Why I will vote NDP in the federal election

I will be voting for the NDP in the federal election on April 28. You might think that obvious, because I once served as an NDP Member of Parliament, but there is much more to it.

Given the threat posed to Canada by the rogue authoritarian regime of Donald Trump in the U.S., and the fear of how far to the right Pierre Poilievre might take Canada, there appears to be a stampede toward newly minted leader Mark Carney and the Liberals. I have heard from friends and acquaintances, some of them long-time supporters of the NDP, that in this election they intend to support the Liberals.

Vote carefully

I would urge them to think carefully before they vote. If they have an NDP incumbent, vote for that person. If any riding is realistically winnable for the NDP, vote for them. Do not fall into the trap of voting Liberal to beat the Tories in a riding where the Liberals don’t have a chance.

During the last election I contested in Saskatchewan, in 2004, Paul Martin barnstormed the country in the last days of the campaign telling people they must vote Liberal if they wanted to stop the Conservatives. But in my riding, the Liberals received only 16 per cent of the vote. Although we did not win in that election, the only way to defeat the Conservatives would have been to vote for the NDP.  

Be wary of saviours

Mark Carney is promoting himself as the leader best able to save us from Trump. I respect Carney’s skills and gravitas, but I am always wary of saviours.

I was a child when John Diefenbaker ran a messianic campaign in 1958 and won a landslide victory. By 1962, he was demoted to a minority government, and in 1963, he lost to the Liberals. I was a university student during Trudeaumania in 1968. Pierre Trudeau won the election handily, but by 1972 he was humbled and reduced to a minority government.

For some Canadians, Stephen Harper was the messiah, but two of his three governments were minorities, and by the time he lost in 2015, he was widely disliked. It was time for the sunny ways of Justin Trudeau, but the gloss wore off quickly. Like Harper, two of Trudeau’s three governments were minorities.

Positive reasons for voting NDP

I dismiss the messiah complex, but I also have positive reasons for voting NDP. One is that the NDP, and before them the CCF, and even before them the Ginger Group led by J.S. Woodworth, consistently advocated for policies that improved the lives of Canadians. These policies include seniors’ pensions, Medicare, the Canada Pension Plan, and a Foreign Investment Review Agency, the latter when David Lewis was NDP leader in the minority Trudeau government in 1972-74.

The NDP has been effective in realizing those gains on behalf of Canadians while they were partners in minority governments, but also outside of them.

Health care advocacy

As Saskatchewan’s premier after 1944, Tommy Douglas lobbied federal Liberals and his fellow premiers to provide comprehensive, single-payer public health care. They refused, so Douglas went it alone to create public hospital insurance in 1947. Ten years later Douglas convinced Prime Minister John Diefenbaker that the federal government should cost share public hospital care for the provinces.

The money that Saskatchewan received from Ottawa for hospital care allowed Douglas in 1962 to add tax-financed visits to the doctor to Saskatchewan’s public health care plan. Later, in a Lester Pearson minority government, the NDP, with Douglas as its federal leader, pushed the Liberals to implement Medicare for all of Canada. One can argue that it was a Liberal government that implemented Medicare, but it is equally true that it would not have happened without the NDP.  

Confidence and supply agreement

You might say, but what has the NDP done for us lately? Look no further than confidence and supply agreement with the Liberals from 2022 to 2024. The NDP caucus under the leadership of Jagmeet Singh used its leverage to obtain a public dental care program and the beginnings of public pharmacare. Dental care is the biggest public health care program since the 1960s, and again, it would not have happened without the NDP.    

Minority governments

Some people express distaste for minority governments. They shouldn’t. We have had thirteen since Confederation in 1867, five of them since the year 2000. Canadians have not obtained proportional representation officially, but they have voted strategically in a way that forces parties to work together.

Diligent NDP MPs

My final positive reason for voting NDP is that the party had some of the brightest, most ethical and hard-working members in the last parliament. They punch well above their numbers. The last caucus included stalwarts like Peter Julian, Leah Gazan, Brian Masse, and Alexandre Boulerice. Among the impressive candidates for this election are Mary Shortall and Avi Lewis. In Ottawa Centre, In Ottawa Centre, I will be voting for Joel Harden, who has moved to federal politics after two terms as an effective MPP in the provincial legislature.

Existential threat to Canada         

The phrase “existential threat” is frequently used to describe our situation. Trump, vice-president J. D. Vance and others in their odious regime are bullying us, using tariffs and economic sanctions. They are also threatening to take over Canada. Take them at their word, it could get worse.

We have watched Pierre Poilievre strutting around during the past two years on what looked like an inevitable victory march. He is the most right-wing conservative leader ever, the most juvenile, and disrespectful. He is a Trump wannabe, with bumper stickers for policy (“axe the tax”), and a petty mean mindedness toward his opponents (“Sell-out Singh”). There is a photo circulating of Poilievre’s campaign manager Jenny Byrne, wearing a MAGA hat.      

Trump’s stunning arrogance, cruelty, and mendacity, on full display since his re-election, has torpedoed Poilievre’s campaign. His twenty-point lead over the Liberals in the polls has evaporated. If this trend holds, Carney will be our next prime minister and the Liberals will be our government.

Carney’s résumé

Carney has a stellar establishment résumé. He has deep experience in economic and financial matters. He served as the governor of the Bank of Canada between 2008 and 2013, and of the Bank of England from 2013 to 2020.  

In the private sector, he spent much of his career with Goldman Sachs, where he became managing director of investment banking. But let’s look at this more closely.

In the lead up to the 2008 financial meltdown, Goldman Sachs was heavily involved in the U.S. subprime mortgage market, creating and selling risky mortgage-backed securities and other complex financial products. The company allegedly misled investors and profited from the collapse of the mortgage market. Carney, it must be said, had left the Goldman Sachs by that time.

After his role at the Bank and Canada, and later the Bank of England, Carney served as chair and head of impact investing at Brookfield Asset Management. In December 2024,   Brookfield moved the company’s headquarters to the U.S.

The common good

In his private sector involvements, Carney’s goal has been to deliver value for shareholders. That does not necessarily equate to serving the common good. The market has no conscience. Social democrats work to tame its excesses, and they would do that again in a Carney led government.        

Team Canada approach

The pitch by the Liberals is that Carney is best equipped among the leaders to stand up to Trump. I believe that is true, but it does not negate a Team Canada approach. New Democrats work well in minority governments, and in opposition. They would provide an important social justice and environmental lens on the road to the vigorous, compassionate, and independent Canada that we must build.