I both look forward to the upcoming elections, and fear them. While I cherish the opportunity to once again say no to the Conservative Party of Canada, I fear that, once again, much of the country will be swayed by Herr Harper’s constant tactic of distraction.
As of late, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about strategic voting, and while I’ve sworn I would always vote for my beliefs, my fear of a Conservative majority (or another godawful pointless minority) has been pushing me to really reconsider in the event that I find myself in a contested riding, which, as far as I know, I’m still not.
That’s why when my friend Mike over at Forget The Box posted his results from the CBC’s Canada Votes 2011 Vote Compass, I thought I’d get in on the action and see what my recommended party turned out to be.
Well, apart from being surprised that the poll placed me closest to the Green Party (which I have no problem with, but which, according to the graph, is more socially conservative than the New Democratic Party, the party I have always voted for nationally), I was not surprised to see that within the oval around my position, the Liberals are nearly out, and the Cons are nowhere to be found.
My oval is much larger than Mike’s was, spanning a much wider area along the social axis, but the nice thing about this poll is that it allows you to compare your positions on each question with that of the major parties, so I was able to see why it would calculate my position as being more socially conservative than I would have expected.
There are a couple of issues which strongly affected my placement on the graph, most notably issues on immigration and culture. For example, I somewhat agree that speaking English or French should be a requirement for immigration, something both the Conservatives (yikes!) and the Bloc agree on. Do I think immigrants need to speak one of these languages well (to the same degree, say, that Quebec requires for immigrants to this province to speak French)? No. Should refugees have to meet that requirement? Not necessarily. But functional, rudimentary understanding of the language of one’s adopted homeland makes life easier for everyone involved.
Another answer that dragged me down toward social conservatism? I don’t necessarily believe that the Senate should be abolished, which only the Green Party agrees with me on, and which is on the far right of that particular axis. Should Senate appointment be retooled? Should we maybe reexamine the functions of the Senate? Honestly, it’s not an issue I’m too familiar with, nor is it something I consider important, in light of everything else going on in this country.
Finally, the Conservatives and I are apparently in perfect alignment on the issue of pension contributions, as vomit inducing as that is to type out. I somewhat disagree that workers should contribute more to the CCP, so that, in theory, it can offer bigger pensions. Why do I disagree? Because quite frankly, after seeing the kind of mismanagement that has happened with the Quebec Pension Plan, I don’t trust the government to hold on to cash for me when I’m old. In fact, I believe that my generation will probably be the first not to benefit from any real, liveable pension, and pouring more in off the top isn’t likely to change that. That might make me a neo-con according to this poll, but I’ve learned that when it comes to the government, there is no guaranteed tomorrow. The social safety net and its programs and pensions can disappear in the matter of years under the wrong government.
With the threat of a Conservative majority on the horizon, why on earth would I be in favor of trusting them with more of my money?
In any case, go try out the Vote Compass, and share your results with me if you’d like. I went on to answer all their additional questions, and I’d urge you to do the same if it suits you. Knowledge is power, so let’s get a good idea of where we all stand before we hit the voting booth.
