, associate professor and founding fellow, MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance,听.
Western media has been abuzz with speculation that voters want to . But as recent suggest, they seem to prefer doing so by rewarding alternatives that seek progressive policy options or 鈥� if that seems too radical 鈥� at least creatively offers something new at the ballot box.
If we look across the pond, there has been a , the first (and not likely the last) pandemic in recent memory, continental war in Europe and the existential and catastrophic climate emergency.
In Canada, we also must add the largely with Indigenous nations and people, more extreme , the and societal divisiveness stemming from the so-called movement.
It鈥檚 been a busy half a decade, and these are just the most mainstream of issues.
Exhausted, angry
Western voters in recent weeks have demonstrated they鈥檙e exhausted, angry and frustrated with incumbents 鈥� but they鈥檝e also indicated that when offered a choice between far-right ideology and policies that address their struggles, they鈥檒l opt for the latter.
The recent French are an example 鈥� pundits all predicted an for the far-right , despite its legacy of racism and promise to distance France from the European Union.
After the first ballot, it seemed the populist party would accomplish this feat 鈥� but then other parties on the second ballot by agreeing not to run candidates against each other in hundreds of ridings.
The question posed to the electorate essentially shifted from simply: 鈥淎re you angry?鈥� to a more nuanced: 鈥淲ho is best placed to address your anger? The far right? Or a progressive coalition that wants to focus on liveable incomes, a cap on food inflation, pay increases for public sector workers and a wealth tax on the richest?鈥�
It wasn鈥檛 magic that led to the unprecedented victory for the leftist coalition, it was paired with the creative decision to work together ahead of the vote. Voters 鈥� 鈥� tend to be less partisan and much more outraged by the failure of incumbents to act meaningfully on the direct and existential circumstances shaping their lives.
Offering something new
What happened in France isn鈥檛 necessarily because people are left-wing 鈥� the rise of the far right in the EU elections that preceded the French elections . The left alliance in France worked hard ahead of the polls to present policy that spoke to people鈥檚 needs regardless of their political views.
As France Insoumise politician recently explained:
鈥淭hat we were able to rally around a governing program devoted to responding to the social and ecological emergency is what made this alliance possible鈥t is aimed at responding to the needs of the French people and there is massive support for the measures it includes.鈥�
听
Trusting voters ahead of polls arguably explains this shift.
It was a different story across the English Channel, even if it also led to the most crushing rebuke of the British Conservative Party in centuries. A massive majority government was handed to the Labour Party because the ancient first-past-the-post electoral system does not provide much room for creativity.
The system delivered Labour than they would have received under a system of proportional representation.
Canadian politicians have much to learn from studying these elections. The negative message of anger and fear that often characterizes western right-wing populism is good at confirming with incumbents, but as France shows us, that populist anger can be channelled into creative policy ideas that inspire votes.
The agreement between the Liberals and New Democratic Party is interesting, but it wasn鈥檛 built on trust with voters because it was cobbled together after an election. Coalition-building and co-operation ought to be offered to voters ahead of time, as they are in other countries.
鈥楽ame old choices鈥�
Polls can鈥檛 really capture this dynamic, because they only offer snapshots of what people think in a particular moment, and those moments in western democracies are usually filled with apathy and dissatisfaction with the same old choices.
The Conservative Party of Canada isn鈥檛 doing much more than talking about axing a small carbon tax that鈥檚 largely .
But the Conservatives and their leader, Pierre Poilievre, seem to thrive on 鈥� anger may be enough, but maybe not when it鈥檚 met by an alternative that actually addresses economic justice, reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and the devastation of runaway climate change.
Such an option does not yet exist in Canada, but there鈥檚 plenty of time to build it. If parties choose to respect voters鈥� intelligence, Canadians might have something worth voting for in the next federal election.
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