Election 2000: Chretien's Third Majority

Home , Doug Christie (lawyer), Elinor Caplan, Jason Kenney, Joe Clark, Stockwell Day

Election 2000: Chrétien's Third Majority

Introduction Contents Election 2000 was a triumph for the Liberals and especially for Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Barely three and a half years into a majority mandate, he made the Introduction decision to call an election that few wanted. The result was his third majority

government-172 seats for the Liberals in the 301-seat Parliament and 41 per cent The Big Decision of the popular vote. (The last such triple majority was Mackenzie King's in 1935, 1940 and 1945.) The victory was especially sweet because in Quebec, where he has a history of political difficulties, Chrétien won his 11th personal mandate in his The Gamble riding of Saint Maurice; and the party won 36 of 75 seats, plus the largest percentage of the popular vote of any party. The Prime Minister said he called the Pre-existing Conditions? election in part because of the battle between two conflicting visions of Canada,

those of the Liberals and of the Canadian Alliance. He attempted to project the Down and Dirty image of a Liberal Party fiscally prudent, moderate, and sensitive to the needs of the disadvantaged versus a Canadian Alliance Party made up of hard-line and intolerant social and fiscal conservatives. His victory succeeded in pretty much The Failure to Unite the stopping the Alliance dead in its tracks at the Ontario border (the party won only Right two Ontario seats), and in severly reducing the political influence of the Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats. In part due to an effective The Youth Vote and a campaign by Joe Clark, Chrétien was able to assure the failure of the right to unite. Young Candidate But there was a downside to this campaign. It was one of the most negative

campaigns in Canadian history, with the lowest voter turnout of any election since Discussion, Research and 1896. Chrétien fought a campaign that was more about his opponents than about Essay Questions himself and his government. Voters and his own party often viewed him as arrogant, power-hungry, and out-of-touch. Many Liberal candidates felt they won despite him. The focus of the campaign was to have been on values, ideas, and major policies, but there were few defining issues. Important platform policies-large cuts in personal income tax, paying down the national debt, the restoration of health-care funding-were common to several parties, not just the Liberals. The NiR Home Liberal platform itself was the slimmest in the last three elections. Little discussion or debate took place on many of the issues Canadians had identified as important, E-Mail such as the environment and education, raising questions about the mandate voters delivered to the Prime Minister. Chrétien's ethics and honesty were called into question during the campaign, and concerns about his involvement in a loan to CBC Learning Home a friend who owned the Auberge Grand-Mère were especially troubling. As a result, he will face real challenges during the next Parliament; some fear the negativity expressed during the campaign will continue. There is also no doubt that, politically, the country is polarized. Western alienation is even more obvious than before; the Liberals hold only 14 seats from Manitoba west. In light of his party's unsuccessful efforts to win more seats in the West, Chrétien will have to deal with his own not insignificant unpopularity there. At one point during the campaign, the Prime Minister seemed to acknowledge this unpopularity, and indicated that, should he win, he might well resign sometime during the new term. Calls for his resignation, though muted now, are likely to continue; and challengers, especially Paul Martin, are waiting for their chance to pursue the leadership and the office of prime minister. Political observers will be watching closely to see if Chrétien can improve his personal public image or whether the Prime Minister's recent triumph will be short-lived.

Comprehensive News in Review Study Modules

Using both the print and non-print material from various issues of News in Review, teachers and students can create comprehensive, thematic modules that are excellent for research purposes, independent assignments, and small group study. We recommend the stories indicated below for the universal issues they represent and for the archival and historic material they contain.

