Canadians head to polls on Oct. 21. (Elections Canada)

By Dale Boyd

Osoyoos Times

The writ has dropped to a resounding “meh” from Canadians.

An Angus Reid poll released last week showed 63 per cent of respondents have an unfavourable view of Prime Minister Trudeau, and before Conservatives jeer, 52 per cent held unfavourable views of Andrew Scheer.

It would seem I am not alone on the peak of cynic mountain.

Devotees are entrenched deeper than ever in red and blue camps hosting wars of words over high-minded values, but if I’m reading the tea leaves (polls) correctly, I’m not alone in being fed up with the lifetime politicians on either side of the aisle.

Surprising this time around are the projections from CBC’s Poll Tracker, Angus Reid and 338 Canada which have the Green Party polling at or around 10 per cent nationwide and holding somewhat steady. A big projected leap from the 3.5 per cent of the vote they were able to scrounge in 2015. Since the votes have to come from somewhere, the NDP share has seen a shrink of the market share with some MPs dropping out of running an orange campaign under Jagmeet Singh. 

While they are just polls, and should only be taken as the small glimpse of a sample size at a moment in time that they are, it does beg some interesting thought as election season looms.

• Read more: Election 2019: What issue deserves more attention?

Could a mosaic vote make political parties *gasp* work together? While the history of minority and coalition governments in Canada is fraught with underhanded politics and lessons learned, Canadians still have more than two parties to choose from on the ballot. I know there are a lot of private conversations about “throw-away votes,” and I would argue there is no such thing.

The Tories have doubled down on divisive rhetoric, specifically dividing Canadians from one man: Justin Trudeau. It is a strategy playing the entrenched and emotional polarization of today’s politics. That anti-establishment rhetoric is not without some merit. You won’t find me defending the Liberal government, and further, you won’t find me praising the baffling media bailout, which puts funding decisions in the hands of way too few people and has already led to accusations that the media has been bought by the Liberals (though no money has yet changed hands, we must come cheap).

Personally, I’m grateful Canada has a multi-party system and we aren’t forced into one of two boxes like our neighbours down south. I know no political party is going to stand up to advocate for a minority government, but imagine for a second, in this day of fractured and divisive and sometimes violent or insane politics if Canadians had a minority government.

Not just a majority a few seats short, but true co-operation among parties contingent on the participation of different views, backgrounds and political affiliations.

I have longed believed if we all truly voted for the person we think best represents us, we would see more diverse and possibly more effective governance. Maybe not, but something to chew on for the “vote against” crowd, or cynical non-voters (your non-vote is a vote for the winner). 

You can call me wide-eyed in my optimism, or an idiot, and I acknowledge Canadians voting with their values is a pipe dream, but at least those are legal now.