Illustration by Nancy Reid
Federal election
The 2011 federal election was historic in many ways, and most of us are still trying to process the outcome. It is crucial that we pause to reflect on its meaning and think carefully about the next steps we must take.
Hennessy's Index is a monthly listing of numbers, written by the CCPA's Trish Hennessy, about Canada and its place in the world. Scroll down for a PDF version. For other months, visit: http://policyalternatives.ca/index
Canada’s 41st general election was one of the most exhilarating elections in recent years and the result is unprecedented change in the political landscape. The obliteration of the Bloq, decimation of the Liberal party and surge of the NDP had even the most seasoned political observers in shock. With a total of 167 seats, Stephen Harper’s Conservative government has found the elusive majority his party has been chasing for years.
Hennessy's Index is a monthly listing of numbers, written by the CCPA's Trish Hennessy, about Canada and its place in the world. Scroll down for a PDF version. For other months, visit: http://policyalternatives.ca/index
It’s odd to see Stephen Harper continuing to crow about his economic management prowess, even while almost 1.5 million Canadians remain unemployed, nearly one in ten people live in poverty, and according to one recent survey one-third of Canadians can’t afford basic expenses.
Yet isn’t dealing with such issues at the heart of what we look for in economic management?
An election should be a time to discuss key policy directions. One of the biggest policy transformations in the Harper era has been the enormous growth in Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) –– “guest” workers who come to Canada for short periods, generally tied to specific employers, without future prospects for immigration or citizenship, and without a genuine ability to defend and protect their workplace rights (if they believe their employment rights or workplace safety has been violated, and they complain, they may be rewarded with a ticket home).
The last federal election holds the dubious distinction of hitting a new low for Canada: Only 58.8% of the population voted.
The result was another minority government, entrenching the country in a political stalemate.
For Canadians turned off by governments they don’t like, they might want to consider the lesson history teaches us: When large numbers of Canadians vote, we make a difference.
When John Diefenbaker was vying to break out of his Conservative minority government logjam 50 years ago, he did it by getting 79.4% of Canadians to vote.
Democracy and the power of voting