"Western Alienation." December 1990 "Election '93: Historic Change," September 1993 "Election Polls: Taking the Pulse," October 1993 "Conservatives in Canada: What Kind of Future?" October 1996 "Election 97: The Regions Speak," September 1997 "The Return of Joe Clark: New Hope for Conservatives?" December 1998 "Stockwell Day's New Alliance," September 2000

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Election 2000: Chrétien's Third Majority

The Big Decision Contents Election campaigns are complicated matters involving careful and complex decision-making. Many of these decisions are made before the campaign begins: Introduction Who will manage the overall campaign? What policies will make up the party

platform? What parts of the country will offer each party the best opportunities for The Big Decision seats? Who will the individual riding candidates be? How high profile should the leader be? What outstanding candidates will be featured in special media-centred appearances? Where will the party's ads be placed and what approach will they The Gamble take? How much money will the party be able to spend? Other decisions are made during the campaign: Is the party's message getting through? If not, how do the Pre-existing Conditions? campaign managers make sure it does? How does the leader respond to an

attack, or deal with a candidate's indiscretion, or discipline a rebellious riding Down and Dirty association? What policy issues should be highlighted at a particular time or in a particular place? What should be the emphasis in a given speech-positive, praising the party's policies or achievements, or negative, attacking the opponents and their The Failure to Unite the views? What parts of the country are not responding as expected? What ridings Right will benefit most from some extra attention?

The Youth Vote and a As you watch this News in Review report, jot down answers to the following Young Candidate questions: 1. Why did the Prime Minister decide to call an election barely three and a half

Discussion, Research and years into a five-year mandate? Essay Questions 2. Why did the Liberals decide to present a mini-budget just before the election call? 3. Why did the Liberals decide to concentrate their attack on Stockwell Day and the Canadian Alliance, practically ignoring the New Democrats and Progressive Conservatives? 4. Why did Stockwell Day decide to abandon his "campaign of respect" and attack NiR Home the Prime Minister personally? 5. Which parties seem to have been most adept at presenting their message to the voter, and to not being distracted by the decisions of other parties? E-Mail 6. When the time came for the voters to make their decision, what information had they been given about the issues, leadership, and party values? CBC Learning Home Follow-up Discussion The 2000 election has been described as one of the most negative in Canadian history. Based on your viewing of the video, what were some of the crucial decisions made by the parties and the candidates, or other factors, that allowed this negativity to develop? Which parties and candidates seemed to best concentrate on discussion and debate, rather than name-calling and invective?

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Election 2000: Chrétien's Third Majority

The Gamble Contents It was an enormous gamble on the part of the Prime Minister. After only three and a half years in office, with a majority government, Jean Chrétien chose to attempt Introduction to win a third such mandate. Despite the significant lead for the Liberals shown in

polls taken prior to the calling of the election, a minority of his own party supported The Big Decision him in this decision. Many felt he called it because of a love for power, and saw it as a desperate attempt by Chrétien to assure a third term as prime minister and to avoid making way for a new party leader. It was seen as a special slap in the face The Gamble for supporters of Paul Martin, who was actively supported by many caucus members as a popular replacement for Chrétien. This speculation was further Pre-existing Conditions? encouraged when, just before calling the election, the Prime Minister invited Brian

Tobin, the premier of Newfoundland and another potential leadership candidate, to Down and Dirty join the federal cabinet. Leaders of other parties were unanimous in their condemnation of the election call. Stockwell Day of the Canadian Alliance accused the Prime Minister of calling the election "for no good reason," although it should The Failure to Unite the be noted that Day had challenged Chrétien to an election battle. Progressive Right Conservative Joe Clark, whose party was millions of dollars in debt, told reporters, "He's doing it for reasons of vanity, he's doing it for reasons of party advantage." The Youth Vote and a Alexa McDonough of the New Democrats called the decision "extremely arrogant." Young Candidate Political commentators joined in. Writing in The Globe and Mail, Hugh Winsor

stated it was hard to determine whether the election represented a referendum on Discussion, Research and Liberal values or the spectacle of "a vain old man manipulating the electoral Essay Questions process for his own advantage." Chrétien himself claimed that he called the election to deal with the enormous fiscal surplus in government revenues. He insisted that Canadians needed to choose between "two very different visions of Canada" (that of the Liberals and that of the Canadian Alliance Party). He also noted that the Alliance had begun extensive pre-election advertising. There is also little doubt that he saw an early election as an opportunity to forestall Stockwell NiR Home Day's establishing a positive public image before the next vote. Liberals worried that voters would view the election as a cheap power grab by a prime minister E-Mail increasingly isolated from average Canadians. Indeed, throughout the campaign, many Liberal candidates felt that Chrétien was a liability, and said so publicly. Chrétien himself even spoke of not finishing his new mandate and stepping down CBC Learning Home to make way for a new leader.

