Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:
True but, the Liberals have moved to the Left also just maybe not as much as the Conservatives went right. They are no longer the Centrist Party that once dominated Canadian Politics and the shift started in 68. Hell, anyone willing to form a coalition with the NDP to garner votes from the left isn`t really centrist anymore and this idea keeps coming up every election where Liberals plead that the two Parties are splitting the Left`s vote so that should be an indication that they aren`t as centrist as you`d like to assume.
But here's a question. Would you say this is an accurate description of the two major parties today?
And if it is then it`s pretty apparent that the Centrist parties are going the way of the DoDo.
I find that Canadian politics and pundits are frequently much more polarized than your average Johnny and Janey Canuck, who are themselves generally quite centrist. I've written about this extensively on this forum and elsewhere-pointing out how
political stereotypes frequently don't mesh with reality, noting how
there is much more common ground across regional and political lines than the likes of John Ibbitson like to pretend, noting how
centrism is one of our main political traits and describing how
Red Toryism remains understated, but very strong in Canada.Our first-past-the-post voting system makes it seem as though support for political parties is sharply divided among different regions-the Prairies are staunchly Conservative, the provinces east of Manitoba are or were solidly Liberal, etc. But writers as diverse as Roger Gibbins and Mel Hurtig have pointed out that the Liberals got a lot more support west of Ontario than their seat counts would indicate, while the old Reform Alliance had a lot more support east of Manitoba than their seat count would indicate. The quirks of the electoral system, once again, make it seem as though Canada is more divided along regional lines than it actually is.
Now,
look at what so many Canadians think of political parties these days. Somehow, I don't think it's a coincidence that this is happening at the same time that the political parties are seen as becoming more and more polarized.
The real problem, in my view, is how pricks like the infamous Craig Chandler
who sneered that people who come to Alberta should adapt our voting patterns or leave the province make everybody associated with them (Albertans, conservatives, etc.) look bad while far-leftists on Twitter
who frequently resort to vicious personal attacks make everyone associated with them (social activists, urbanites, etc.) look bad.
The worst guys on the right use the worst guys on the left to justify their own stances, and attack more moderate people in their own camp as wimps, traitors, sell-outs or what have you. The same thing applies in reverse with the worst guys on the left using the worst guys on the right to justify
their own stances.
Meanwhile, your average Canadian, the kind of person who gets a Tim Horton's on the way to work, who takes their kid to hockey practice on a Saturday, who owns their own business or does white- or blue-collar work is just as apt to vote Liberal, NDP, Conservative or Green depending on their own individual preferences. A lot of them also see the mudslinging and negative campaigning that is so common these days, and many of them tune out in disgust, thinking that the parties really only care about their own narrow bases.
Jonny is sadly right when he talks about how most people have tuned out politics these days, and a lot of that has to do with the assholes that make everybody involved in politics tarred with the same ugly brush.
But I have a more hopeful point to add-when I actually try and get my fellow Canadians interested in political issues, and actually explain them, I've gotten very positive reception, and they're at least willing to hear me out, even if they don't agree with me.
In that respect, the Canadians I've interacted with aren't much different than all of us on this forum...and that gives me cause for hope, and even for optimism, despite how grim things otherwise seem.