Well likely by now the word is out – on the worst kept secret in Canada.

Election day is thirty-six days away set for September twentieth. This article is not about stats or predictions about who wins or majority vs minority. It’s about some of the things that get interrupted when an election is called. It is about a series of questions about public safety and how we can do this safely in a pandemic and how best to proceed.

The first question is why now? With the future of governments uncertainty in a minority a governing party is going to strike while the iron is hot. COVID thought to be on the wane is giving us a run for our money, literally. It brings a fourth wave of uncertainty, economically and socially. Uncertainty brings with it fear and doubt and presides like a negative cloud over everything. Harsh decisions perhaps have to be made before this ends and regardless who ends up with the mantle of power before it’s over the government of the day will likely face severe criticism for their actions.
Holding an election in a pandemic brings with it a number of challenges as well.

Do we line up at polling stations or should we introduce voting by mail or on line voting?

There is another factor most of us don’t consider or don’t realize that takes place when the writ is dropped. First all proposed legislative bills moving forward are dropped from the order paper and have to be restructured and reintroduced at the next sitting of the new parliament. Issues like affordable childcare, pharmacare, proposed cost sharing of new programs and proposals by organizations to enter into agreements with the government are put on hold during the election campaign.
This too creates uncertainty and a backlog of work at a future date.

Then there is the campaigning issue. Will we see more virtual events? How will crowd sizes be managed or enforced? This presents a problem for newcomers to politics from a recognition standpoint. Being prepared is the key. In the case of a minority parliament everyday is a day to be prepared. Minority governments have a short shelf life as a rule. I think it will be interesting to see how innovative candidates will deal with the challenges before them.

One of the biggest unknowns is, will this be an election about fear and insults or will we actually have a series of policy debates about serious ideas? Only time will tell. During this election I hope to shed some light on the road less traveled as in what is effected by the disruption of governance and how it might effect you and I as citizens. Perhaps look at how people are thinking in other regions of the country and what that might mean for us in our region or locally.

My intent is to leave the hardcore issues and prognostications to others. I will give some up to date polling to visualize trending however.

Having said that I think the scene is set to produce a different kind of election where through discussion and ideas we might even see some constructive debate and for many of us consider thinking that take us out of our personal comfort zone.

Fred Steele