Discussion 1. Whatever his motivation, Jean Chrétien's gamble paid off with an even larger Liberal majority than before the election. What effect is this success likely to have on future challenges to his control within the Liberal Party? 2. Prime ministers have the right to call an election almost at will. Should there be restrictions on this power or can we expect the electorate to determine whether or not an election call is justified? 3. Do the results of this election indeed confirm Chrétien's claim that it was time for Canadians to make a choice between two political and social visions? If so, was this a substantial enough reason to call an election? Discuss.

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Election 2000: Chrétien's Third Majority

Pre-existing Conditions? Contents Most political commentators lamented the lack of serious discussion of real issues or platforms during the campaign. Some issues of significant importance to Introduction Canadians, such as the environment, were barely discussed. Others, such as

health care, taxes, and debt reduction, were effectively dealt with by the ruling The Big Decision Liberals just before the election; opposition parties found it difficult to generate public interest in their own policies, and proposed few radical changes to the Liberal approach. Did we learn anything new during the election itself? The Gamble

Health Care Pre-existing Conditions? Prior to the election, the federal Liberals and the provinces came to an agreement that would restore federal health-care funding transfers to their 1993-1994 levels;

Down and Dirty $21-billion is to be transferred over the next five years. The Canadian Alliance would go further by guaranteeing in law stable funding from the federal government. The Progressive Conservatives promised a legal guarantee, but also The Failure to Unite the proposed immediate restoration of health-care funding to the 1993-1994 level. The Right Bloc Québécois supported the indexing of transfer payments to the inflation rate.

The New Democrats proposed an increase of the federal share to 25 per cent of all The Youth Vote and a health-care spending, a national prescription drug plan and home-care services. Young Candidate During the months preceding the election, health care was identified by most voters as their number-one issue. In a strange way, it became the first real issue of

Discussion, Research and the campaign when an Alliance MP said in an interview that the party would be Essay Questions willing to examine ways to involve the private sector in providing it. For the rest of the campaign, Stockwell Day was forced to defend himself from the accusation that the party favoured "two-tier" health care. Unfortunately, no real discussion took place on how to make substantial changes to the present system of medicare.

Taxation and Debt Reduction NiR Home Tax reduction was also high on voters' lists, and the Liberal government had recognized this by providing a mini-budget, days before the election call, which provided the largest income tax cuts in Canadian history: $100-billion over five E-Mail years. All the parties declared a need for massive tax reduction; the Liberals and Alliance called for the largest cuts. The Canadian Alliance had expected to make CBC Learning Home tax reduction the cornerstone of their campaign, and had prepared a platform proposing the introduction of a 17 per cent flat tax, which led to considerable criticism, causing them to abandon it by the time the election came along. All parties agreed on the need to reduce the federal debt of $564-billion, the interest on which takes 25 cents of every dollar collected by the government. Proposals ranged from the Liberals' promise to pay $10-billion in 2000 and at least $3-billion every year after that. The Alliance called for legislation requiring a minimum payment of $6-billion per year. The NDP pledged $4.6-billion over four years. Most aggressive was the PC proposal for a 20-year plan, with $5-billion per year for the next five years rising to $35-billion by 2020. The basic agreement by all parties that action needed to be taken meant that voters were not very interested in the details of how much and how soon.

