There have been suggestions, in light of the dwindling voter turnout in this country and its plunge to a historic low for the last federal election, that Canadians are insufficiently grateful for their democratic right to freely choose those who govern them.
On the other hand, given the frequency with which we have been called to do so in recent years, it's understandable that when we were called to the polls yet again for May 2, the predominant reaction was, "Not again!"
This election will be the fourth in the past seven years, with each of the previous three having produced vulnerable minority governments that were all but assured of a foreshortened lifespan. If the result on Monday produces another of the same, then this election will indeed have been a waste of time, effort and several hundred million dollars. As such, the optimal result this time around would be a stable majority government.
There are several sound reasons to recommend this, the least being that it would put a halt to the tiresome cycle of elections every two years instead of the standard four when a majority administration is in place. Minority governments are believed by many to be more open and consensual, and given to policies acceptable to a broader range of Canadians, since they have to enlist support from opposition parties to pass their measures. But they also tend to induce a hyper-partisan atmosphere in a Parliament constantly gripped by election fever, with the government under perpetual pressure to buy opposition favour with public funds in order to survive.
Quebecers of the federalist persuasion have a particular interest in seeing a majority government elected in Ottawa, given the precarious state of the provincial Liberal government; at the moment it appears destined to fall to the separatist Parti Québécois in an election that will take place at most two years hence. Not that a majority federal government could block another referendum should a PQ administration embark on such folly, but in such a case it would be preferable to have one in place to staunchly enforce the Clarity Act.
In light of how this election campaign has unfolded, and what it has told us about the strengths and weaknesses of the parties and their leaders, it appears the optimal party to form a majority government is Stephen Harper's Conservative Party. During the five years they have held minority office, the Harper Conservatives have been rightly criticized for a panoply of failings, including Harper's rigid centralization of power in the prime minister's office, his government's excessive obsession with lawand-order legislation and prison-building, and its insufficient concern with climate change and green energy development. However, the Conservatives have kept Canada on an even economic keel to the point where, in this post-recession world, its economic indicators are among the most positive on the planet. Furthermore, the Conservatives are the only party likely to have strong representation in all regions of the country, a highly desirable feature of a national government.
Michael Ignatieff's Liberals have failed to present themselves as a compelling alternative during this campaign and, given polling indicators, could at best govern in association, if not in coalition, with the opposition parties should another Conservative minority administration fail to gain the confidence of the House of Commons. And should late campaign polls showing the New Democratic Party pulling ahead of the Liberals pan out in more NDP than Liberal seats, Ignatieff would be reduced to a humiliating junior partnership in any such arrangement. Either way the arrangement would not be illegitimate, but it would probably be highly unstable and, if it lasts any length of time, hugely expensive for taxpayers.
While Jack Layton has cut a fine figure on the campaign trail, an NDP government is both electorally improbable and fiscally inadvisable. The late-campaign NDP surge can best be credited to Layton's bravura performance coupled with widespread aversion to the other major-party leaders. But what Layton stands on is a rickety platform built of expensive promises that are unconvincingly costed, and opportunistic overtures to Quebec nationalists that call into question his commitment to Canadian constitutional laws.
As for the Green Party, while its intentions may be good, it is out of the running for government. And while some see voting Green as a way to register a protest against the old-line parties, a Green vote might be better placed where it could make a difference in government.
Finally, a vote for the Bloc Québécois is essentially a vote against Canada, and a wasted vote for all but hard-line separatists. An encouraging sign in this campaign was to see Quebecers coming around to this view as never before since the Bloc was founded.
A long-standing argument against a Conservative majority government has been that it will free Harper to unleash the hidden hard-right agenda he is alleged by opponents to harbour - doing things like bringing back capital punishment, outlawing abortion and gutting the Canada Health Act. But given the profoundly centrist nature of Canadian political culture, this seems highly unlikely. Even more than winning a majority, Harper's abiding purpose is to establish an enduring Conservative ascendancy in Canada, essentially becoming what the Liberals once were - this country's natural governing party. He surely realizes that if he were to govern too forcefully against the Canadian grain, the Conservatives would be run out of office after four years and probably not restored to power for several elections thereafter.
A complaint often heard from Canadian voters is that their vote counts for little in the greater electoral scheme. As such, the best way for an individual voter to make a difference is on the local level. Take a good hard look at your local candidates; if you haven't talked to them or attended candidates' debates, at least check out their websites. Educate yourself about them, so you can determine which one would best serve your interests and those of your community - and by extension, the nation.
Above all, get out and vote. It may be a bother doing so yet again, but voting is also a privilege gained through the struggles of generations past, for which people less fortunate than we Canadians are still struggling.