Introduction from the editor: What is a federal election?
A couple years back, we published an article, explaining to kids the very basics of an election. Below is a recap:
An election is when citizens of a country vote (choose) for who they want to lead their country. The election system varies through different countries. In Canada, we have three levels of elections. Municipal (we would choose a mayor), Provincial (we choose a Members of Provincial Parliament), and Federal (we choose Members of Parliament).
All MPPs and MPs belong to political parties. The political party with the most elected MPPs/MPs becomes the ruling party with its leader becoming the Premier of the province or the Prime Minister of Canada if it was a provincial or federal election.
In this issue, we are going to tell you more facts about the upcoming federal election of 2015. So you have a better idea of what’s going on and how our next prime minister would be chosen.
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You’ve probably heard of the upcoming 42nd Canadian federal election as it has garnered lots of media attention and many pundits have weighed in recently. But just to make sure you understand the complete process from dropping writs to presenting platforms to casting ballots, here are the essential things you should know October 19.
Ridings
There are 338 electoral districts, or “ridings,” across the country. These are weighted by population, though area serves as a factor as well. This is why the number of people in any of Mississauga’s five ridings outnumbers that of Nunavut, a single constituency (see glossary below), 40 to one.
Parties
For this election, about 50 federal parties have been granted the right to participate in this year’s election. A few of them are jokes, such as the Elephant or Rhinoceros, and most others either aren’t serious or have very little support.
The three biggest parties are: NDP, Conservative, and Liberal. (Read our past article on parties to know their different ideals and views.)
The Buildup
A few weeks before the actual polling day, the leader of Canada (or a representative) must visit the Queen and tell her to drop the writs – an official term for beginning an election campaign. As soon as this happens, each party must send a representative to every district they wish to contest. It usually does not symbolize much though, as some candidates will be out looking for votes far before.
The Campaigns
Whoever wins the riding becomes that region’s Member of Parliament (MP) and earns their party a seat. Whichever party garners the most seats becomes the Ruling Party of Canada, and their leader earns the prized moniker of Prime Minister (PM). The 338 elected MPs sit in the House of Commons during parliamentary meetings and assemblies, which is why the candidates love seats so much. Actually, 30 new seats have been added for 2015, up from 308 last time around. These came mostly in growing suburbs, with 15 in Ontario, 6 in Alberta, 6 in Saskatchewan, and 3 in British Columbia.
The Leaders
As was mentioned before, the leaders are very important to their party and they also get to be Prime Minister if their party wins. However, the path there is always very gruelling. First, the members must choose them to be their rightful flag-bearer, usually from a pool of many well-rounded, extremely qualified applicants. This process, though, is done by the parties independently, and they can choose for themselves how they wish to elect a leader.
The Politics
The leaders must participate in debates, and so are required to know their party’s platform (ideas for government) very well. They must also train to speak in front of a large crowd, whether supportive, sympathetic, angry, disgusted, or just plain wild. In addition, leaders often dictate a lot of change in their parties and may even reverse its direction or shake up the system.
Once all groups have decided the faces of their teams (they can choose not to have a leader), they usually settle down to a planning stage and go over their strategy. As soon as the writ drop is announced, and often before, employees and volunteers alike will be implementing these procedures and putting them into action.
The Background
The Conservative Party has ruled since 2011 with a majority mandate (most of the House is Conservative), and the New Democrats make up the Official Opposition (second-most seats) right now. The Liberals under Michael Ignatieff fell to an all-time low of 38 jurisdictions, and the Green Party clinched a spot in Parliament with their charismatic leader, Elizabeth May.
The Polls and the standing
Firstly, to “rank” the parties, you need to look at the polls, and that often means bias and fakely fluctuating trends. Secondly, there is no real way to measure power: do we do it by number of candidates? Seats? Incumbents? Status? Polling position? Conference invitations?
Of course, we are still going to look at polls – no matter their inaccuracy, they are the only good measure of each organization’s chances of winning.
So as it goes: the NDP (New Democratic Party of Canada) is currently in the lead, although it has dropped significantly since June. The Conservatives are second right now and have remained relatively steady in public opinion since four years ago, although enduring several scandals along the way. Liberals under Justin Trudeau had actually led by a large margin for almost a year, but have been quickly falling down during the last few months. Some pollsters now have them at 1% support and only 3 seats, so it’s virtually impossible for them to win now.
Next in line would be the Green Party. Although miniscule in terms of influence, they have gone up and down the bottom of researchers’ charts the last few years, reaching a peak of 18% in late 2013. They currently reside at 7 points and are projected to win 2 to 3 seats. The Bloc Quebecois (a Quebec-only party that supports independence) suffered huge losses in their home province last time, with their seat count dwindling to 4. Their leader, Gilles Duceppe, resigned shortly after.
The Issues
There are many important issues in this upcoming election, and especially this year, they will surely define the campaign. To highlight their importance, understand that leaders’ stances on single topics alone have won or lost most elections. Arguably the biggest of these so far is our faltering economy, which has garnered loads of media coverage and even gotten its own debate.
There are many more important subjects for 2015 that have caused sparks among the parties, the major ones being terrorism, jobs, child care, laws, climate change, and taxes. Others include security, immigration, the environment, infrastructure, defense, crime, pensions, conflicts, the Senate, war, rights, peace, government responsibility, safety, ideology, education, society, poverty, privacy, greenhouse gas emissions, and the wage gap.
I hope that you have learned a lot about the 42nd Canadian General Horserace from this article. If you want to educate yourself even more, do some research online or ask an expert! As well, read the news and you’ll find non-partisan reviews of all the contestants and their ideas. Be sure to check out the parties’ websites to discover their opinions and how they would make Canada better, or research some of your local candidates’ platforms, if you are intrigued. Last of all… don’t forget to vote!
Glossary
| Candidate | Person who represents his or her party and runs for the nomination in a riding. |
| Constituency | The voters in a riding whom their MP represents |
| Debate | Televised occasion during which leaders gather to discuss relevant issues of an election. |
| Election | Period during which a general populace votes for a representative or decision. |
| Elections Canada | Independent organization; organizes all activities related to Canadian federal elections. |
| Electoral District | see Riding. |
| Horserace | Sarcastic name for election. |
| House of Commons | A room in which 338 elected members discuss issues and vote on bills. |
| Incumbent | Sitting Member of Parliament during an election. |
| Majority | Government which retains confidence of more than half of Parliament; can pass bills easily. Also see Minority. |
| Mandate | Period during which a specific party or coalition rules a particular area. |
| Minority | Government which retains confidence of less than or half of Parliament; requires additional support to pass bills. Also see Majority. |
| MP | Member of Parliament represents his or her riding in Parliament. |
| OO | Official Opposition is the party with the second-largest number of seats. Also see Ruling Party of Canada. |
| Parliament | Informal term for House of Commons; may also be used to represent Upper Chamber of Canada’s Parliamentary Branch. |
| Party | Group of individuals who represent specific ideologies or policies; registered to contest in elections. |
| Platform | Collection of party’s positions on specific issues. |
| Poll | Survey during which respondents are asked to specify support for a party or organization. |
| Prime Minister | Leader of the Ruling Party of Canada; officially recognised as leader of Canada |
| Riding | One of 338 regions that elect one Member of Parliament each. |
| RPoC | Ruling Party of Canada has more seats than any other party; forms minority or majority government. Also see Official Opposition. |
| Seat | Place on which one of 338 Members of Parliament sit in Parliament. |