The Environment Polls indicated that voters were very concerned about the state of the environment, but only the NDP made it a major plank in their platform. They proposed national standards for water quality, air quality, and food safety; and they promised an environmental bill of rights. The Conservatives envisioned a Safe Water Act and new endangered species legislation. The Liberals, who had allowed their Endangered Species Act to die before the election, proposed additional funding to improve water systems and to investigate the effects of toxic chemicals on health. The Bloc promised additional funds to invest in environmental protection; the Alliance promised to promote increased voluntary action by the private sector. Despite attempts by the NDP to raise the profile of the issue, and even though a major international conference on air quality was taking place at The Hague while the campaign was going on, environmental issues were rarely discussed at the national level.

Law and Order This was the issue that the Alliance tried to raise at the end of the campaign, after taking a beating on "two-tier" health care and referendums. The Alliance proposed lifetime supervision for repeat violent or sexual offenders; dangerous offender status after a third offence; children over 16 to be automatically sent to adult court (over 13 if the crime is serious). The Alliance, and the Conservatives, would repeal the 1995 gun control legislation. The Liberals and the Bloc both pledged new measures against organized crime; the Bloc and the Conservatives also promised to replace the Young Offenders Act.

Immigration There were attempts to make immigration an issue; indiscretions by one of the Alliance candidates led to accusations that the party was racist and anti-immigrant, perpetuating the public perception that the Alliance was anti-immigration. In reality, the parties with immigration planks in the platforms called for similar policies: easing the regulations, so that highly skilled workers could enter Canada, and maintaining immigration levels at or slightly above their current levels. The Alliance also assured voters that illegal entrants into Canada would be processed and deported within 90 days; the Bloc demanded that Quebec's role in immigration be respected by the federal government.

Canadians' Political Heritage The Alliance proposed a "direct democracy" approach to governing and suggested that major issues could be decided by referendums triggered by a petition of three per cent of the voting population, however the party was ambiguous about how it would respond to such referendums and were consequently unable to effectively use this plank in their platform. This also suggested that Canadians may be traditionally centrist in their political views and unwilling to venture very far to the left or the right.

Discussion 1. Do you feel that any of the parties were especially adept at obtaining public attention for their party platforms? Was this an election of plus 硠change, plus c'est la même chose? 2. The Liberals publish their platforms in a "red book." The one for this election was much thinner and far less detailed than the previous two, and yet the party won a much larger majority than in the 1997 election. Does this in any way seem to indicate the level of importance that parties should give to their platform statements?

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Election 2000: Chrétien's Third Majority

Down and Dirty Contents Maclean's magazine described the 2000 election as a "Fall Festival of Invective." Dalton Camp, in The Toronto Star, called it the darkest election in memory. It was, Introduction in fact, an election in which accusations and name-calling seemed far more

prevalent than any discussion of issues important to the voters. As Anthony The Big Decision Westell wrote in The Globe and Mail, "Campaigning was almost entirely negative, and real issues were never joined." For the record, here is a collection of some low points during the campaign. As you examine these moments, consider how such The Gamble negativity in a political campaign might affect the perceptions and mood of the electorate. How might such provocative accusations inhibit voters from calmly and Pre-existing Conditions? rationally assessing the issues?

Down and Dirty The Liberals 1. At the very beginning of the campaign, the Liberals accused the Alliance of having a hidden agenda promoting a "two-tier" health-care system. Despite regular The Failure to Unite the denials by Stockwell Day, the Alliance was never able to effectively suppress this Right issue.

2. Elinor Caplan (MP Thornhill) attacked the Alliance as a haven for "Holocaust The Youth Vote and a deniers, racists and bigots." Caplan was reacting to Doug Christie, an Alliance Young Candidate Party member and lawyer who defends right-wing extremists. 3. The Prime Minister accused the Canadian Alliance of being out to "destroy

Discussion, Research and Canada" and of representing the "forces of darkness." Essay Questions 4. The Liberals accused the Alliance of having another hidden agenda to use referendums to change current policy on abortion, immigration, and the Canadian Pension Plan. 5. Liberal ads in the Chinese media in British Columbia said some members of the Alliance had made racist comments and that the party was "scary."

