The wife and I voted on Friday. We usually vote at advance polls. It is a habit from years of working on campaigns. I usually know if my vote will be useful or not. Even when I know it will not matter, I still go to vote. Even a losing candidate needs some encouragement. You never know about next time.
And you always need to be reminded of the way the Canadian system works. It is all these local decisions that make the decision for our country. All elections in Canada really are local.
That is why I have been disappointed with the campaign in my riding. It has been a farce. There never is much of a lawn sign campaign in Barrie. And with a third of the votes coming from Springwater and Oro-Medonte Townships, political signs are rare on rural lawns.
What annoys me is that some faceless person in Ottawa made the candidate decision for the local liberals. When I asked where the candidate came from, I heard that she was the only applicant. That is a serious condemnation of our local riding association. They were not doing their job. The only solace is that this is what Justin Trudeau wanted from our local riding—nothing but money.
What Justin Trudeau left us with is a modest campaign by a liberal candidate with tiny “excuse-me” signs here and there, one radio ad I heard and a you-vote card. The incumbent conservative must be laughing. He was a useless member of the city council and is equally useless in Ottawa. He votes as he is told and does nothing for his constituents.
To send this conservative back to Ottawa will be a disgrace but there is little hope. I do not even know the name of any of the other candidates. I hardly expect as much as 60 per cent of the eligible voters in this riding to go to the polls. There is no excitement, no challenge, no enthusiasm for any candidate.
Oh well, I should have complained ten years ago when I saw that my riding was being gerrymandered to benefit Patrick Brown and the conservatives.
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Copyright 2021 © Peter Lowry
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