Maclean’s has an article about how long weekends (especially ones that fall very close to an election) are vital times in campaigns as that’s when family gather and talk together over meals and social time.
In fact, from the outset of this unusually gruelling 11-week race, officials for all three of the main parties have, at various times, pointed ahead to Thanksgiving as the most likely time many Canadian voters will make up their minds.
Generally, people don’t want to ruin the festive mood during these occasions so it’s better to focus on the positives of the party you’re supporting rather than the negatives of the party you oppose (ahem, it just came out that THREE Conservative MPs were confirmed in the leaked data from the cheating/affair web site, AshleyMadison.com along with one record that might possibly be a Liberal MP and zero from the NDP.)
Anyhow, with that out of my system, here are some positives about the NDP to highlight when talking your parents and grandparents this weekend…
- Even though it may have temporarily cost him some support in Quebec, Mr. Mulcair isn’t afraid to take a principled stand, whether it is opposing C-51 when it politically unpopular or defending some of Canada’s most vulnerable citizens when they are under attack. That’s the kind of Prime Minister I want – one who will take an unpopular position rather than chasing polls and focus groups.
- The NDP began the campaign in the strongest position to defeat the Conservatives and although the winds have shifted throughout the campaign as different parties rose and fell in the polls, many of those factors that made the NDP the party best positioned to defeat the Conservatives still remain.
- The NDP traditionally has a strong ground game on election day and this year’s election will see their best supported and funded efforts of all-time.
- Much of the attention is being placed on national poll results but the reality is that it is how votes are concentrated on a constituency by constituency basis that will determine how seats are divided. (That’s why for years, the Bloc Quebec could win ~50 seats with ~1.5 million votes concentrated in a single province while the NDP would only get ~35 seats with ~2.5 million votes spread across the entire country.)
In the end, I love this quote from Thomas Mulcair which sums up the NDP’s plan perfectly:
“It’s really easy in this election —childcare, healthcare, pharmacare, Mulcair,” to supporters who erupted in cheerful laughter at a campaign stop in Surrey, B.C. on Tuesday.