Look what happens when Canadians unite for a single purpose. Remember this.

Posted on by Laila

I’m feeling a little giddy this morning and I’ll be honest, I feel a bit guilty about that.

So many of my friends who are NDP party members are devastated today, and understandably so. The federal party was decimated last night in the Liberal sweep across Canada and in that unstoppable tide, several great NDP mp’s were lost at sea. For that, I am disappointed.

And as happened after the provincial NDP loss in the last election, the federal party will now have to do some serious reflection about who they are, and why their vision did not resonate with Canadians if they ever intend to be anything but an opposition party.   I would love to see what the NDP could accomplish as the ruling party, but I would say to some, please, try to step out of the partisan box and really listen to why people voted red instead of orange -not all votes were strategic.

Nevertheless I felt a tremendous weight lift off my shoulders with every Conservative MP who lost a seat. By the time media pundits called the election a Liberal victory and Justin Trudeau as our next Prime Minister, I was elated- the Harper era, was over. It is amazing what happens when Canadians rise to the occasion!

Today, I have renewed faith and hope for this country, and that might surprise some of you because I have been very critical of Justin Trudeau over the years,with good reason.

He has made some really interesting comments- one in particular that raised eyebrows was his admiration for the kind of dictatorship China had. He is young, and lacks the experience in many areas I think are critical to a position like Prime Minister and the gravitas. And the federal Liberal party money men and backroom players behind the scenes rarely change – I’ve written much about the connections between the Desmarais family, Power Corporation, the PMO’s office and privy council, through several Prime Ministers. This cannot and should not be discounted. Nor should the fact that Liberal MP’s are still whipped so if push comes to shove, they too have to tow the party line.

But even with these concerns, yesterday I used my vote strategically and with my conscience, to help defeat the Conservative candidate in my riding. I voted Liberal for the first time in my life  for  John Aldag, who I strongly feel will represent our riding well. Our Conservative candidate was so out of touch with the reality of so many young families here, or the issues in our neighbourhood, it was alarming. And despite the NDP running a very qualified and brilliant candidate in Rebecca Smith, it was clear early on she was not connecting in a manner that would give her a win. For me, it was more important to do what I could to help remove Stephen Harper, and it worked.

The rampant fear mongering and racial tactics used in this election by the CPC, were unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The CPC candidates tried to divide entire communities with distractions. ISIS in your bedrooms, niqabs bringing down Canada, the hypocrisy of the human rights and feminist advocacy stance Harper and his crew took was gag-worthy. 

All honour and common decency, was lost. 

But when it counted, Canadians rose to the occasion and said NO! to fear and hate and said  yes to change and  hope. Trudeau did run a very positive campaign and in the midst of so much hate and fear ,it was like rain from the sky after a drought. Canadians lapped it up, and for that, I am thankful.

Now is the time for all of us to decompress for a bit, take it all in and see what this new Canada will look like.

There is so much work to be done, and an entirely new government to keep accountable- that much won’t change. And I suspect we won’t know the full extent of the damage for some time as the new government comes in.  But first we need to rebuild relationships with each other within our communities. We need to reach out to each other and keep the conversations going, keep that spirit of hope and change alive and remember what and why we love this country, and each other.

Remember this feeling and carry it with you as carefully as a flame against the darkness.Because this feeling, is the spark that can ignite change on a level rarely seen. We, as Canadians, redefined our nation. 

And Mr. Trudeau, if you happen to read this? Never forget how and why you are about to become the Prime Minister. A leader is only as good as his last decision. Lead with authenticity, with humility in your heart, a vision in your mind and the people at your side.

There are a lot of  little Canadians growing up out there, counting on you.

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34 thoughts on “Look what happens when Canadians unite for a single purpose. Remember this.”

  1. Humility is not part of his DNA. But, if he brings in Proportional Representation, I’ll endure the infantile ego and asinine speeches. Hell, if he makes a credible stab at anything,really, I might even vote for him.

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    1. I’m keeping an open, albeit guarded mind. The Amuse Bouche post embedded in this post clearly detail some questionable thoughts at times. But I am very happy to see Harper & Co. gone. 🙂

      We will be watching for what promises are kept or not and there remains the issue of at least one of his candidates that was approved and one in Newton-Sukh Dhaliwal-story coming on him shortly.

      One promise many are watching? ” “We are committed to ensuring that 2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system.
      We will convene an all-party Parliamentary committee to review a wide variety of reforms, such as ranked ballots, proportional representation, mandatory voting, and online voting.
      This committee will deliver its recommendations to Parliament. Within 18 months of forming government, we will introduce legislation to enact electoral reform.”

