Vote Splitting
The Maverick Party is a Western Canadian based party that supports Western Canadian values and prosperity. We don’t concern ourselves with telling folks living in the GTA how to go about their day to day lives. Our focus is on securing a brighter future for Western Canada. To ensure a brighter future for Western Canada we need a voice in Ottawa. Good governance needs good opposition. MPs need to ask good questions in Question Period but also in committee. Canada has faltered because of poor representation for Western Canada. Policy necessary for our success has not been championed. Our economy in the west is resource based. Resources are energy intensive to mine, grow, harvest etc. With our federal governments anti-energy and anti-prosperity policy we cannot reach our potential. To reach that potential we actually need true western representation. But anytime that is brought up the naysayers always bring up the question of the “vote split”. “If I don’t vote CPC the Liberals or NDP will win”, this is mathematically false. Even if you use “the new math” its false. For example in the riding of Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner these were last election results CPC 65.4% of the vote, PPC 9.3% Maverick 2.5% or 77.2% of the Vote. If you divide that by 3 equally if everyone else voted for one of the left leaning parties eg NDP, Liberal, Green they would not defeat any party with conservative views. This holds true for any riding that the Maverick Party will field a candidate in a Federal election.
One notices that elections are expensive for a party. Often votes come with a cost. The more you spend the more votes you receive. Also the more votes you receive the more $ the party gets reimbursed from elections Canada. It’s a little known fact that your tax $ go to support political parties.
A healthy Maverick Party is a necessity for Western Canada. We can comment on policy that pertains to Western Canada. We are not shackled by a Party Whip like those in the CPC that have to ask their master for permission to speak. Colin Krieger the leader of the Maverick Party has always spoken out about unlocking Western Canada’s potential through the Port of Churchill. Now the Premier of Manitoba and the Premier of Alberta are speaking out about plans to utilize this port without being held ransom by the east or British Columbia’s lower mainland’s leftist ideologically motivated government. Colin realizes that if we put the west first and work together we can succeed. We can have more $ for healthcare, education and public infrastructure. We need to flip the bird to the bureaucrats in Ottawa and put ourselves first. Its not selfish to look after your own household first.
Maverick is a Separatist Party
Separation is a provincial matter. For educational reading, please consult the Supreme Court Reference Re Quebec Succession to learn exactly what it takes for a province to leave Canada. Note the distinct lack of a federal political party being mentioned as one of the requirements in that decision. Maverick cannot initiate separation procedures as your federal MP. That is started at the provincial level. It is true that some of our supporters describe themselves as separatist, but that kind of disingenuous labelling is expected from NDP X (formally Twitter) trolls. If I asked your enemy to assess whether you are a good person, I would expect an inaccurate answer. Why expect any different from the enemies of the West?
Maverick supports the pursuit of provincial autonomy and federal respect for the division of powers stated in the Canadian Constitution. We learned in the Reference Re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (aka Carbon Tax Reference) that the Supreme Court will not always protect the West from the federal intrusion and overreach. Maverick is the political solution to that objective reality. Maverick supports constitutional change that entrenches provincial rights and balances the realities of our 21st century confederation.
Maverick Equals WEXIT
It is true Maverick began as a WEXIT Party. Part of changing that name was to ensure the mission and the goal was clear: we want a fair deal for the West within a united Canada. The prospect of our supporters initiating several separatist movements at the same time is the mechanism for convincing the east to join us at the bargaining table. You must be familiar with the saying “Separation if necessary, but not necessarily separation.” It still holds true here. The goal that Maverick pursues is a fair deal for the West.
Does that mean Maverick has no room for separatists? Well no, in fact we need you. It is your looming threat of upheaving the Canadian state that should drive other political adversaries to our bargaining table. You might believe that no bargain would be had. That the east does not want to negotiate. If that dark day ever comes where it is obvious to us that the east will not negotiate with the West in good faith, then we will turn to you for the next steps.
We are not there yet. My question to you is: if the Canadian government gave us everything we wanted in the West: autonomy over our energy policies, property and gun rights entrenched, freedom from federal intrusion using the environment as a cover, a regional veto in the Senate, an end to unfair equalization payments, a partner in our economic ambitions, and a partner in global markets, would you still believe in Canada? I believe this is a goal worth working towards. Your pessimism is not unwarranted, but we must work together to even stand a chance.
Maverick Should Actively Pursue Electoral Reform
This one does not come up too often, but it has come up recently. It is true that a common phrase we say to our members is that the West never determines who becomes Prime Minister. It is true, Ontario and Quebec hold nearly insurmountable power in this regard. The problem is any electoral reform that changes the fundamental nature of proportionate representation (not to be confused with proportional representation) requires constitutional amendments. See Reference Re Senate Reform from the Supreme Court of Canada for details. To amend the constitution is the familiar 7/50 rule (seven provinces representing 50% of the population.
Proportional representation as an electoral system would allow for the coalition-style governments seen in other legislatures around the world. That does not fix the power imbalance. Ontario and Quebec coalitions will rule the day while Western parties are left fighting for scraps. It still does not change the fact that people in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver hate your continued obstruction of their intrusion into your life. It certainly does not change the elitism in Ottawa. Even under the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system, you will send a terrible MP to the curb in the nomination only for the party to grant that same MP a position on the slate of candidates allocated by vote share. Electoral reform does not get us to a better place alone. It certainly has its merits. On its face it could benefit the West. Therefore, it is on the table. But forgive us if our more immediate message stresses higher priority items.