NiR Home Canadian Alliance 1. Stockwell Day accused the Prime Minister of "sowing division" and claimed that he divided the country. E-Mail 2. Day claimed that the Prime Minister's justice policy put the rights of pedophiles ahead of the rights of children. CBC Learning Home 3. Day accused Chrétien of breaching the federal ethics code, and probably the law, by lobbying on behalf of a friend in his Shawinigan riding for a loan for the Auberge Grand-Mère from the Business Development Bank, a Crown Corporation. The Progressive Conservatives and the Bloc joined in on this accusation.

Progressive Conservatives In addition to joining the Canadian Alliance in their accusations of breach of ethics in the Auberge Grand-Mère controversy, the Conservatives ran a series of K-Tel- style ads on television accusing Chrétien of being a serial liar. Most other parties ran a series of anti-Chrétien ads at the end of the campaign.

New Democratic Party Alexa McDonough described Stockwell Day as a "cockroach."

Bloc Québécois Responding to the Auberge Grand-Mère allegations, Gilles Duceppe also accused Chrétien of lying and suggested that the Prime Minister may have acted illegally.

Bad Moves 1. Betty Grainger, Canadian Alliance candidate for Winnipeg South Centre, blamed an "Asian invasion" for denying university positions to Canadians and for inflating property values on the west coast. She was forced to resign her candidacy. 2. At a native-organized debate, Brian Fitzpatrick, Canadian Alliance candidate for Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, announced, "You can't scalp me, because I haven't got much hair." The party had recently been accused of a racist aboriginal policy. 3. The Prime Minister, in an appearance in Atlantic Canada, announced his preference for dealing with Maritimers over Westerners because they were nicer to him. He subsequently apologized for a bad joke, and said he was only referring to Joe Clark and Stockwell Day 4. Kim Epp, an Alberta MP, publicly speculated that an Alliance government might end Old Age Security benefits and scale back the Canada Pension Plan. This provided more ammunition for the Liberals, who were raising the spectre of a hidden Alliance agenda on pensions.

Discussion 1. While negative campaigning disturbs many voters, some commentators see it as a very effective election tactic. Where in this campaign do you see it as having had an impact on the results? 2. Accusations and counteraccusations received heavy media coverage throughout the campaign. What responsibilities do the media have in reporting these activities? Do they have any responsibility to investigate and report on the accuracy of these accusations? 3. Many commentators fear that the tone of the election will carry over into the next session of Parliament. Who has the responsibility to ensure that this doesn't happen? How might they do so? 4. Research has shown that negative campaigning encourages a low voter turnout. This was the lowest turnout of the past 100 years. Suggest how such negativity might influence the mind-set and attitude of a voter so that he or she would decide not to vote.

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Failure to Unite the Right Contents The election of Stockwell Day as leader of the Canadian Alliance Party in July 2000 was intended to be the beginning of a new era in Canadian politics and for a Introduction new party that had grown out of the Western-based Reform Party. This new party

and its charismatic leader were to bring together conservatives from across The Big Decision Canada. The new party would unite them to ensure the rise to power of the political right. Progressive Conservatives would eagerly abandon the party of Sir John A. Macdonald and join with Reformers to form a united alternative to the federal The Gamble Liberals, which would then win the next election. (For more information on the roots and formation of the Canadian Alliance and the election of Stockwell Day as Pre-existing Conditions? leader, see "Western Alienation" and "Stockwell Day's New Alliance" in the

December 1990 and September 2000 issues of News in Review.) Election 2000 Down and Dirty dramatically ended this dream. The Alliance proved itself to be, like its predecessor the Reform Party, a regional party-winning 64 seats in the West, two in Ontario, and none in Quebec or the Atlantic Provinces. The Failure to Unite the Right The Leadership Factor