      Remember this.

      He has a big plate and it’s full.

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        1. One of many…lol.. but certainly one I find to be the most important. We desperately need some changes.

          Promises are a dime a dozen and I take all of them with a grain of salt. This campaign was so over whelming for so many voters because as the end neared, the promises were flying out left right and center.

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  3. RE: CPC tactics – did anyone notice how many Conservative candidates missed all candidate meetings in their ridings? Methinks it was an order from HQ…

    Like in BC, the NDP blew another election – Mulcair should have been in full on attack mode against Harper’s record, policies, and ethics and I don’t understand why he didn’t do that.

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    1. I don’t know that full on attack mode would have conquered the narrative the Liberals and Harper had set. The public fell right into the distractions, one after the other. The failed candidates, the minor scandals. It never ended.

      Guy Gentner has a good post up on facebook today worth a read. I believe it is public. He speaks to the same old ,same old strategists/strategies and how the Libs set the tone a year ago. https://www.facebook.com/notes/guy-gentner/post-election-blues/10156131781530263

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  4. I agree, Laila, the priority was to end the “Harper Era.” Pity we didn’t get a minority situation where some pressure could have been effectively applied to, say, get some electoral reform. Knowing the inbred spitefulness of the outgoing Con-tastrophe, the transition period will probably involve a lot of untangling and repair of intentionally spiked bureaucratic apparatus—we’ll have to give the new Liberal government that time before holding them to account. Meanwhile we should ponder what we might learn from the NDP’s collapse, the effectiveness of strategic voting, and the general disaffection for neo-right bullshitters—such as we might put to use for the next contest which for us in BC is with you-know-who. Yes, Christy expressed glee at the Liberal win, but her government has much to fear from what’s been revealed by this federal contest.

    What happened to the NDP? I’d say it’s demise had to do with Quebec voters, Mulcair’s “principled” niqab stance, and strategic voting, in that order, all beneath the overarching fortunes of the Liberals. In retrospect, it was probably unrealistic to lean so heavily on continuing NDP support in Quebec, just as it probably was for Cons to believe their own theology that the Liberal dragon had been slain for good by their own Saint Stephen. Quebec voters may seem mercurial to us in the ROC, but, in reality, they’ve always been astute in getting represented in a strong Opposition party, if not in government itself; it just so happened Jack Layton presented the best opportunity last time (while the Liberals were at their self-inflicted nadir), while Justin Trudeau presented the very best this time. Mulcair shouldn’t have risked taking a principled stand regards the niqab in light of the fundamental weakness of Quebec support and the likelihood of a strong showing by a party Quebeckers are much more familiar with and which always stood to win at least a power-sharing position from the campaign’s beginning; even if it had swung purely on policy, Mulcair, as a Quebecker himself, should have understood the potential for acrimonious controversy over niqab, but, in conjunction with the Liberal fact, it was foolish to risk taking any stand at all—-especially considering he had the option of dodging it (by saying,”Let the courts deal with it”). All of it was a hypothetical red-herring to start with—but Mulcair took the bait. Perhaps the party is fated to lose on principle, just as it did in BC last time on the principle of “positive politics.”

    The niqab distraction probably wouldn’t have ameliorated the Liberal fact for the NDP in Quebec, but the sudden souring of the electorate there against Mulcair’s principled stand had a knock-on effect in terms of strategic voting across the country where even a slight movement by the Liberals, virtually tied with the NDP up to this point, made them the strategic choice in many ridings—and the entire Canadian electorate had never been better informed about this electoral tactic. Although difficult to prove, it’s likely SV had something to do with the NDP’s demise. The anti-Harper sentiment across the nation remained priority throughout the campaign. Quebec, as usual, deftly got two prizes: Harper gone, and strong representation in a majority government.

    In the historical context, the “Harper Era” was an anomaly closely correlated to the Liberals’ “civil war,” as was the NDP’s own “Era” in Quebec. Trudeau deserves some credit in using Con labelling to his advantage (he was bound to exceed expectations when Harper had pegged him artificially low), and in running hard the whole way (Harper and Mulcair played rope-adope for the bulk of the campaign); but Justin was assisted to a large degree by the Liberal fact in Canadian history—their meltdown under Martin and Ignatieff could only have been temporary.

