Image Credit: The Canadian Press

By Ashley Legassic

FEDERAL ELECTION 2019

LEGASSIC: Can we finally start voting for who we actually want to represent us?

Oct 13, 2019 | 7:55 AM

I THINK THIS MAY be the year that young people toss the idea of “strategic voting” out the window, and it’s long overdue.

The last — and only time — either the Conservatives or Liberals didn’t have power was in 1917 when the Unionist Party formed government. Even then, the party was made up of Conservatives and former Liberals.

Every time there’s a federal election in our country, the emphasis is put on getting the young vote. This year, millennials will make up the largest voting bloc and will have the opportunity to bring significant representation to the polls — if they vote.

This time around, they’re more likely than ever to go to the polls. Climate change is one of the most important issues for voters in the 2019 federal election.

This means millennials are seriously considering ditching the strategic vote idea — which is essentially trying to pool votes against the party you don’t want to form government — instead of voting for who you actually want to represent you.

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A lot of Canadians do this — especially those who lean more to the left of the political spectrum.

Full disclosure: I’m an undecided voter at this point. I’m open and willing to hear ideas from parties and leaders that will actually improve my life and our country, party politics aside.

If you place yourself in the middle or left of the political spectrum, you have three choices for the major parties: Liberals, NDP or Greens.

During the 2015 federal election, a grassroots movement started in the hopes of ousting former Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Conservatives, by encouraging those who planned to vote Green or NDP to instead vote Liberal. It worked.

In this week’s English Federal Leaders Debate, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau often spoke over each other to the point that the audience couldn’t understand what either of them was saying.

“What we have here is Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Scheer arguing over who is worse for Canada. We have to start talking about who’s best for Canada.”

That’s a quote from NDP leader Jagmeet Singh after one of the pair’s verbal battles.

Shouldn’t we, as voters, be voting for who is best for us instead of who’s slightly better than (in our view) the worst option?

Green Party leader Elizabeth May said during the night: “None of the problems… we face are going to be solved if we keep arguing and fighting with each other, whether it’s within Parliament in our different parties or between the federal government, the provinces and the territories.”

I didn’t run a scientific focus group and I didn’t conduct polls, but I can tell you from conversations I’ve had and social media posts I’ve seen from millennials, the honeymoon phase for Trudeau is over, and a lot of young people don’t want to vote Conservative.

They’re also less than impressed with the constant mudslinging during this campaign.

In past elections, a vote for the NDP or Green Party would be considered “a waste of a vote.” But how long do we keep telling ourselves that before the majority actually starts voting for who they want to represent them?

Maybe this is the year.