Federal NDP and Liberals being dishonest
The recent defeat of a non-confidence vote in the Canadian House of Commons reveals more about the desperate state of affairs on Canada’s political left than it does about confidence in the Liberal Party of Canada. In the race to “out left” the NDP, Trudeaus’ Liberals have scooped their territory and become the new voice of leftist politics as well as the NDP’s political masters.
Consider the following: the NDP under Jagmeet Singh have been reduced from official opposition to fourth place. In Quebec, they were reduced from their 2011 high of 59 seats to one. They have dropped from 44 seats in parliament to 24. They have been reduced to near bankruptcy on occasions and still have fundraising problems. Several questions present themselves as a result.
First, was Singh and the echoing spirit of extreme leftism plus the social mantra he represents worth it? He may be dapper but he hasn’t delivered. “Singh or Swim” was a popular expression in NDP circles before the election, and it seems to have been borne out. People should be looking at Singh’s competence not his suits.
Second, what do we really have on the left? What we appear to have is an unofficial super left party made up of a coalition of the Liberals and the NDP that has united to strategically keep others out of office and push Trudeau’s agenda. Perhaps we should be more honest and just give it a new name.
Much like the despicable practice of strategic voting, designed to dishonestly keep one group or another out of power, the new left wing coalition of Canada seems to involve a beholden NDP, now a rump party of the Liberals, outmanoeuvred by Trudeau and scrambling to keep its identity by going further and further to the extreme left, all the while being subtly directed by the Liberals.
What a shame this is for Canada. We should have distinct parties so that Canadians have a choice. The unofficial left wing coalition that the Liberal/NDP has become doesn’t help or serve this purpose and it doesn’t help Canadians. Politics is a dirty game, but it should at least pay homage to some form of outward honesty.
Perry Foster
Duncan