The Also Rans

Lib 158, Con 119, BQ 34, NDP 25, Grn 2, PPC 0

I enjoy occasionally heading my blogposts with a scripture verse. It is a way of defining not only topic but also my perspective for what will follow. Today is the morning after the night before. And today's visual is not Bible reference but election results! It is the latest (give or take a few after recounts) from yesterday's Decision Canada. It is but data, no more no less. The red-blue-and somewhat orange picture is what us citizens colored yesterday. A Bible vantage, however, is important to me even as I stare at the numbers. This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live (Deuteronomy 30:19). It is this undergirding (yes faith perspective) which allows me to forge into a bit of opinionating about things I saw and heard yesterday. 

First there was the first. At beginning of day there was I and a few young moms with squirmy kids in tow and a few neighborly senior citizens, doing our privileged thing. We voted; no lineups, each of us probably with heads and hearts full of recent debates or conversations with relatives or friends or Zoom meetings, the choice was ours. One problem for me; the names on my ballot were persons who had made absolutely no effort to introduce themselves to me. So the ballot itself provided a bit of irritation.😒 It was my effort that had deciphered names and party connectedness in the week prior. The candidates were total strangers actually, most of the names suggesting possible citizenship in other countries. Ballot box options were based on knowledge of party platform or loyalty or whatever! I really would have appreciated an old fashioned ring at my doorbell. I do not like placing an X beside a political party’s “also ran” stranger.

Election results evening became a mental review of conversations I had had the last several weeks. The loudest voices around me, including relatives and fellow church members, were of very clear opinion, Justin Trudeau had wasted a whole bunch of taxpayers money seeking a mandate reinforcement, and "boy is he in for a surprise"(!?). Also in my circle were many who believe he has done a tolerable job – what with pandemic and all. And then also a number of PPC signs on the lawns of some very nice high-end community residences caused me to think about why these people might support an extremist! As well, some orange median signs and some Maverick candidate signs had suggested to me that this election may actually be interesting.

The results on television? Boring, boring - at least early in the evening. Color of map almost identical to 2019; red in the East, blue in the West, light blue and orange in Quebec and the North. In order to not be too bored and cynical at this waste of it all I found myself checking some nuances especially as the evening wore on.  For example:

NDP orange still colored a considerable portion of the map, but that’s because Indigenous communities do not represent high density urban populations;

Western Canada blue might suggest Alberta and Saskatchewan think alike (although us originals know that is not true at all) 😉;

Many second place finishers in the West are NDP, rather than Liberals as per last; 

Maxime Bernier and his Peoples Party indignation at same old same old deficit electioneering was appreciated by many, yet yielded zero seats for his PPC.  He enthusiastically thanked all his supporters (tears streaming down his wife’s face). He impacted this election. If he had not touted his ridiculous anti-masking stance he might have scored a seat or two;

Green Party 2 seats;

Elections or not, homelessness still has its presence right before our eyes. 

      

Results? Well, these nuances to the ‘data’ show a changing picture. Not as boring after all. My interest is piqued; things not exactly as per last time. There is probability of considerable change next election. I hope and pray same old same old politics (thanks Mr. Bernier) not lead to another snap election two years from now. There is a political force - not only a political philosophy - emerging in Western Canada which old school liberal conservative (conservative liberal?) thinking will not be able to contain any longer. If they do not acknowledge it this true North strong and free will probably break up into something else. [Imagine true East strong and free, but that would mean Ontario and Quebec need to get along. Even scarier, imagine the West enticed to think itself as true North strong and beholden to the U.S.] 

This election was perhaps an endorsement of the way Mr. Trudeau handled the pandemic, although his hoped-for majority did not happen. Unnecessary expenditure of depleted funds, and no resolution of how our country will continue for long. Some issues, like Climate Action, and our accommodation and policing of indigenous and immigrant populations left behind (Black lives Matter?😒). His mandate is weaker, but yielding a possibility of accomplishing more because now he must cooperate. With minority government we have opportunity now to force parliament to get at those items desperately needing attention, and may now get done even beyond pre-election promises! Also duh, I would so like if candidates be required to actually campaign in constituencies before their names appear on ballots.

I still rejoice in the freedom of this country Canada. When my somewhat frequent inclinations to critique and fussiness have come up in recent months, seemingly each time I get a gentle reminder from my immigrant friends. Without hesitation they tell me this country is the best in the world! Minority government? This may in fact be God’s way (not the Liberal's way) of helping all of us in this country to live on this island with a neighbor to the South .... to choose life, so that our children may live.