If you're a political junkie, 2024 has been a great year for elections and promises even more before the year is out.
So far this year we've seen the defeat of the Tories in the United Kingdom in favour of Labour, the election of Mexico's first female and Jewish president in Claudia Sheinbaum and dozens of other crucial elections across the planet. In fact, this year 100 countries are going to the polls with close to four billion people eligible to vote. The outcome of these elections will be shaping our world for the next few years if not decades.
Closer to home, of course, we have had our own share of election news. Earlier this year the District of 100 Mile House held a by-election after Coun. Ralph Fossum stepped down. In the resulting race, Coun. Marty Norgren took victory with 86 of the 228 ballots cast. Not the most dramatic of elections, certainly, but one that will impact 100 Mile House residents the most locally.
On Saturday, Sept. 21, meanwhile, the B.C. provincial election officially kicked off as John Rustad's Conservative Party of B.C. seeks to unseat David Eby's B.C. NDP Party. It's already been a dramatic campaign before the race even started with Kevin Falcon effectively killing the B.C. United Party, formerly the Liberals, following several MLAs, including Cariboo Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerskon, defecting to the Conservatives.
That move has turned the election from a race between a right-wing, centre-right and centre-left party into a two-way race between conservatism and liberal centrism. Which one will end up winning is still up in the air, but locally Doerkson will be defending his seat from Michael Moses of the B.C. NDP and John Kidder of the B.C. Green Party. One hopes that whoever ends up forming government in Victoria will be able to more adequately address concerns surrounding housing, healthcare and the environment in a way that benefits average British Columbians.
Then of course there is the elephant in the world of politics, the United States. It seems America is constantly in an election cycle of some sort or the other, especially since Donald Trump entered the world of politics. This year has seen seismic shifts in the race already with President Joe Biden failing spectacularly in the first debate, Trump nearly being assassinated by a lone gunman, Biden dropping out and endorsing vice-president Kamala Harris, all followed by a recent 'debate' between Harris and Trump that was about as chaotic and thin on real policy as you would expect.
To quote Vladimir Lenin: “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” That certainly has been the case in the US this past summer.
The outcome of the US election will be consequential for all of America's close allies, especially Canada. New economic policies can and will impact our inflation and industries, while the way the next president handles the current geopolitical tensions such as the Ukrainian War and Israel will have ramifications for us all.
If all that wasn't enough, there is even the chance, however unlikely, that Canada herself may be returning to the polls this year. With NDP leader Jagmeet Singh pulling his support for Justin Trudeau's Liberal Government earlier this month, there's a chance the next time Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre decides to call a vote of no confidence it could succeed and we'll go into a snap election.
Whether or not Trudeau will be able to win for a fourth time after almost a decade as Prime Minister seems unlikely, but then he's surprised me before. At this point I almost wish it does happen, then we can get all our voting out of the way for a while and our politicians can actually, I don't know, govern? I think that's what they're meant to do.
I suppose in the meantime, I'll see you at the polls one way or another.
