Despite our proximity to and interdependence with our southern neighbours, Canadians tend to be a little smug about a lot of thing including our politics.
Yes, we have our own problems, but at least we’re not them.
One of the worst aspects of American politics is the endless election campaign (a.k.a., permanent campaigning). No sooner has the last election ended than the new one has begun.
In 2007, the Seattle Times staff wrote an article arguing the endless election campaign serves a purpose, but nevertheless began with:
“In Britain, Canada and other civilized places, national elections are often called, run and concluded within six weeks.”
That may have been true in 2007, but it certainly is not anymore.
Their argument that the endless campaign serves a purpose because running a prolonged national campaign demonstrates competence, builds party consensus and democratic legitimacy and “satisfies the American instinct for egalitarianism” doesn’t really fly for this country because our systems are so different.
Nevertheless, we are on our path to permanent campaigning. Remember those big inter-election government funding cheques with the Conservative Party of Canada logo prominently displayed on them during Stephen Harper’s second term?
How about the cardboard cutouts of our current “selfie prime minister” used by the Liberals at events Trudeau couldn’t attend?
And then there are the current opposition leader’s ongoing campaign-style rallies.
How did we get here?
Annie Lennox Esselment, a political science professor at Waterloo University points to two major factors in an article for Policy Options, a digital magazine produced by the Institute for Research on Public Policy.
The first is a decline in loyalty among voters. Long gone are the days “I’m a Liberal ‘cause my daddy was a Liberal and his daddy was a Liberal.”
Finding, courting, convincing and getting those undecided voters to the polls takes a lot more time and money than a six week campaign affords.
Secondly, changes to campaign financing rules under Jean Chrétien then Stephen Harper shifted fundraising focus from major stakeholders (corporations, unions etc.) to public subsidies and then to individual citizens.
Perhaps it’s not as important how we got there as how do we get back?
Esselment also has some ideas on this, but I will stick to why we should want to go back.
Permanent campaigning, aside from simply being annoying degrades our democratic institutions. If the drive of politicians between elections is winning the next election instead of providing good government, we get bad government.
And that does not just apply to the governing party. Our system requires the opposition to be fundamentally invested in the process of governing and polls have shown Canadians want that cooperation between elections.
The endless campaign is also polarizing. The constant barrage of scapegoating, negativity and cynicism is creating an us versus them mentality. In everybody’s quest to be more Canadian than the next guy, we’re forgetting we have more in common than what separates us.