Party or No Party?

Party or No Party

I recently had an interesting debate with a friend of mine about the role of political parties in our system.  He argued that there should be no party affiliations and that all members should be “independent”.  I’ve considered this approach all during my career as a politician, especially after Stephen Harper invited me to leave the Conservative Party and sit as an Independent.   However, I have concluded that there is an important role for “political parties”.

 In my first election campaign, the dominant issue was to decide if Canada was going to sign a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. The political parties in Canada all took sides. Liberals were against Free Trade…. the NDP were against free trade…. the Conservatives were in favor of Free Trade.

Basically, in the election of 1988, the “ballot question” was …Free Trade.. or no Free Trade. 

Those Canadians who supported Free Trade voted Progressive Conservative.  Those Canadians who were against Free Trade voted Liberal or NDP.  

In that 1988 election, the “party” system allowed Canadians to collectively choose which economic course they wanted for the country.  If all candidates had been “independent”, Canadians would not have been able to send a message directing where they wanted the country to go. 

In the election currently underway, it appears that the “ballot question” is mostly to choose who Canadians want as prime minister.  If Canadians vote for the Liberals…. they will get one prime minister.  If they vote for the Conservatives, they will get a different prime minister.   If all MP’s and candidates were “independent”… there would be no way for Canadians to send their message as to their preference for a prime minister. 

Having said that, there is not nearly enough freedom for elected MPs to vote in the interest of their constituents. On any given day when there are votes, the “whip” from each party sends around a “scorecard” with instructions on how members of that party will vote. There is generally no explanation or justification, just an instruction on how to vote.  Attached is a sample “score card” for a vote which was handed to me minutes before this vote in 2017. 

When I was elected as an Independent MP,  I was assigned a seat in the back row of the opposition side of the House of Commons chamber. On one side of me was an NDP MP,  and on the other side of me was a Liberal MP.   Just before every vote, they would each receive a “scorecard” on how to vote.  I found it interesting to compare the scorecards, but it became very simple for me…. if the “bill” or “motion” being voted on was good for my riding and my province, I voted in favour of it.  If it was not good for my riding and my province, I voted against it.  It didn’t matter who sponsored the bill or motion.  I found this quite satisfying.

During my seven terms as MP, I figure that I voted approximately 2000 times in the House of Commons and in committees. The only votes that I really remember are the ones where I voted against my party.  No matter what the leadership says, when you vote against the party you eventually pay a price. But that story is for another day.