This Editorial was jointly written by the Editorial Board of the Western Standard.Most of the old legacy newspapers make a big show about their editorial board’s official endorsement of a candidate or party before election day. .We think it’s doubtful anybody much cares what an unnamed group of columnists, editors and publishers tell people how to vote, so we’ll spare you the sanctimony. The Western Standard does not endorse any one leader, party, or candidate this election, although our editorial board members certainly do have their personal favourites. .Instead, we encourage Western Standard readers to vote their conscience. This can mean very different things to even similarly-minded people in an election like this. .So let’s go through the options. .The Conservatives.Firstly, none of the major parties deserve the unquestioning support of Westerners. The Conservative Party of Canada has long taken the support of Westerners – especially interior BC, most of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and rural Manitoba – for granted. Without any real competition for Western votes, the Tories have had little incentive to do more than pay lip service to their concerns. .This has never been clearer than in this election, where Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has thrown out conservative articles of faith for many Westerners in his crusade for Eastern votes. Westerners overwhelmingly oppose a carbon tax, but O’Toole is campaigning on one that is in many ways, worse than Justin Trudeau’s. It was also a grossly dishonest move after he pledged himself in writing to scrap the carbon tax – full stop, no wiggle room – when he ran for the Conservative leadership. .O’Toole has also flip-flopped on another key conservative and Western-friendly policy: scrapping Trudeau’s illogical gun grab. Trying to have it both ways during one of the three French language debates, O’Toole muddied the waters of his own otherwise reasonable and moderate gun policy, forcing him to adopt the Trudeau policy a few days later. The controversy was of his own making. But when real leaders face controversy, they address it head on. .Strategic Voting.Still, we can well appreciate that for many voters, the priority is voting out Justin Trudeau regardless of how weak his primary opponent may be. This is the “lesser evils” argument, and it shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. Trudeau has been openly hostile toward the West, and it is in the clear interest of Westerners to see him out of office promptly. The easiest way to do this would be to vote Conservative, as it is the party with the best chance of defeating him under Canada’s centuries-old ‘first-past-the-post’ electoral system. .People’s Party.The People’s Party of Canada (PPC) has impressed even the most skeptical observers this election. They have grown from roughly 2% in the polls at the start of the campaign, to as high as 11% in some recent polls. They have continued to see their momentum grow despite their leader Maxime Bernier being unjustly excluded from all the leaders debates. .The PPC still has a few rough edges to sand off before it is ready for prime time, but they have – better than any other party thus far – understood that lockdowns, forced-masking, and vaccine passports are a grave threat to liberty. They have been unafraid of taking a firm stance in opposition based on the principles of respect, responsibility, fairness, and freedom to the quickly encroaching authoritarianism embraced by all of the major parties and provincial governments. This isn’t just good policy, but has turned out to be good politics as Canadians from across the political spectrum have been flocking to Bernier rallies to voice their dissent. .But we should be realistic about the PPC’s chances. They aren’t going to form government, and Bernier isn’t going to be prime minister on September 21. Bernier himself stands a reasonable chance of recapturing his Beauce seat in Quebec, but the party’s support is unlikely to be concentrated enough to elect more than a handful of seats elsewhere. .But this doesn’t make the PPC not worth voting for. Sending even a single PPC MP to Ottawa would give voice to millions of Westerners and other Canadians who are currently without one. With even the good Conservative MPs muzzled from speaking freely and forcefully, there needs to be someone in Ottawa speaking unapologetically for liberty. .Maverick Party.The Maverick Party is an idea whose time has come. Westerners have been without a clear and distinctive voice in Ottawa for their interests since the Canadian Alliance/Reform Party merged with the Progressive Conservatives in 2003. That union put a badly needed end to Paul Martin’s Liberal government in 2006, but inevitably saw Central and Eastern Canadian interests trump Western interests more often than not when they conflicted. In order to win seats in the East, the CPC jettisoned most of the Reform Party’s big platform items, like a triple-E (equal, elected, and effective) Senate. .The Maverick Party grew out of the WEXIT movement, which caught fire in the days immediately after Justin Trudeau’s re-election in 2019. WEXIT received a huge boost in its recruitment of former senior Conservative cabinet minister Jay Hill