    Nevertheless, and in spite of our single-member-plurality electoral system, the Canadian electorate succeeded in holding the Cons to minorities and a single majority that did more to unseat them than it did to achieve their unpatriotic neo-right agenda; the courts were critically instrumental in weathering the Conservative Winter. We should be proud of that, but we can’t forget in our celebration that much damage has been done—probably more than we are presently apprised of—and the repair job might be difficult enough to distract the new government from the policy demand on most Canadians’ lips: electoral reform. Now that we’ve returned to “normal,” will Trudeau conveniently forget his fuzzy commitment to it?

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    1. Great comment and super points. I’m thinking of a post on electoral reform because ironically enough, a friend and reader asked me about it today.

      I find it is very common to find a lack of understanding of what this is about or why we need it. And yes, I would have liked to have seen an NDP govt place better than they did too.
      Like I said, I’ve had big concerns and have been a big critic of Trudeau and will be watching all of this closely and holding them to account as well. But hoping for better.

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  5. I am going to trust, by this election result, that there were enough Canadian who realized the peril this country would have been in had Harper et al formed another government. Just look at the legislation he passed in the last parliament. These are not John Diefenbaker Conservatives. He would turn in his grave (just as WAC would here in BC with the so-called “Liberals”).
    What is astounding to me is the fact so many Conservative supporters have a “follow the leader over the cliff” mentality even when legislation poses nothing but harm to the entire country. I realize its not just a Conservative phenomenon, but the past four years have not come close to resembling Canadian values and ethics.

    We have a breath of fresh air with this result, but Trudeau and his government best pay attention to Canadians. And yes, electoral reform is desperately needed. Two-thirds of the voters in my riding voted to get rid of the Conservatives but the vote split gave the Conservative candidate the seat. That has to change.

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    1. Clearly Canadians wanted a change. And they got it. And I hope they remember enough about the last Liberal government to remember what to look for in the future..lol.

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  6. Laila, once again, you speak my truth. As far as Ms Clark, I’m hoping that she does throw her hat in the ring for Mr. Harper’s job just so all of BC can see her true colours – bright, bright blue.

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    1. Thank you for the kind words Kay. 🙂

      I cant even go there. The thought of Clark as the leader of our country – under any party banner- is really something I cannot contemplate at this point in time!!

      She would never do it for the CPC though, regardless. Just people trying to find a story.

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    2. I to Live in BC , but in the Peace Region, not only Clark as to go who ignored all or most of our main concerns (she was here for what she wants. Not the other way around), BChydro has been lying and not keeping his word, they both attack the people here.
      But I hope Clark smarten up soon, or she’ll be carrying even a bigger bad reputation.

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  7. I was overjoyed at the election results. I wasn’t sure at the beginning, but I thought that young Trudeau grew considerably as the campaign progressed. i also admired him not letting Harper drag him down to his level. Had Jack Layton still been alive, I might have voted orange, but, it was not to be. The only dark spot in the election for me, was seeing Dianne Watts get elected. Her campaign on law and order, to me , was a joke, because she did so poorly on that as mayor. Now , if we can only get people motivated to toss out the Liberals in BC like that in the next provincial election.

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    1. I knew it was over for the NDP about three weeks ago when long time party members federally and provincially started talking publicly about what it might be like if Jack Layton were the leader in this election. That spoke volumes. Yet nothing changed in the campaign in the home stretch in fact it seemed more frantic.

      I never thought I would ever vote Liberal. But I could not vote CPC, and my NDP candidate was clearly not connecting with the riding in a big way. So I voted the only option left and was happy to do so because I believe John will represent my riding well.

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  8. change is coming for sure, more debt, fees to cover all the new spending, the legalization of pot will bring more issues with easier access to the drug. I was taken back that so many people believe Canada is such a hell hole place to live and work. Canada will become a Banana Republic and resemble places like Greece. They hate business, anyone who has made money, no one wants to work, want everything for free… so you have a welfare state. Best of luck Canada you need it
    PS Very happy to see the NDP wiped out.

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    1. You have a very sad outlook on things Jon. I think you need to look at Colorado, or Washington State, pot seems to be working out for them. Jt only said he would decriminalize pot for now, but legalizing it would bring a tax windfall that could go a long ways to helping out our medical system. Canada needs change from the oppressive regime of Stephen Harper, and I think that you will see a more positive, better functioning Canada going forward.

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  9. Um, about “…. little Cana … ”

    Perhaps, modest Canadians, standard Canadians, quiet Canadians, ordinary Canadians … or something else? Ideas, anyone?

    There is a TV series called Little Britain that started off mocking the narrow and small minded cohort … the truckin’ alienated from the truckin’ rest of the truckin’ world hanging out in the smoke shacks of the land, the niqab haters, the men in blue, the entitled and privileged and pale white old-stock, the nobody-but-our-base, et cetera, et cetera. Google for it, and see why Little Britain reference is not the right thing.