Signs of trouble were there from the beginning, and the first of these may well have The Youth Vote and a been the selection of Stockwell Day as leader. Many Canadians saw him as yet Young Candidate another Western social conservative, the advocate of a social policy that loses its popularity at the Ontario border. Also worrisome to many potential voters were his

Discussion, Research and personal conservative religious and social views, which did become a factor during Essay Questions the election campaign. The Alliance made the decision to highlight their new leader- a fresh face-during the campaign, and even before the election was announced, he was featured in a series of television ads. The Alliance platform booklet was filled with pictures of Day at work and at play. This emphasis by the Alliance on Day helped the Liberal strategy of singling out the Alliance as the only real opposition in the election. From the very beginning, Chrétien accused the Alliance of having a NiR Home "secret agenda" on a variety of issues, including health care and the Canada Pension Plan. He accused them of planning to use a series of referendums to make significant social changes on matters like abortion and immigration. He E-Mail called Day and the party "scary." A series of gaffes by Alliance functionaries (such as Jason Kenney's musings on the possibility of expanding private clinics) and CBC Learning Home leaks to the press (especially that of the section of the candidates' briefing book that indicated that three per cent of the electorate could force a referendum on an issue) made these accusations seem only too substantial. Day proved to be ineffective at damage control, seeming always to be on the defensive and failing to go on the attack. Part of the problem may have been his initial attempt to run what he called a campaign "based on respect." This respectful campaign had completely disappeared by the last weeks, when Day was accusing Chrétien of unethical and probably illegal acts. Day's personal beliefs also became an issue. The candidate himself encouraged public focus on the issue with his appearance on 100 Huntley Street and his refusal to campaign on Sundays. In the latter part of the campaign, a CBC-TV documentary highlighted his creationist views, including his belief that the earth is 6000 years old and that humans lived at the same time as the dinosaurs. Day's personal image was not helped when the television program This Hour Has 22 Minutes sponsored an Internet "referendum petition" to force Day to change his first name from Stockwell to Doris. (Doris Day is a famous Hollywood actor and singer.) The petition received more than one million signatures, far more than the 400 000 required under the Alliance recommendation, thus satirizing the Alliance's proposal of governing in part by referendum.

Other Factors Meanwhile, the Progressive Conservatives under Joe Clark ran what may well have been the best campaign, although it was rewarded with only 12 seats. Clark was widely regarded as the winner of the leadership debates, and kept his candidates "on the message." Against great odds, he won his own seat in Calgary, and the Conservatives overall won 12 seats and retained official party status. As a result, conservatism will continue to speak with two voices in the House of Commons. The success of the Alliance campaign ultimately depended on a collapse of the Progressive Conservative vote in Ontario, giving them a chance to break the stranglehold the federal Liberals have in the province. This never did happen. Nor did the party come close to the minimum 36 per cent of the national popular vote that a party requires for enough seats for a minority government (they polled 25 per cent). It continues to seem self-evident that until the Alliance finds a message that Ontario and the East is willing to listen to, forming a government will remain an impossible dream.

Discussion 1. Jeffrey Simpson of The Globe and Mail described this campaign as an attempt by the Canadian Alliance Party to fit Canada to the Alliance rather than vice versa. In your opinion, how accurate is this assessment of the Alliance's tactics? Whether or not it is accurate, what do you think the Alliance would need to do to increase its popular support?

2. Political commentators have described the social conservative policies of the Alliance Party as a "ball and chain" that will forever keep them from succeeding in what is "a largely secular and pluralistic society." Are the traditional Reform and Alliance supporters likely to (or should they) modify or discard these fundamental policies in order to improve the party's prospects for success?

