The Strategic Vote

I’m 25. I didn’t grow up in a home that spoke a lot about politics (although my mom and brother now go way over my head in their discussions). I don’t know a lot about each party’s platforms. I also don’t know a lot about their histories, and I can’t always imagine the benefits and consequences of what their platforms promise.

I do know that I lean left, more to the left than Liberal (as I recently found out
that the current Liberals actually see fairly eye-to-eye with the Conservatives on keeping our troops in Afghanistan until 2011). I know that my concerns about the environment rate at the top of my list, along with social issues and foreign policy.
I have to say that I was impressed with parts of every left-leaning platform and didn’t feel quite as partisan as I would have predicted (although Elizabeth May as PM would have been a sight to see, and likely would have garnered a lot more interest in politics among young voters and much higher sales in tricycles). All I knew is that I didn’t want Harper getting his majority and I wasn’t alone. There was quite an anti-Harper movement already in the works.


For those of you who don’t know much about politics, I beg you to at least review what Right wing vs Left wing means (knowing that not all right wing and left wing parties stick to their corresponding policy). Canada’s multi-party electoral system has only one right of center party, the Conservatives, but we have 3 Left wing parties (Bloc Quebecois is a whole ‘nother story). Liberals are left of center, NPD further left and Green very left. That means that the left vote is always split, while the right isn’t.

…Hence, the anti-Harper movement.

Tories benefit from having the left vote split into three, so websites such as www.voteforenvironment.com were designed according to the lastest polling information about each riding across Canada so that people could know which party to vote for to overcome the potential for the 3-way split to benefit the Tories.

I went to it on election day morning and typed in my postal code. One second later it came back with, “you live in a Conservative stronghold. Do what you can for the environment.”

Can’t say I didn’t feel defeated as I walked to the polls that afternoon. I wished that I lived in the Delta-Newton riding where the race was close, and my vote wouldn’t feel so voiceless.

Thanks to the Bloc Quebecois, Harper didn’t get his majority… phewf!


Point is, you don't have to spend tons of time researching each political party to make an educated vote (although knowledge IS power, and people know far too much about "Brangelina" and not enough about the stuff that is actually affecting our lives). Voting for the environment is admirable because where is is currently headed is truly terrifying, so if you don't have "time" to do the work prior to an election- websites such as this are an extremely useful tool.