Summary:
Political culture in Canada is much different than the political culture in most other countries in the world. Canada is a nation in which its wide range of political views and ideas cannot be defined with one word, or even a single phrase.
Political culture in Canada is much different than the political culture in most other countries in the world. Canada is a nation in which its wide range of political views and ideas cannot be defined with one word, or even a single phrase. To describe the politics that surround the people in the worlds thirty fifth most populous country would require quite an in depth and behind the scenes view of the nature of our country. To truly understand or even begin to comprehend the political struggles each and every able bodied voter in Canada must go through is nearly unfeasible. There are many things, words, or people that may try and define Canada and its political culture between the 1990's and present, but to be truly honest one must come to the conclusion that unless you intend to write more than a few measly sentences, you may not even come close. Now when many people try to describe the political culture of Canada they think of three things that have shaped the politics of our nation recently, the separatist movement in Quebec, the emergence of conservatism in the west, and the blow the Liberals have taken due to the emergence of the Sponsorship scandal and the Gomery inquiry. These three things, all encompassed into a single nation of politics is what shapes our nation today, and maybe even defines the term of Canadian political culture.
Since the days when the first English - French confrontation happened in the recently discovered Canada, political culture in Quebec has always been different from the rest of the country. The French-Canadians have always been looking for and perhaps maybe pushing towards a separate and sovereign country of their own. They propose that "With a sovereign state, the people of Quebec will be better equipped to foster their own economic, social, and cultural development" . This political culture is something that definitely rubs the federal government the wrong way. The proposed policies of Quebec and its people clash with the federal policies of the rest of the country and that is one of the many reasons why the Quebec government strongly believes that they would be better off as a sovereign and politically independent state. After the referendum of October 30th, 1995 showed that even by a slim margin (50.58% No - 49.42% Yes ) separatism was not strong enough to want to separate from Canada, Quebec separatists have receded into the shadows somewhat. But with the resurgence of a political fiasco such as the sponsorship scandal coming off the wave of the "No" victory in 1995, the separatist movement has made a comeback and a recent poll indicates that "at or near 50 per cent " of Quebeckers support the separatist movement. This is, in turn "fuelled by Quebeckers' anger toward federal Liberal politicians and the perception that wasting millions on a mismanaged and partisan publicity stunt was Ottawa's only answer to Quebec's discontent ." And to top it all off "Mr. Justice John Gomery's report confirms that Quebeckers are right to be angry and, therefore, in the short term, no sea change is to be expected in the political situation in Quebec. If an election was called today, the Bloc Québécois would sweep the province, probably winning a few more seats than its current 54 (out of 75)." This just goes to show the unique view that Quebeckers have about their own political culture.
Along with Quebec having a unique view when it comes to the political culture of Canada, there is another major group of provinces that stand out when you travel to the other side of Canada. Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan or "the West" (as they are sometimes referred to) are three provinces that all each have their own, unique view of political culture. As a recent poll indicates, 45% of voters in the west would vote Conservative, while 25% would vote Liberal, 20% would vote NDP, and 10% to the Green Party . Compare this to central Canada (Ontario, Manitoba, and the Maritimes) who would still vote 44% Liberal, 30% Conservative, 20% NDP, and 6% Green . What does this tell you about the western economies? Are they better than that of central and eastern Canada? Why is the west is so committed to being conservative? It's because they are prospering so much more than the rest of the country that what the federal government (Liberal) is proposing to do does not help their economy as much as the Conservatives will. Alberta is a prime example with its zero deficit, and its ever growing surplus from the booming oil industry. What more could a wealthy province like that ask from the government"
Recently there has been quite a definitive reason to show why the west is more right leaning. In a recent interview Prime Minister Paul Martin said that the federal government "had the right to sell the oil found and refined in Alberta." As we know, this is the main source of revenue for Alberta and the driving force of the Albertan economy. What kind of province would want to be dictated by a government who wants to take away their main source of revenue? This is just another of the reasons why the booming west is such a conservative leaning group. Another good example of the government letting down the western part of Canada is the infamous softwood lumber dispute. The government clearly doesn't favour the west as they barely make attempts to solve the lumber dispute with the US. This dispute is causing huge financial losses, is hurting the booming BC lumber industry (one of its number one industries), and also having a giant effect on the British Columbian economy. If the Liberal government ever wants to make up lost ground, it should start with the softwood lumber dispute. As well as trying to take away the oil from Alberta, and pushing aside the softwood lumber trade issue, Mr. Martin is even trying to halt oil trade to the US. In a recent trip to Wall Street "the Prime Minister slammed the U.S. for continuing to impose duties on Canadian softwood lumber... hinting that Canada might hold back oil from the U.S. as punishment for the softwood lumber dispute ." This isn't 5th grade Mr. Martin, just because someone doesn't want something from you, doesn't mean you have to take something from them. What kind of good would this do to Alberta's economy, Canada's economy, or even the trade relationship that we have with the United States. This Liberal government is treating the west horribly and combined with the sponsorship scandal, have turned their backs on the voters out west and across this nation. This is why the west has gone Conservative, and maybe even decided to put in a change to their political culture.
