If there is anything I have learned in my brief time participating in local politics, volunteering for my local candidate and following both the provincial and federal liberals, is that being the underdogs will never phase a party that has represented Canadians for about 69 years and has the hopes of continuing to do so federally in the near future.
Until recently, I have been under the impression that any one man or party that is in power for more than eight years through two consecutive terms has more than wore out their welcome.
But if the party and subsequently the man gets re-elected by a majority or minority of voters, who am I to protest?
The truth is, the reason why the Liberals were so successful in the past was because of their support and recognition of new Canadians, in fact many of the social services paid by our tax dollars today were implemented as a means by which Canada could service and deal with its burgeoning immigrant population at the time, and because they offered the only progressive and future oriented vision for Canada.
Of course these were times when Progressive Conservatives were missing the word Progressive in their moniker and the New Democrats were non-existent or were known as Communists.
Oh how the times have changed. We Canadians now live in a political era that sees a party at the federal level which can only produce a damage control vision and takes our country one step forward and two steps backwards. Does anyone remember anything coming from the federal PCs during the May election that even remotely resembled a plan that focused on taking Canada from being a backwater player on the world stage to an international pariah of economic stability?
The only thing I remember from the federal PCs were attack ads on Ignatieff’s credibility and how they were the best alternative to the Liberals and NDP when it came to managing the economy. This I thought Canadians wouldn’t bite, but they did.
So here we are, several months later, enduring a hairsplitting electoral race between the PCs, NDP and Liberals in Ontario. A provincial election sure to either revitalize or further diminish the Liberal brand nation-wide.
There are two things however that I think us Liberals have going at the moment, and that is the fact that we are both the underdogs and have the most qualified and experienced leader for Ontario out of all the candidates.
If there was any doubt of this, it should have been removed after the provincial leader’s debate two days ago. It was echoed even in the Globe and Mail that Mr. Hudak never really presented a vision to carry Ontario forward and instead spent the night attacking McGuinty and the Liberals. It seemed as if Mr. Hudak’s only campaign promise was to cut taxes, after hundreds of mentions of removing the HST from hydro bills and other tax incentives. Where was Mr. Hudak’s vision for Ontario?
Unfortunately, this is the reality of the Ontario PCs and the NDP. The PCs are nothing but a piggyback operation under Tim Hudak, looking to capitalize the gains their federal cousins made during the May election. The Ontario NDP under Horwath is nothing but a vote splitting mechanism with at least half of its popularity owing to a dead man, whom consequently was probably the best leader the NDP have ever and will ever have.
Many candidates throughout the province flying the conservative flag now, including that opportunist Rocco Rossi, flocked to the PC seeing their chances at getting into power swell after the federal Conservatives beat down the Liberals. A group solidified by a new wave of PC candidates seeking power more than leadership.
Well look at them now, Liberals gnawing at their throats and tight on their heels.
It is my opinion that as underdogs, Liberals are a far more potent political machine than when we are in a commanding position at all levels of government. Something that I think cannot be said of the NDP, as they spent decades suffering political impotence as the country’s third party, nor the PC, as they tend to take defeat poorly and mess things up with every administration.
Therefore, I think Ontarians cannot afford a Hudak slash and burn government nor can they afford a Horwath ‘tax them till they drop’ one come October 6th.
For Liberals and for Canadians an Ontario victory could mean a Canada that is bold, progressive, economically stable and competitive, internationally recognized as a leader in education and green energy development or it could mean a taxed to death socialist NDP commune or a mirror image of the shell of a country that is the United States under the PC.
Either ways, my vote is decided.