetent enough to not be able to properly upload this as an actual website)

I am advocating that all voters strongly take a look at the parties outside of the Liberals and the Conservatives. Check out their websites, attend speeches, keep up-to-date with their party platforms. If they truly reflect the direction you would like to see Canada turn, then VOTE FOR THEM.

If there is enough support out there (hence me taking this message to email to reach the largest audience possible), then just maybe we can make a difference.

Do you want a change in Canadian politics and government? If you find another party more appealing, show the big two that they will not dictate who Canadians vote for; that this is not a 2 pony race, that a new government, or at least a new kind of opposition, is a potential reality.

The polls mean nothing; it’s up to you on Election Day to vote your conscience so please take the time to investigate all your options. Together, if there is a large enough group of Canadians who choose alternative parties, the composition of MPs can change. Even if it is a small change, it will shift the polls and perhaps strike a little bit of fear and humility into the Conservative and Liberal parties and let them know that they should NOT take their positions for granted; that Canadians do have a voice and are not afraid to express it, nor are we resigned to voting for the least of the worst.

By all means, if the Liberals or the Conservatives meet your needs, please vote for them, just get out and vote, but if you are somewhat uneasy about choosing between those two parties, please do not vote for them, and rather choose a smaller party. The more of us there are looking to alternative parties, the more our voices will be heard on Parliament Hill.

I composed this so that other likeminded people will know that there really are options, and that voting for a small party is not throwing a vote away, especially if this kind of thinking builds momentum!

For your information and perusal, here are the parties running candidates, all across the country (in alphabetical order).

PS I still have not made a firm decision as to whom I will vote for, however posting this has lifted a load off my shoulders and I now feel free to choose exactly who I want to represent me rather than who I dislike least.

Parties registered with Elections Canada running candidates in the 2006 Canadian Federal Election (see http://www.elections.ca/content.asp?section=pol&document=index&dir=par&lang=e&textonly=false#CAP):

Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada (candidate in Toronto Centre only)

Bloc Québécois (Quebec only)

Canadian Action Party (candidates running in select ridings in AB, BC, MB, ON, QB, NB, SK)

Christian Heritage Party of Canada (candidates running in select ridings in AB, BC, MB, ON, QB, PEI, NS, SK)

Communist Party of Canada (candidates running in select ridings in AB, BC, MB, ON, QB, SK)

Conservative Party of Canada (all ridings)

First Peoples National Party of Canada (candidates running in select ridings in AB, BC, ON)

Green Party of Canada (all ridings as far as I could tell)

Liberal Party of Canada (all ridings)

Libertarian Party of Canada (candidates running in select ridings in BC, ON, QB)

Marijuana Party (candidates running in select ridings in AB, BC, NS, NU, ON, QB, PEI)

Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada (candidates running in select ridings in AB, BC, ON, QB, NS)

New Democratic Party (all ridings)

Progressive Canadian Party (candidates running in select ridings in MB, ON, QB)

Western Block Party (candidates running in select ridings in AB, BC, MB, SK)

Whatever you do, get out and vote, but please take some time to explore ALL your alternatives and vote according to your conscience rather than strategically to keep out someone you don’t like.

For more info check out Elections Canada at http://www.elections.ca/