...And Another Thing!

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From the top: Stephen Harper, Michael Ignatieff and Jack Layton. (PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES)

Since the very beginning of this federal election campaign — in some cases, even earlier — groups of Canadians have been conspiring to keep Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservatives from winning a majority government should they be re-elected on May 2. (And here I feel obliged to report that, if all the polls conducted thus far are even remotely accurate, a Conservative victory of some sort is actually likely. I’m not saying that to scare you; rather, to remind you of the situation we’re dealing with.)
   
Catch 22 Harper Conservatives (catch22campaign.ca) was the first website I was made aware of — so named for the 22 days that Harper prorogued Parliament back in 2010 — and is one of several similar online campaigns.
   
Basically, Catch 22 and others are advocating for widespread strategic voting. Those involved with the "cross-country, grassroots, multi-partisan, pro-democracy, volunteer campaign" have identified target ridings throughout Canada — 37 at last count — in which an opposition candidate has a shot at defeating the incumbent Conservative MP, provided voters cast their ballots as a coordinated, united front instead of splitting the vote between all candidates running.
   
Last I checked, only one Winnipeg riding, St. Boniface, had made the list. The seat is currently held by Conservative Shelly Glover  and voters have been urged to cast a ballot for Liberal challenger Raymond Simard.
   
The technology employed by those involved in such online efforts — through social media in particular — may be new, but the tactic has been used in Canadian politics for decades, says Chris Adams, an adjunct professor of politics at the University of Winnipeg and the vice president of Probe Research, Inc.
   
"The rules of the game (i.e., Canada’s first-past-the-post system) mean that, if you have a fragmented opposition to one party, you have to find some way to link together," he says.
   
"This is an old game."
   
Fair enough — but is it a game that will work to keep Conservatives out of power?
   
Certainly, voting strategically can be effective. However, I asked Adams whether it wouldn’t be more worthwhile for those determined to defeat the Conservatives to reach out to non-voters — I’m looking at you, 18- to 24-year-olds — and bring them on board, rather than spend time rallying together those already engaged.
   
Good campaigns do both, he says. However, with respect to getting out the vote, Adams says certain votes are far easier to get than others. (Of note, he says easy-to-get votes are those cast by people over 55 and property owners, while hard-to-get ones come from young people who haven’t voted before or who believe their vote won’t matter.)
   
"Sometimes it takes all your efforts just to get the easy ones out," he points out, noting campaign staffers can only do so much recruiting when they’re working with limited time, energy and resources.
   
Still, lest we all start wallowing in cynicism, Adams also notes that no matter what you’re trying to say, elections are great opportunities to have people listen to you.
   
"It’d be a shame if everybody thought they couldn’t get their voice out during an election."

•   •   •
   
Did you watch the leaders’ debates? According to CTV — one member of the broadcast consortium that plans the events each election — April 12’s English-language debate drew a total audience of 3.85 million people across Canada; an increase of 26% compared to 2008. Furthermore, more than 10.65 million Canadians watched at least some of the debate — proving that, contrary to what we keep hearing, Canadians might care about politics after all. It’s a promising sign that bodes well for an increased voter turnout come Election Day. Come on, people: all the cool kids are going to exercise our democratic right on May 2; don’t you want to join us?

•   •   •
   
Regular readers of this column will recall that last week I made a brief mention of vote mobs — an emerging phenomena whereby large groups of citizens, usually university students, congregate in public and make a spectacle of themselves. They’re like flash mobs, only with a purpose — in this case, to engage youth voters and encourage them to vote. (Leadnow, a youth-driven online campaign founded in 2010 to inspire democratic participation, has been collecting videos from past vote mobs held across the country; you can check them out at www.leadnow.ca.)
   
If these things sound like fun to you, I’ve got good news: it seems Winnipeg will be hosting its own vote mob at noon on Wednesday, April 27, at the University of Winnipeg.
   
Given that vote mobs are supposed to be spontaneous events — at least in theory — I’m not sure how much information to provide here.
   
Suffice it to say that, if you want to take part, you can find more details on Facebook by searching for "Vote Mob Winnipeg."