“If it’s doable, let’s do it,” said former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien when there were rumours of a federal Liberal and New Democrat coalition in mid-June. The Liberal Party’s current leader Michael Ignatieff has distanced himself from such thoughts. This article will explore what the points of contention would be in a Liberal-NDP coalition, where similarities lie between the two parties, and what a Liberal-NDP coalition government would look like.
First, let’s look at the past. In 2003, the Canadian Alliance—formerly the Reform Party—merged with the Progressive Conservatives to form the new Conservative Party of Canada, essentially ‘uniting-the-right’. This lead to a consolidation of the right-wing vote and contributed heavily to the Conservative minority victory in 2006.
A union of the Liberals and NDP (let’s call them the “Liberal-Democrats”) would produce a similar result. Recent polls suggest that a Liberal-Democrat coalition party would gain 44% of the popular vote, and would in fact take seats away from the Bloc Québécois in Quebec. It could even gain enough seats to make a Liberal-Democrat Party a majority stakeholder in the Canadian parliament. Bloc Québecois leader Gilles Duceppe is well aware of this and said in a June 16th article in the Toronto Star, “a Liberal-NDP electoral coalition would be the biggest game-changer in Quebec since the creation of the Bloc twenty years ago.”
The main points of contention with such a coalition would be the clashing ideologies of the NDP and Michael Ignatieff. Ignatieff was a supporter of George W. Bush’s war in Iraq in 2003, and justified torture, such as that endured under the Bush regime in Guantanamo Bay. Further, Ignatieff supports the oil sands operation in Alberta.
These three disagreements the NDP have with the current Liberal leader could be taken care of quite easily with new leadership. A coalition of the two parties should elect a new leader to unite their respective ideologies. One candidate would be current Liberal and former Ontario NDP Premier Bob Rae. Rae’s ideology is much more in line with both parties and he is best suited to unite the left wing vote. Alternately, Jack Layton is seen as a strong candidate to lead the coalition by Canadian voters as he is perceived to be more charismatic than Michael Ignatieff. New leadership would be crucial to hold the two parties together in an effective coalition that could oust the Conservatives.
In terms of similarities, both parties are true leftist federalists. They have similar approaches to same-sex marriage, women’s rights, aboriginal rights, international policy, and abortion. The membership of both parties also share views about the mission in Afghanistan, environmental policy, the economy, and taxation. Having so many platform positions in common, yet remaining politically separate, has been detrimental to the success of both parties. They are splitting the left-wing vote and creating a situation where neither can win in an election. Further, both parties are in agreement that a strong, united left-wing coalition is the best course of action for politics in Quebec. Their combined ability to take seats away from the Bloc Québécois would be key to escaping the seemingly never-ending cycle of minority governments. It is, after all, very difficult to get a majority government when the Bloc easily takes between 40-50 seats in Quebec. By gaining those seats, a coalition could stop the appeasement measures minority governments take with separatists, such as the Conservative minority government giving “nation within unified Canada” status to Quebec in 2006 to head off a Bloc motion (which would have likely passed) that was similar but did not mention Canada. These appeasements have not quenched the separatist thirst, which is why a strong Liberal-Democrat majority would benefit Canada.
Ultimately, a Liberal-Democrat party would reflect the true will of Canadians by putting more of a focus on areas of concern such as human rights, women’s health issues, same-sex rights, and an environmentally stable and sustainable economy. For example, the recent announcement of $1.1 billion for the G8’s women’s health initiative excludes safe access to abortion for women in developing countries. A Liberal-Democrat government would not have tolerated this. Environmental action is another area where the Liberal-Democrats could improve the nation. They would work to implement better regulations on the oil sands development in Alberta, the off-shore oil resources on the Grand Banks, and the newly discovered oil prospects in Saskatchewan.
In conclusion, a Liberal-Democrat party under a democratically elected leader would be beneficial for Canada for several reasons. It would unite the left-wing vote, promoting a voter base that is more representative of the public. It would harmonize society through its approach to social issues: actively promoting human rights especially for minority groups such as women and aboriginals. It would implement better environmental and economic controls that will only improve our country. Finally, it would improve relations between the entire nation and Quebec. It would clearly be beneficial for Canada if the Liberals and New Democrats were to merge.