But why did the almost whole political culture of Canada change so quickly so fast? Why did a largely Liberal Canada in the 2000 election (41% of the votes) give up 5% of its votes (approx 1 million voters) and come down to 36% in 4 short years ? What kind of thing could change the minds of that many dedicated voters so quickly? The answer is simple and concise, the sponsorship scandal. It was a political fiasco that rocked the entire nation and very undeniably jumbled many peoples view of the political culture of Canada. As the newspaper confirms, "the sponsorship scandal has eroded Canadians' confidence and trusts in the government. The percentage of people who said the Liberals were doing a poor job jumped to 46 per cent from 33 per cent after the release of a scathing auditor's report on the affair, shows the poll obtained by The Canadian Press ." This report clearly shows how much the Liberal's sponsorship scandal affected the voters' choices. The fact that the federal government would use and abuse millions of dollars in Canadian taxpayers' money is absolutely ludicrous. The sponsorship scandal, as Jean-Marc Leger of Leger Marketing puts it "tarnished the Liberal band here in Quebec...people like Paul Martin, they trust Paul Martin but they don't trust the Liberal party ." As most of the population can tell, trust for the Liberals went on a sharp decline as soon as Auditor General Sheila Fraser raised the sponsorship irregularities in her report months before the 2004 election. Along with the scandal, even respect for the government has been lost in the wake of this affair. As the recent September 2005 British Columbia teachers strike shows, even when the Liberal government stepped in and declared their job action illegal the British Columbia Teachers Federation (BCTF) didn't budge. The BCTF held out from the government and were fined $500,000 for doing so but still did not return to work. Even a simple disobeying of the government can show weakness and the loss of respect that many say was brought upon by the sponsorship scandal. Trust has been broken by the government and respect has diminished steadily, people are beginning to show signs of disapproval and even utter disgust for the people held in office. This is most possibly the key ingredient in what is, and could continue to be a massive change in the political culture of Canada.
Considering what has happened to politics in Canada since the narrow defeat of the referendum over Quebec sovereignty in October 1995, the emergence of the sponsorship scandal. There have also been a few federal elections, and some parties taking leaps while others fall back. We've definitely seen a lot of political lunacy in the last 10 years, maybe even enough to last us a lifetime. Quebec and the separatist movements were defeated narrowly in 1994, but as the federal government is showing signs of weakness, the approval for separation still hangs around 50%. If Canada doesn't watch out, we could lose 7.5 million citizens to the newest country of Quebec. And as the west continues to grow wealthier and stronger, they will continue to pull away from the feds and vote mainly right wing. There are many ploys against the Liberals as more than one party tries to take down the already wounded beast that has become our government. As the Partié De Québécois prepares for a comeback, and the Liberals try to regain lost ground, the whole of Canada's political future is up in the air. Day after day the minority Martin government is threatened to be torn down in shambles by a vote of non confidence by the Conservative and New Democratic Parties. How long will Canada's future hang on a tiny thread until we finally find a leading party worthy of taking on the task of commanding this great nation we call Canada. The sponsorship scandal is a dagger in the taxpayers back, but only one party may return the murderous favour. Who will it be? Our political culture may soon change, but no one can predict the future. Only the voters can decided what should happen, and come election time I will be in line with all of them waiting to try and change my country and my political culture for the better.
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