By-election Time!

Well, Spring Break looms, so it looks like I finally have time to write what's on my mind. The world weeps. Coincidentally, today I can also vote in the advance polls for one of Calgary's two by-elections. To be honest this year I'm having an awful lot of difficulty choosing who I should vote for.

First of all, a shout-out to the Christian Heritage Party's Jeff Willerton (the "Real Conservative!") for putting out the most interesting campaign advertisements of this election. His posters were big, colourful and sturdy, and always left me wondering just where the CHP got all that money from. His brochures were also entertaining, and really helped my wife and I make up our minds. "Why did you keep this? Just to make me mad?" she asked of the brochure that came in the mail. I'm sure we'll be voting for someone else.

As regards the (fake?) Conservative Party, turns out one of my friends knows their candidate, Bob Benzen. Apparently he's a real nice guy, but just doesn't know anything about politics. I got the same impression from his campaign brochure. Also, I don't want to vote for a leaderless party, especially one so full of clown-shoe candidates like the Conservative Party's. This also excludes the NDP, I guess, though I must admit I know next to diddly about their folks. Go figure.

I even checked out the website of the "National Advancement Party of Canada." They have a lot of policy positions, and I went on to read a bunch of them, before I though, "what's the point?"

So, the Liberals or the Greens. Who to chose?

I generally agree with the Liberals the most, historically, and I know voting for them would make my dad proud. However, they already have a majority, and to be honest, while I understand why the new budget was the way it is, I'm still unimpressed. Deficits until 2055? No new taxes? Differed military spending? Let's be real here. The Liberals could have brought the GST back up to 7% and brought the government back into surplus by Christmas. They could have eliminated some BS-tax credits that only help the super-rich, but nope, not today! Now, I would be afraid of Trump, too, but I still think they could have done more, and better. Their candidate in my riding, Forsyth, doesn't seem to have many public positions beyond supporting the government, a trait I hated when the local conservatives ran under it and still do with everybody else. Having ideas like an individual should be a natural part of being an MP.

So, do I vote for the Green party? Honestly, I just might. I read their platform in its entirety back when I was in the army (wow, recent!) and honestly it impressed me. I sympathize with their issues, and really, they probably are on the right side of history on most of their opinions. I don't really know much about their candidate - I don't even remember her name at the moment - but I do know she spent years learning about Indigenous Canadians. I believe our relationship with our indigenous people is possibly the most important national issue in the country today, so this is a good thing. Lastly, Elizabeth May has been one of the best MPs in recent memory. Ultimately, maybe it's time I finally reward the Green Party with my vote.

What do you think? Thanks for reading!