Bad choices and the dilemmas of voting

There must be countless Canadians who sympathize with Steve Dykstra's complaint:

I've got this dilemna -- i'm finally old enough to vote, and I'm fairly decided on a lot of issues; however, my convictions don't come close to falling in any particular party. I really support the preservation of the definition of marriage, tougher criminal code, pro-life; seemingly all good old-fashioned conservative virtues. But I'm also pretty left-wing about the protection of the environment, extra funding for the poor, no more privatization of Hydro or LCBO or other government resources. So I'm totally caught between extreme left and extreme right, and i hate the Liberals in the middle. Any suggestions/opinions about the election?

The author of this cri de coeur took my Introduction to Political Ideologies this past semester, and it seems I was unsuccessful in making his choice any easier. And why not? I, and virtually every other voter, am confronted with the same dilemma. Given our current electoral system and the pragmatic nature of our parties, it is very difficult to vote based on shared principles. All of our major parties adhere to some variety of liberalism, with bits of nationalism, socialism, democratism and conservatism thrown in for good measure. Yet that's not what distinguishes them as parties.

Preoccupied with winning political power, they are forced to try to be all things to all people -- or at least as many things to as many people as possible. They will thus attempt to appeal to specific interest groups, focussing on certain key issues while avoiding others that might be too divisive. Once in power, they freely ignore their promises to voters (as have the provincial Liberals here in Ontario), and if they are left in the opposition benches, they will simply oppose whatever the government proposes, irrespective of its merits or lack thereof.

So how do I vote? Like so many other citizens, I vote strategically, and not on the basis of whom I would actually prefer to see in power. In my heart of hearts I might favour the programme of a minor, more principled party, but I know that if I vote for this party, my vote will be wasted. In recent federal elections I have tended to vote for whichever party seemed most likely to defeat the governing party, mostly because I feared for the well-being of a democracy dominated by a single party lacking credible opposition. Voting out of fear is not a good way to vote. I would prefer not to have to do so, but one is all but compelled to by the electoral system.



Fortunately the Law Commission of Canada recently published a report titled, Voting Counts: Electoral Reform for Canada. The Commission is asking the right questions and exploring the right options. If we were to adopt some form of proportional representation, principled parties would at last make it to parliament and give voice to the millions of Canadians, including the Steve Dykstras of this world, who are effectively disenfranchised.