The recent federal election has not been terribly kind to the federal New Democratic Party, although the almost-as-recent provincial election could be said to have been remarkably kind in its turn (bringing Official Opposition status again, even though garnering less of the popular vote than the Liberals).
The federal result was so bad that the NDP lost official party status, and with it a host of funding and resources that accompany that elevation. This has led to doomsayers inevitably preparing the socialist party’s epitaph. “We are moving to a two party system” sayeth the pundits.
Such an outcome would be a terrible loss to our nation and to our system of democracy. The NDP has played, and we dare say, will continue to play an important role in the Canadian body politic.
Students of electoral systems note that first-past-the-post systems, such as we enjoy here in Canada as a Westminster-style Parliamentary system, and as is practiced by the democracies in many republics as well (including that of the United States) “inevitably” drift into a two-party system. Canada, we may say to its credit, has bucked that trend.
Traditionally, the Conservative Party of Canada (and its Progressive Conservative predecessor) were on the centre-right, the Liberal Party of Canada was in the centre and the NDP was centre left. That paradigm was somewhat stirred, if not shaken, in recent years with the drift to the left by the Liberals to secure the support of the NDP during minority government. The election of former banker and finance mavin Mark Carney has suggested the stars will realign closer to the historical trend—but time will tell.
So, why would we consider the loss of the NDP as an electoral tragedy? People dearly love easy, two-way, choices when they step into the ballot box.
Simply put, the NDP has stood stalwart as the conscience of the nation.
Their impact (and that of their Co-operative Commonwealth Federation predecessors) has far belied their numbers in both the legislature and Parliament. This impact is most noticeable during minority governments, when they hold the sword of confidence over the ruling party (the Liberals in practice).
Our national medicare program was enshrined under the Liberal minority government of Manitoulin MP and Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson; and more recently the institution of a national pharmacare and dental programs have been the result of the Justin Trudeau Liberal government, at the behest of the NDP under Jagmeet Singh.
While the Liberals can take most credit for the national daycare program (first envisioned under the minority Liberal government of Paul Martin) there is little doubt that the NDP was also onside with the plan.
Much of the progressive legislation that has come about in this country saw first light in a NDP policy scrum.
Now to those of a Conservative bent, the medicare system may not be a prize, given the free hand of the market mantra that lies foundational to that party’s zeitgeist, and the others regarded as being simply too expensive to be countenanced, polls have repeatedly shown that the national medicare system is one of the aspects of our nation of which Canadians are most proud—and there are few parents that do not welcome affordable daycare, especially given the affordability challenges being faced by a large segment of the population.
That says something.
The dangers of a polarized political system are easy to be seen—a simple glance south will suffice.
Since, traditionally, each of our main political parties do not stray all that far from the centre—this has led to media appellations of centre-right, centre and centre-left (albeit the Liberals have been labelled as centre-left in recent years as well) being foisted upon them.
If the NDP is to regain its influence in the electoral lists in this country, they will need to step back to its roots. In this riding, and a host of others, the NDP lost the working person vote largely to the Conservatives. Witness what would have been historically strange, unions endorsing the Conservative Party of Canada.
For rural and depressed regions of the nation it was pocketbook issues, not concerns over sovereignty and tariffs that settled the day. The perception that the NDP strayed from its labour roots is being lamented across the land, in union halls and picket lines.
The voices of the left, the right and the centre (within which most Canadians still identify—be it of the right, left or centrist variety—each needs a defined voice and a clear and present choice when entering the ballot box.
The loss of the NDP would be a tragic loss for our system of democracy, (or either of the other two parties for that matter—both of which have been threatened with electoral irrelevance in recent memory) as the voices of the poor, the dispossessed and the marginalized the NDP have traditionally represented in Parliament would be too easily drowned out by competing interests otherwise.
