Canada's future is in your hands: Vote.

CCPA Executive Director Bruce Campbell's letter urging Canadians to vote:

Dear Friends,

Today is election day. The posts and links in this bulletin have a single theme: get out and vote. This is no time to be silent. Encourage your friends and neighbours to do the same. Help your preferred local candidate get out the vote.

For those of you under 40, I believe this is the most important election since you have been eligible to vote. The choices about the direction of our country have never been starker.

This has been a campaign of unprecedented fear and smear. Refuse to be intimidated. Vote your values and priorities— the kind of country you want Canada to become. Don’t be swayed by threats from the corporate elite.

To quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

As you know, our electoral system is flawed. In this election it is causing major uncertainty as to what outcome vote splitting will produce. Voting strategically is a complex decision and in most cases is based on only partial information. If you do choose to vote strategically, be very careful. Be very well informed. Otherwise, it may produce the very result you don’t want.

In my view, the best riding-by-riding information and analysis is produced by Pundits' Guide to Canadian Federal Elections. However, its analysis does not extend to Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

With all its flaws, politics matters. Voting is one time where you can really make a difference; where the voice of powerful elites in this country has to give way to the voice of all citizens.

Finally, though absolutely essential, voting is just the first step. Once this election is over, stay engaged. Become part of a movement of progressive change. Fight for the values and policies you care about. Apathy is our worst enemy. Intention is not enough. You have to get out there. Make it happen! Make it count!

For inspiration please visit:

• This month's Hennessy's Index, which features election jawdropping stats and figures.
• From our election blog, Senior Communications Officer Kerri-Anne Finn on Who Benefits from Low Voter Turnout?
• LeadNow.ca's video 'Vote Now Because You Can' with an appearance from CCPA-BC Director Seth Klein.
• Watch the CCPA's video on Democracy and the Power of Voting.