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The Youth Vote and a Young Candidate Contents One disturbing aspect of recent Canadian elections is the reluctance of young voters to participate in the process. Fewer than one-half of 18- to 24-year-olds Introduction voted. Three-quarters of the 400 000 18-year-olds in Canada were not registered

to vote by October 31, 2000, which may be in part the result of the new method of The Big Decision voter registration in which a permanent voter list was created. In the past the traditional methods was door-to-door enumeration. The new method reportedly did not correctly identify and register all qualified youth voters. Young people give a The Gamble variety of reasons for failing to vote, but most say they see no relevance to the political process. One described the "sense of hopelessness" about the value of Pre-existing Conditions? their vote. They see little discussion of the issues that matter to them: the question

of tax cuts that obsesses the baby boom generation is of little interest to those who Down and Dirty pay few taxes. There are fewer voters in the 18-24 group, and candidates tend to ignore them. If they are not impressed with the leaders and the platforms, they stay away from the polls. Even the MuchMusic campaign ("Having trouble achieving an The Failure to Unite the election?") failed to generate much interest. Right

The Youngest Candidate The Youth Vote and a A very notable exception to this lack of interest was demonstrated by Kasra Young Candidate Nejatian, the Canadian Alliance candidate for Don Valley East in Toronto. Nejatian placed third in a six-way race won by the Liberal Minister of Transportation, David

Discussion, Research and Collenette. At 18, he was the youngest candidate in the 2000 election. Despite the Essay Questions demands of his final year of secondary school, which he continued to attend throughout the campaign, he chose to make the run for office. News in Review spoke with him after the election. When asked why he chose to run, Nejatian identified his concern that a number of major issues were being ignored by the federal Liberal government, including the one of most concern to him: the brain drain. He disagrees strongly with those who claim there is no brain drain, pointing NiR Home to a number of his own acquaintances and friends who have left for better opportunities in the U.S. He feels that one of the government's top priorities must be to find ways to keep young people here. The Alliance, he says, recognized E-Mail those programs that are important to keeping Canadians at home: health care, quality education, a relatively inexpensive university education. But, in his view, CBC Learning Home they also understood a need to make Canada open for business and economically competitive, encouraging small business, entrepreneurship and innovation. Nejatian describes himself as both a fiscal and social conservative, but as a social conservative with major libertarian tendencies. As a conservative, he believes that "nothing is worth conserving more than freedom," and that a party has to avoid policies that intrude on individual rights. On the other hand, he does see a need to establish the views of the Canadian majority on a number of issues, such as legalizing marijuana, before a government goes ahead and does just that. His favourite potential referendum question would determine where the voters stand on the division of federal and provincial powers.

Participating in a Process He agreed with reports that young people are not voting and saw a real need for making them realize the need to take charge of their own future. One of the first things he learned about all-candidates meetings was to be prepared on seniors' issues, because they attend and are themselves well-informed and interested. On the whole, however, there was little reason to expect much interest in youth issues. Nejatian sees a real strength in the youth wings of the various political parties; these are the groups, he feels, who really keep the parties true to their causes. He also sees a role for the education system in promoting youth involvement in the political process. Civics, he feels, should be a requirement of every high-school diploma program, and students should be required to fully research the structure and values of one political party of their choice. Schools should also permit politically based student clubs.

The Campaign Experience When asked about the conduct of the campaign itself, Nejatian replied that it had been, on the whole, a very positive experience for him. He is extremely proud of his campaign team, and declared it "the best any 18-year-old could have had." He was especially proud of the efforts of some of his fellow students, and pleased that they were now politicized and actually eager to discuss topics such as proportional representation. He pointed to two particular disappointments. The first of these was that, in his opinion, no leader expressed a strong vision for Canada and what it could become. As a result, there was no real discussion of issues like health care, and real areas of disagreement never emerged. The other major disappointment was the voter turnout, which was the lowest in over 100 years. If nothing else, this alone demonstrated that the attempt to unite the right had failed. Nejatian congratulated the Liberals on an effective election plan that was perfectly executed. He also declared himself pleasantly surprised by the role of the media, which, he feels, provided mostly fair and unbiased coverage of candidates and the issues. Nejatian received his share of abuse during the campaign, including a phone call to his mother in which the caller threatened to kill him. The most disappointing event for him personally was a telephone call from a voter who insisted that Nejatian had no right to speak out, and she would not listen to anything he had to say, because he was only 18. The lowest point was an e-mail he received on election night declaring "I'm glad you racist bigots lost." There were moments of great elation as well. Nejatian points to Stockwell Day's final rally in British Columbia as a time when he felt that his efforts had been truly worthwhile.

