Canadian Politics for Foreigners

I just realized that lately my blog might be inscrutable to my non-Canadian readers, so here's a quick summary for foreigners, making generous use of gross generalizations in the service of brevity. If you are Canadian, this is not for you. Canadians should use my post-dated "Voters Resources" post above to decide how to vote.

The parties, right to left:

Conservatives: This is Canada's right-most mainstream party. They are perhaps somewhat to the right of the US Democratic party, but still well to the left of the US Republican party. The impression I get is that they would prefer to be closer to the US Republican party, but the Canadian public wouldn't stand for it. Their general position is fiscally and socially conservative, and their guiding principle is that there should be less government. They are an amalgamation of the former Progressive Conservative (centre-right) and Canadian Alliance (formerly Reform) (far-right/neocon) parties. They are currently the Opposition, and have governed in their past incarnation as the Progressive Conservatives.

Liberals: Canada's centrist party, well to the left of the US Democratic party. They are fiscally conservative, perhaps out of necessity, but socially centre-left, and not opposed to spending on social programs. The impression I get is that they try to be all things to all people. They have been the Government for the past 12 years, and have been the Opposition in the past.

Green: This party is trying to become mainstream, running candidates in every riding, but so far they have never won a seat. They focus mainly on environmental issues, but do have substantive positions on other issues. They are generally perceived to be far-left and radical, and they are further left than the Liberal party socially, but they are actually rather fiscally conservative, on par with the Liberals, or perhaps even further right.

Bloc Quebecois: This party's primary mission is to promote the interests of Quebec (Canada's mostly French-speaking province) at the federal level. They are looked on with some suspicion in the rest of Canada, because they tend to associate themselves with Separatists, who want Quebec to separate from the rest of Canada. They are further left than the Liberal party, (but not quite as far left as the NDP), mostly because Quebeckers tend to be further left than the rest of Canada on average. They have been the Opposition in the past.

NDP (New Democratic Party): Canada's furthest-left mainstream party. Historically a workers' party, but it does enjoy significant support from urban professionals. While most people do agree with the majority of their policy proposals, there is some concern about what a left-wing party would do to Canada's budget situation. They have held seats in the House of Commons for several decades, but have never been the Government or the Opposition.

There are also other smaller parties that have not held seats, but these parties aren't running in my riding so I don't know anything about them.

The current situation:

The Liberal party, which is currently governing by a precarious minority, was recently involved in a corruption scandal. As a result, the other parties all banded together to cause the government to fall, triggering an election. Among the general population, there is a lot of will to overthrow the Liberals, who have been governing for 12 years and are perceived by many as corrupt and hegemonous. The Conservatives are the only party who could win more seats than the Liberals. However, the Conservative position is seen as uncomfortably right-wing by a lot of people. They have been trying to soften and moderate their image lately, which has won over some voters, but other voters still remain suspicious. The other parties have a chance of holding the balance of power in a minority government, but only slim chance of becoming the Opposition and no chance of becoming the Government.

Some people will vote Conservative, just to defeat the Liberals; other people will react to this by voting Liberal, just to defeat the Conservatives. In a limited number of left-wing ridings where the Conservatives have no chance of winning, some people will vote NDP, just to defeat the Liberals. A lot of people in Quebec will vote Bloc. Some people will vote Green just for the sake of not voting for any of the other guys. And, of course, some people will vote with their conscience for the party that most closely matches their values, but strategic voting has always been something of a Canadian tradition and has to be taken into account.

The election is on Jan. 23, and the current prediction is a Conservative minority, which might swing into a Conservative majority. However, the possibility of a Liberal minority upset has not yet been completely eliminated.