    Canadians turned out in historic numbers to rid those people of power. And we did this because we are NOT little. We rose up and roared, big time !

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    1. Little Canadians indicates children Kehr, the future of Canada, the next generation! I’m not sure how you arrived at what you arrived at!!

      The choice of the photo with the childs boot in the puddle by the maple leaf wasn’t made by accident 🙂

      But yes, all Canadians are counting on this.

      ( On another note,WOW, surprised that could be interpreted soo badly!! )

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  10. Interesting that the Conservatives only dropped by 234,836 voters from 2011. They seem to be “true blue” — and they get out and vote, rather than staying home in shame like many Liberals did last time.

    The Libs picked up 4,145,339 voters, compared to 2011… probably reclaiming some who had gone with Jack Layton — and likely picking up the bulk of the new young voters. I was a scrutineer at a polling station in Chilliwack and it was good to see the numbers of first-time young people and young couples with their babies, coming out to vote.

    I know the NDP will be disappointed at the outcome… but with Jack Layton’s passing, they didn’t have that magic charm that gave them the break-through last time. (And Jon K., they are hardly “wiped out.”)

    All told, Canada made a great correction to its trajectory yesterday — and I’m happy about that.

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    1. GBS…it was a bad night for the NDP no matter how you spin it. The Libs killed it and the Conservs held their own despite the third world country we have supposedly become under Harper. 99 seats is a strong opposition. Remember this… After Trudeau’s term is done, Canada will be deeper in debt, the next Gov will have to raise taxes or fees to comp for the additional debt burden. If you and I ran our households like the Gov did we would be on the streets, begging for food. Trudeau is charismatic and likeable but, we have a country to run, to compete in global markets, to be creative, innovative and entrepreneurial. Putting in place more government dependence, attacking business does not foster that kind of environment. Money goes where it is welcomed and today one can invest where ever they want.

      Until Gov gets this (whatever colour you like), Canada will be on the decline. Oil consumption will decline with new tech and innovation. Its a New World and our new gov just wants to Tax and spend, not reward or foster people toward the new econ that will happen with or without Canada and its people. See the world doesn’t need us we need them to survive, we are a peanut in the big picture.

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      1. No one ‘attacked’ business more than Harper. His focus on oil killed Ontario mfg’ing, reversed the export surplus by $140 billion and put our dollar up so high we couldn’t sell to anyone. That same focus came as the value of oil fell. So we had less demand from our increasingly alienated best customer while our production costs increased and so the taxpayer and worker got less. Just because they claimed to favour business does not mean they did. In fact, they are proven liars on that score so the truth is thr opposite of what they say. Six straight deficits. Tar worth nothing and going nowhere. Your int’l customers hating you. Your reputation in ruins…..is that how YOU run your business or household?
        Dude…you have to learn to read ’cause the ones you are listening to are fools. My advice: remember this – whatever a politician is saying is NOT true. Some lie more than others. Some are just too stupid for words. Regardless, it is not the truth. It is Never the truth! You have to learn by digging deeper than the party slogan.

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  12. Soul searching, resonating? decimated? nothing but an opposition party? None of that matters. This is no different then the last election except that we managed to get rid of Harper. The same thing that happened to the NDP this time happened to the Liberals last time. This time LPC got a “strong” majority, with less then 40% of the vote, last time it was Harper. It’s clear our electoral system is broken. I hope the new PM fixes it.

    I am glad that Harper is out, but LPC supports c51, where do they stand on TPP? What is their climate plan? I hope they will fix many things that need fixing, but they need to implement PR and make sure this is the last unfair election. I don’t know how everyone is claiming this is so great that Canadians had their say and made their voices heard, we have the same unrepresentative government we did before. 40% of Canadians voices were heard.

    I am glad turnout increased. Let’s see if they can keep that next time, and get electoral reform in now that they probably don’t feel they need it.

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        1. Found yours in spam. No sign of any others from Rafe. I haven’t changed any settings here so must be a glitch somewhere. If you get any messages please screenshot them and send them on via email

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  16. Off topic BUT, did you notice the price of gas (in just the past few days, and a nickel overnight)? It’s time citizens unite on the gouging by these gas companies. We’ve shown the masses can come together. Tired of the excuses refineries down or whatever the excuse is this time, and governments rake in the cash. Budget time coming up? This is ridiculous. That’s my rant today. So, what shall we do about it?

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