During last year’s U.S. election there was this fear that democracy itself was on the ballot. I never fully bought into that narrative because I have faith in the spirit of freedom that is embedded in the American psyche and the checks and balances that is the foundation of their system of government. This current President is going to test their test democracy, but he won’t break it. His authoritative nature will be his undoing.
I do fear for democracy for another country I am a citizen - Canada. As a former British colony, we don’t have the same history of people who said “give me liberty, or give me death”. We went down a different path and held on to the British parliamentary system that doesn’t fully embrace power to the people. Our elected house of the commoners is subordinate to an unelected Senate. While the influence of the upper chamber has diminished over the years, the fact that it continues to be accepted is a stark difference between the electorate in both countries. Americans mock Canadians socialist tendencies, most Canadians embrace them.
Right now the Liberal Party, which now occupies the entire headspace of left leaning voters, will continue its master plan of growing the size and influence of the government. Voters who want to limit that power and influence will face worsening odds of ever wresting power from those who are dependent on the government. Just look at NDP voters who have abandoned their party to join the Liberals in the hopes of stopping the Conservatives from winning. The Green party even decided not to run candidates in ridings where they thought their presence would increase the chance of Conservative victory. This all the more shocking with the Liberals ditching their leftist leader and now adopting many popular policies from the Conservative platform. Liberals now seem to support tax cuts and resource development, but they have not abandoned their key doctrine, big government. The Liberals have committed to pouring money into state media and continuing tax subsidies to all media so their influence on the electorate will continue to grow. The Liberals say they will cut your taxes now, but they have made no mention of cutting the size of Canada’s bloated bureaucracy. I fully expect Carney to continue the Trudeau era strategy to add thousands and thousands of government jobs to ensure that even more future voters are indebted to the state.
Some may push back at this argument and say that if the government is bad enough, people won’t vote for them. That has not been the case according to the polls in the 2025 election. Even many Liberals concede the past ten years have been terrible. This government opened the door to immigration without building the infrastructure first. Their record on crime is abysmal. They have kept our wealth in the ground while taxing us more. Look at the encampments that have popped up all over Canada on their watch. My kids don’t even want to live here anymore. It’s telling that the rich celebs endorsing Carney, don’t live here either. The Liberals and their new leader aren’t defending their record, they're running away from it and admitting their mistakes. Only six months ago everyone seemed to agree that this was one of the worst governments ever and yet today they are on the cusp of being re-elected.
It is true that voters don’t like to change teams during a crisis. Former American President FDR served three terms in office during the depression and war before Americans set term limits to encourage democratic change. The threats by Trump are now the backdrop during this election, and many are pointing to this being the reason why more Canadians aren’t embracing change. If this is true, expect the ruling government to benefit from an even more uncertain world. Our last election was held during covid and I expect that another crisis will arrive in time for the next election. The fact that our system allows governments to trigger an election when it is in their political advantage, like Ford did in Ontario, would allow the Liberals to once again time their re-election during the height of the next threat.
Others will defend the status quo, by saying that it is the Conservative who are to blame for not getting enough Canadians to want change. But that party has listened to Canadians in past elections and changed leaders. It doesn’t seem to matter. Back in 2019 the Conservatives ran a social conservative, Andrew Scheer from out West and lost the election, but did win the popular vote by over 200k. In the next election in 2021, they ran a more moderate, red-tory Ontario conservative in Erin O'Toole. Once again they lost, dropping a percentage point in support, but still won the popular vote by over 200k. Now in 2025 they are running a socially progressive, fiscal conservative born out west, but representing an Ontario riding, in leader Pierre Poilievre. With the left coming together to ensure the Conservatives don’t win, I am not sure who wins the popular vote this time, but I can assure you that the number of people who vote Conservative will break records. If the NDP were a relevant option this time around, the Conservatives would be winning this election in a landslide.
I write this to persuade the dying breed of independent voters that a thriving democracy needs change. There are far too many Canadian ABC (anyone but Conservative) voters out there who will never vote for any party that would restore balance and provide a check on the growth of the state. Adding another five years of Liberal reign will ensure that there are many more of them who will vote accordingly.
I have voted for Mulroney, Chretien, Harper and even Trudeau once to keep the government honest, balanced and earnest. In another time, I could support Carney. My decision to vote Conservative right now has little to do with him. If we’re going to remain a strong democracy then our government must be held to account. If we don’t do it now the institutional barriers in maintaining the status quo will only grow. The risk of Canada’s natural governing red party, becoming the only governing party is too great.
Thriving industrial democracies must maintain a proper balance between public and private sector control. Liberals continued spending to compensate for a lack of business productivity and development is digging this country a deep hole. If Canadians allow the Liberals to keep digging it won't be just the economy that is in trouble.
Written By Gregory Cawsey
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