Be Careful how you Vote

Dave

Hi and thanks for joining my podcast today. In this podcast I want to discuss the upcoming federal election in Canada as it will probably have more significance than any other election in the history of Canada.

Dave

The Liberals are currently going through a leadership campaign and will be electing a new leader this coming Sunday, March 9th. The person they elect will become the next prime minister, at least for a short period of time.

Dave

At this point the front runner is Mark Carney with Chrystia Freeland having an outside chance to win. Whoever wins will become the next prime minister shortly afterwards.

Dave

This means that Justin Trudeau’s days of being the prime minister of Canada are coming to an end. This will delight many people who have hated him for long time. God knows how many people I have heard bad mouth him in the last several years and how many “Fuck Trudeau” bumper stickers and flags I have seen over that period of time. For those who have hated Trudeau, they will no longer have him to attack for all their complaints about the state of the Country and their personal life.

Dave

Now don’t get me wrong, Trudeau has been far from perfect as a prime minister and has made bad decisions during his nine plus years as prime minister. However, he has done things that he should be recognized for. He provided leadership through the COVID pandemic and in the last several months, with the threat of U.S. tariffs, he has responded to the challenge and helped to lead a coalition against them and stand up to Trump. He has also been a very good representative of Canada on the world stage with regard to our role in NATO and the support of Ukraine in their war against Putin and Russia. The experience that he has gained over his years as prime minister has served him and Canada well on the world stage. In fact, his presser Tuesday morning after the Trump imposed tariffs came into effect, where he directly dressed down Trump, has been extensively covered by many American news networks like CNN and MSNBC as well as several anti-Trump podcasts. When has American media ever paid this much attention to what a Canadian prime minister has said. They don’t even cover our elections other than some cursory mention of the results the next day. I do believe that history will treat him well down the road.

Dave

Now lets focus on the upcoming federal election and how the result will affect us, both in the near term and the long term. It is likely that there will be a vote of non-confidence in parliament once the next session convenes in the next few weeks. Unless the NDP has a last minute change of heart, the Liberals will lose that vote and an election will have to be called for sometime in April or May.

Dave

There is little doubt that the election will be between two parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives. For the sake of argument, I am going to assume that Mark Carney will be the leader of the Liberals. So the battle will be between him and Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservatives. So lets take a closer look at these two parties and their leaders.

Dave

Lets start with the Liberals. They have always been considered the party to the left of centre in Canadian politics. They have also been in power for the majority of time going back over the last 50 to 60 years, and indeed, since confederation. During this time frame they have achieved many accomplishments. Let me list some.

Dave

One, Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982.

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Two, Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage in 2005.

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Three, Establishment of the Canada Health Act in 1984.

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Four, Economic Growth and Free Trade in the 1980s and 1990s, an achievement that is now being attacked by Trump and the U.S.

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Five, Climate and Environmental Policies including involvement in the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the Paris Agreement in 2016.

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Six, Creation of the Clarity Act in 2000.

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Finally, Indigenous Reconciliation Efforts through the Though launched under the , the Liberal government under made Indigenous reconciliation a priority.

Dave

Although, there have been others, these are some of the major accomplishments of the Liberals.

Dave

If we look at the recent polls, the Liberals, who were far behind the Conservatives at the beginning of 2025, are now within the margin of error of the Conservatives as we approach the Liberal leadership convention this Sunday.

Dave

One other point I would like to make about the Liberals is that they have been the party in power for the last 9 plus years, through the COVID pandemic, the Ukraine and Russia conflict and now the Tariff war with the U.S. They have the experience to hit the ground running if they win the upcoming election. That is to continue to defend against the ongoing attack of Trump as well as to traverse the necessary path to forge closer relationships with other countries to ween ourselves off of dependence on trade with the U.S.

Dave

Now lets look at the Conservative party led by Pierre Poilievre. The Conservative party has been around since Sir John A. McDonald, their leader who orchestrated the Canadian Federation in 1867. Here are some of their accomplishments.

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Again, as with the Liberals, there have been other accomplishments but these are major ones.

Dave

In order to analyze the Conservative party’s readiness to lead Canada if they win the upcoming election, one must focus on their political position and that of their current leader.

Dave

The Conservative party is not the party that was led by former leaders like Diefenbaker, Clark, Mulroney and even to some extent, Stephen Harper. They have become more right in their beliefs, especially since they merged with the Reform Party under Preston Manning in 2003 to become The Conservative Party of Canada. So lets look at their proposed policies and the rhetoric of their leader, Poilievre.

Dave

To start with, the Conservatives are definitely a populist party now. Their policies are very much aligned with many of those of the GOP led by Trump in the U.S. Both parties advocate for tax cuts as a means to stimulate economic growth. Both emphasize reducing bureaucratic obstacles to business. Both oppose policies that restrict fossil fuel development and support expanding oil, gas, and pipeline projects. Both parties favour stricter immigration policies, although the Conservatives do not favour the radical policies of the GOP. The Conservatives and Trump’s GOP reject carbon pricing, preferring alternative environmental strategies such as carbon capture. Then there’s Both parties frame their policies around national interests over globalism. Poilievre has also used the phrase “common sense” often when talking about the Conservative policies and this is a phrase used by the GOP also.

Dave

Now, don’t get me wrong, Poilievre and the Conservatives are far from the Trump regime on many things including immigration policies, freedom of the press and others, but they do align with them on some things. Let me elaborate on these.

Dave

First, they were very willing to support the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa and elsewhere in Canada in early, 2022. In my opinion, this protest was more than just about anti-vaccination and COVID restrictions and was an attempt by the far-right element in Canada to influence the politics of the country. It is known that they were supported by U.S. elements, both morally and financially.

Dave

Second, the continuing rhetoric of Poilievre about how Canada is broken and needs radical policies to fix it. He has continued to inject this rhetoric into comments during the current Tariff crisis with the U.S.

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Third, the meeting of three conservatives in 2023 with Christine Anderson, a member of the European Parliament representing the Alternative for Germany party known to be a far-right party.

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Fourth, The support and endorsement of Poilievre and the conservatives by Elon Musk.

Dave

All of these concern me that the Conservatives cannot be trusted and that, if elected, they would dismantle much of Canada’s social safety net and align themselves with the Trump regime on many policies.

Dave

To conclude, the Conservatives are not the party of the past and are more likely to be a very populist and farther right party if they regain power in the upcoming election. Like the title of this episode, the Canadian voter must be careful in choosing who they vote for. This is not the time for a far right party to gain power at this point in Canada’s history. I would not be so concerned in different times but not now.

Dave

In closing, I must inform you that this is the last episode in my podcast. I have been very disappointed in the lack of views of my previous podcasts. Maybe it is because of my lack of understanding of how to manipulate the YouTube algorithm, I’m not sure. However, I do thank anyone who took the time to listen to this and my previous episodes. My intention for this podcast was to express my views on the state of Canada and possibly some guidance in the light of our current crisis. Again, thank you and stay strong.