as its interim leader. Hill brought discipline and credibility to the party as it transformed from WEXIT to Maverick. .Their “two-track” program of attempting to reform confederation inside of Canada before considering a push for formal independence is perhaps a bit mild for some Westerners fed-up with Ottawa, but it’s an idea that should have broad appeal if marketed effectively. Anyone watching the platform given Quebec when the Bloc leader gets to participate even in the English debates, should be jealous of the voice given that province. It would serve Westerners well to have a similar voice in Parliament. .Liberals, NDP, Greens.If you’re a regular Western Standard reader, there’s a pretty small chance that you’re contemplating voting Liberal, NDP or Green. And for good reason. All three of these parties make little effort to disguise their hostility toward most people living between Vancouver Island and Kenora. So, for brevity’s sake, we’ll just skip past them. .Vote-Splitting.As any non-Conservative Party candidate on the right will know, voters at the doors are concerned about ‘vote-splitting.’ That is, by voting for the candidate that you most want to support, you risk electing the candidate that you most oppose. .This is a real phenomenon, but only in certain circumstances. Where two or more parties share most of the same policies and principles, a ‘vote-split’ can indeed occur. But where these parties have real differences beyond the colour of their lawn signs, there is no ‘vote-split’ to be had. .On many issues — carbon taxes, equalization, gun rights, deficits, corporate welfare, lockdowns, vaccine passports — the Conservatives now have much more in common with the Liberals than they do with the PPC or the Mavericks. .If one’s only – and we mean only – goal is to defeat Justin Trudeau the man, then voting Conservative is the best option. But if one’s goal is broader – like defeating Justin Trudeau’s policies and agenda – then Westerners should not fear any ‘vote-split’. .In fact, in most of interior BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and rural Manitoba constituencies, even a ‘vote-split’ is highly unlikely to elect a leftist candidate. In most of those constituencies, the worst-case scenario would just be a Conservative re-elected with a smaller margin of victory, but being sent back to Ottawa afraid for their jobs if they pander too much to the East and statists. That’s not a bad thing. .For its part, the Mavericks have self-imposed a policy of not running in any constituencies where they might ‘split-the-vote.’ While we appreciate them not wanting to ever see a Liberal or New Democratic elected in the West, we believe this undermines their mission of establishing themselves as a clear Western alternative. No party has a right to anyone’s vote, and the Conservatives should not be granted a pass as the default party of the West, in any constituency. If the Conservatives want Western votes, they should have to work for them. .Neither PPC or Mavericks are going to be forming government this election; but even if the PPC or Mavericks elected just a small handful MPs, their voices would likely punch above their weight; just think of how the small Green Party caucus has been able to put extreme global warming policies on the national agenda to the point where even the Conservatives have adopted the main tenants of their faith. A handful of PPC or Maverick MPs would similarly be able to force issues onto the agenda that the bigger parties would find difficult to ignore. .Vote your conscience.If you’ve read this far, we hope you are carefully considering where to cast your ballot. This is not an easy decision this time around for many. .Our recommendation to Western Standard readers is simple: vote for the candidate that best reflects your values and your priorities. .If your values match that of Erin O’Toole, his platform, and his candidate in your constituency, vote Conservative. Ottawa needs less Justin Trudeau. But we urge you not to vote for them just because you might feel someone has a right to your vote. Give it to them if you feel they have earned it. .If your values match that of Maxime Bernier, his platform, and his candidate in your constituency, vote PPC. Ottawa needs a voice for liberty that is unafraid of being called names by the media and leftist parties. But we urge you not to vote for them just because you are angry at Erin O’Toole and Justin Trudeau. Give it to them if you feel they have earned it. .If your values match that of Jay Hill, his platform, and his candidate in your constituency, vote Maverick. Ottawa needs a voice for the West that isn’t worried about pandering for votes in the East. But we urge you not to vote for them just because you might feel you’ve run out of options. .And if you don’t feel well enough informed about the options — and don’t plan to be — then please, don’t vote. This might be contrary to the civil-religion of ‘voting as a sacred act’ doctrine, but casting a vote without any real research does nobody any good, including yourself. .However you choose to vote on September 20, make sure it’s a choice that is informed, principled, and well thought out. .This Editorial was jointly written by the Editorial Board of the Western Standard