Future Plans and Expectations On the other hand, Nejatian emerged from the election more optimistic ("if cautiously") than before the campaign. The country, he says, "is not going to hell in a hand basket." He feels that the performances of both the Progressive Conservatives and Canadian Alliance and their leaders augur well for future elections. He feels that his campaign and those of other members of the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative parties show real faith in the ability and dedication of young people. He expects to continue to work within the system to promote conservative policies and to encourage the participation of other young people in the process.

Discussion 1. Kasra Nejatian indicates that young people can become rapidly politicized if parties can appeal to their interests. What might the political parties do to ensure that young people are informed on issues that interest them and participate fully in the election process? 2. How important is the candidacy of a politician as young as Nejatian in attracting the attention of young voters to the political process? 3. As a student, how do you see the role of the educational system in promoting participation in the electoral process? 4. New Canadians, as part of the citizenship ceremony, affirm that they will fulfill the duties and responsibilities of a citizen, including that of voting in elections. Given the low turnout in the 2000 election, should voting be made a legal requirement, with the failure to vote punishable by a fine (as it is in Australia)?

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Discussion, Research, and Essay Questions Contents 1. Once again, following the 2000 election, Canada found itself divided along regional lines at the Ontario border. The West elected 64 Alliance candidates out Introduction of a possible 91 seats. The Liberals dominated Ontario, had the largest popular

vote in Quebec, and won 19 of the 32 seats in the Atlantic provinces. Does this The Big Decision pattern seem to be inevitable in Canada? What might cause this pattern to change?

The Gamble 2. Stockwell Day spent most of the campaign on the defensive, reacting to Liberal

charges criticizing Alliance policies, real or imagined, and also his personal beliefs. Pre-existing Conditions? Is there any way he might have changed his campaign to minimize the damage caused by these attacks?

Down and Dirty 3. Day also spent a great deal of time explaining awkward comments that had been made by some of his campaign officials or candidates. Who is responsible The Failure to Unite the during a campaign to ensure that the party message, and only that message, gets Right out to the public? How can a party best deal with the occasional mistake by party

members and candidates? The Youth Vote and a Young Candidate 4. The New Democratic Party and the Progressive Conservatives have retained official party status, but were reduced to 13 and 12 seats respectively. Can a party reduced to that few seats maintain an effective presence in a 301-seat House of Discussion, Research and Commons? What can smaller parties do to ensure that their voices are heard on Essay Questions important issues?

5. The majority of voters seemed to agree that issues were poorly discussed during the campaign, and many important issues were almost ignored. Outside of an election campaign, is there any way to promote the serious public discussion by all citizens of issues important to the country's future course? NiR Home 6. How might the campaign process be changed to ensure a more effective E-Mail discussion of major issues among candidates themselves, as opposed to perpetuating an unnecessarily negative adversarial atmosphere?

CBC Learning Home 7. Most observers felt that Joe Clark won the English-language televised leaders debate, with Stockwell Day in second place. At the same time, the debate was also viewed as an undisciplined free-for-all that provided little information on the real election issues. Recognizing that the multiparty system (as opposed to a two-party system) will likely continue in Canadian politics, do you see any way in which the debate format might be modified to provide a more effective discussion of the issues?

8. The Alliance's suggestion that referendums-including voter-initiated referendums on major issues-should be a regular part of the political process in Canada was criticized by most of the other parties. What do you see as the role of referendums in a democratic society? Research the experiences of other countries, especially the United States.

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