It’s no exaggeration to say that the 2015 federal election has been one of the longest and most brutal in Canadian history. After the shenanigans pulled by all the parties- ranging in seriousness from Elizabeth May’s hilarious speech to Harper’s questionable refugee management– the time had finally come to cast your vote.
But… who should’ve you voted for?
You’ve probably heard opinions on this from everyone. From your mother to the parties’ own crazy ads, to that random guy who sat beside you on the bus, it was hard to know who you really wanted to win. To help you decide if you made the right choice, here are some brief highlights of party platforms, and how they cater to students!
Known for putting the environment first, the Greens aren’t as popular a party as the other three but still carry weight in discussions. Their main platform points are:
- Sustainable development by looking to reduce environmentally harmful practices such as fracking and increase emissions taxes.
- Invest in Arts programs by giving more funding to the CBC and more grants across the country.
- Supporting Canadian businesses by increasing grants and promoting initiatives for local food.
- Abolish tuition fees for post-secondary schooling. Yes, you read this right. Their platform flat-out says that they aim to reduce student debt and tuition costs.
Known for Justin Trudeau’s amazing hair, the Liberals were the official opposition party, meaning their job was to be the main critics of the now past government’s policies and point out holes in their logic. Their main platform points are:
- Reforming the electoral system by eliminating first-past-the-post and eliminating barriers to election participation.
- Running a budget deficit and spending on infrastructure and other projects to create jobs.
- Increasing the amount of refugees who enter Canada and providing more help to developing countries.
- Making tuition more affordable by increasing loans and decreasing tuition costs.
Known for challenging the status quo, the NDP gained a lot in popularity this electoral period. Their main platform points are:
- Investing in health care by making more doctors and clinics as well as home care available.
- Fighting climate change by setting emissions targets and helping homeowners install green devices.
- Raising the minimum wage to 15$. All of us who have worked at Tim Hortons for long hours and much boredom can appreciate this.
- Increasing student grants and reducing interest on student loans so that education is more affordable.
Known for being the only party without a Netflix tax, the Conservatives held a minority government for the past eight years. Their main platform points (other than the Netflix thing) are:
- Protecting Canadian security by cracking down on criminals and drugs and creating more plans like Bill C-51.
- Lowering taxes especially for small businesses, families and seniors, to help the economy.
- Continue supporting its current policies such as increasing trade and funding healthcare.
- Increasing grants for student savings plans (RESPs) so that families can receive more money from the government.
Depending on which riding you were in, there were also a few minor parties you chose from (such as the Radical Marijuana Party… um, okay) but because they were so small (and so random) they didn’t get any seats.
There were also a few other resources that could’ve helped you decide who to vote for. If you really hated a particular party (okay, this is mostly for Conservative-haters, sorry), and wanted to stop them from getting in? You should’ve checked out strategic voting maps like this one that helped to predict which parties were most likely to win in your riding. If you weren’t sure which party you wanted to win? You should’ve checked out sites like VoteCompass that assessed which party policies match most with your opinions and beliefs.
In summary: We congratulate Justin Trudeau on his win and look forward to seeing what changes he makes!