LTE: NDP ‘did not provide enough change’

Dear Editor,

I am disappointed by the federal election results on October 19 which saw the NDP reduced to third-party status in the Liberal sweep.

The 78 day marathon, expensive election was always about a desire for major change from the heavy-handed, anti-democratic Harper Government.

By the end of the campaign with strategic voting in play more Canadians decided that the Trudeau Liberals were the real agent for change.  The cautious NDP platform did not provide enough change now for many progressive Canadians who left the NDP for the Liberals on election day.  The niqab issue also hurt the NDP in Quebec.  It will now be up to the Liberals, who have a history of broken promises, to deliver on their promises to build a better Canada.

Tom Mulcair’s commitment to a balanced budget on August 25 & his opposition to raising income taxes on Canada’s wealthiest 1% gave the Trudeau Liberals the opportunity to present themselves as the real agent for change.  Support for the NDP declined from a high of 37% on August 24 to 19.7 % on election day.  Moving the NDP to the mushy middle has been a disaster in this campaign as it was for the provincial NDP campaign in the June 12, 2014 election in Ontario.

Going forward, the federal NDP must rethink its failed strategy and decide what it stands for.  I believe that Canada’s NDP, as a progressive social democratic party, should challenge the status quo, address the issues of income inequality and tax fairness, work to create a green economy that serves everyday Canadians, promote the expansion of the Canada Pension Plan, universal child care, and pharmacare, lead the campaign for proportional representation, and continue to advocate for the repeal of Bill C-51.

Brian Lynch
President, SDSG NDP Riding Association
Cornwall