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Denley: It's tough to decide who to vote for in this Canadian election
Justin Trudeau says the election is not about him, but of course it is. Any election is a referendum on the government in power.
Updated: October 15, 2019
Angry Andrew: Is this what the Conservatives want to convey about leader Andrew Scheer? The tactic didn't work out so well for Tom Mulcair in 2015. Kevin King / Kevin King/Winnipeg Sun
This is a tough election in which to cast a satisfying ballot. It’s far easier to make the case against any of the four major parties and their leaders than it is to get wholeheartedly behind them. In Ottawa, there is also the complication of too many local candidates who are middling at best.
Here’s how I break down the strengths and weaknesses of the four main parties. Please don’t think that I am trying to tell you how to vote. That unpleasant decision is yours, and yours alone.
Let’s start with the easy part. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Party leader Elizabeth May are two of the most charming grifters ever to blow into this town. Singh seems like a nice guy who projects a happy, positive image. May comes across as someone’s slightly eccentric aunt, who really, really cares about climate change and the future of the planet.
Climate change is a huge issue for them, but both offer aggressive emissions targets that aren’t backed by detailed, persuasive plans to achieve them. The other parties fall short of less ambitious targets, but more affordably.
The big problem with Singh and May is that they plan massively higher government spending paid for with a combination of debt and higher taxes on corporations. That’s bad for the economy. Singh proposes about $130 billion in new spending over four years, which is utterly irresponsible, unless compared to May’s plan to boost spending by about $293 billion.
Neither May nor Singh have a hope of being prime minister, but they do have a chance of playing a role in a Liberal minority government. Singh has already said he’d form a coalition with the Liberals. That ought to make potential NDP voters ask why they would support him when they could get the real thing.
Singh has already said he’d form a coalition with the Liberals. That ought to make potential NDP voters ask why they would support him when they could get the real thing.
Which brings us to Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. While he says the election is not about him, of course it is. Any election is a referendum on the government in power.
Last time, Trudeau promised a few modest deficits and said he’d balance the books by now. In fact, he spent $50 billion more than he said he would and he promises to a further $57 billion in new spending over the next four years. Eliminating the deficit is only a dream. Not even that, really. Still, Trudeau seems like a bargain compared to Singh and May. The country hasn’t fallen apart under his leadership, although his personal credibility has plunged. One could argue that a Trudeau majority would be better for Canada then a Liberal minority backed by Singh or May.
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer is the guy I thought would make my vote choice easy. Scheer promises a mere $37.5 billion in new spending and much of that is in the form of tax cuts. His focus on affordability is not wrong, but he shouldn’t have gone back to Harper-era boutique tax credits for things like children’s arts and sports, or using public transit. These merely compensate people after the fact for things they would have done anyway.
Scheer’s plan to balance the budget in five years is a big plus, for me, but his campaign has felt curiously small and uninspiring. I’m not crazy about the new angry image he projected in debates, either. The real Andrew Scheer is a good guy, certainly a better one than he has looked at times in this campaign. The Conservatives might have reflected on how an angry debate demeanour worked for the NDP’s Tom Mulcair in 2015.
Finally, there is the complication of the local candidate. I live in Kanata-Carleton, where Conservative candidate Justina McCaffrey didn’t show up at the last debate and has offered little more than party talking points. If it were strictly down to a local decision, I’d probably support Liberal Karen McCrimmon. Voters in other ridings are generally luckier in their choices, although we’re not going to elect a local all-star team.
Good luck in your own decision.
Randall Denley is an Ottawa political commentator and former Ontario Progressive Conservative candidate. Learn about his new book, Spiked, at randalldenley.com. randalldenley1@gmail.com
https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/c...ide-who-to-vote-for-in-this-canadian-election
Justin Trudeau says the election is not about him, but of course it is. Any election is a referendum on the government in power.
Updated: October 15, 2019
Angry Andrew: Is this what the Conservatives want to convey about leader Andrew Scheer? The tactic didn't work out so well for Tom Mulcair in 2015. Kevin King / Kevin King/Winnipeg Sun
This is a tough election in which to cast a satisfying ballot. It’s far easier to make the case against any of the four major parties and their leaders than it is to get wholeheartedly behind them. In Ottawa, there is also the complication of too many local candidates who are middling at best.
Here’s how I break down the strengths and weaknesses of the four main parties. Please don’t think that I am trying to tell you how to vote. That unpleasant decision is yours, and yours alone.
Let’s start with the easy part. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Party leader Elizabeth May are two of the most charming grifters ever to blow into this town. Singh seems like a nice guy who projects a happy, positive image. May comes across as someone’s slightly eccentric aunt, who really, really cares about climate change and the future of the planet.
Climate change is a huge issue for them, but both offer aggressive emissions targets that aren’t backed by detailed, persuasive plans to achieve them. The other parties fall short of less ambitious targets, but more affordably.
The big problem with Singh and May is that they plan massively higher government spending paid for with a combination of debt and higher taxes on corporations. That’s bad for the economy. Singh proposes about $130 billion in new spending over four years, which is utterly irresponsible, unless compared to May’s plan to boost spending by about $293 billion.
Neither May nor Singh have a hope of being prime minister, but they do have a chance of playing a role in a Liberal minority government. Singh has already said he’d form a coalition with the Liberals. That ought to make potential NDP voters ask why they would support him when they could get the real thing.
Singh has already said he’d form a coalition with the Liberals. That ought to make potential NDP voters ask why they would support him when they could get the real thing.
Which brings us to Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. While he says the election is not about him, of course it is. Any election is a referendum on the government in power.
Last time, Trudeau promised a few modest deficits and said he’d balance the books by now. In fact, he spent $50 billion more than he said he would and he promises to a further $57 billion in new spending over the next four years. Eliminating the deficit is only a dream. Not even that, really. Still, Trudeau seems like a bargain compared to Singh and May. The country hasn’t fallen apart under his leadership, although his personal credibility has plunged. One could argue that a Trudeau majority would be better for Canada then a Liberal minority backed by Singh or May.
Conservative leader Andrew Scheer is the guy I thought would make my vote choice easy. Scheer promises a mere $37.5 billion in new spending and much of that is in the form of tax cuts. His focus on affordability is not wrong, but he shouldn’t have gone back to Harper-era boutique tax credits for things like children’s arts and sports, or using public transit. These merely compensate people after the fact for things they would have done anyway.
Scheer’s plan to balance the budget in five years is a big plus, for me, but his campaign has felt curiously small and uninspiring. I’m not crazy about the new angry image he projected in debates, either. The real Andrew Scheer is a good guy, certainly a better one than he has looked at times in this campaign. The Conservatives might have reflected on how an angry debate demeanour worked for the NDP’s Tom Mulcair in 2015.
Finally, there is the complication of the local candidate. I live in Kanata-Carleton, where Conservative candidate Justina McCaffrey didn’t show up at the last debate and has offered little more than party talking points. If it were strictly down to a local decision, I’d probably support Liberal Karen McCrimmon. Voters in other ridings are generally luckier in their choices, although we’re not going to elect a local all-star team.
Good luck in your own decision.
Randall Denley is an Ottawa political commentator and former Ontario Progressive Conservative candidate. Learn about his new book, Spiked, at randalldenley.com. randalldenley1@gmail.com
https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/c...ide-who-to-vote-for-in-this-canadian-election
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