I am a Less Government Libertarian

On June 2, all voters in the Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock riding will see my name on their Ontario election ballot.

The following was written for the publisher of a local magazine who requested a photo and a 400 word summary of my campaign as the Ontario Libertarian Party candidate in the Ontario provincial election. I send the following to him.

I moved to Fenelon Falls in 2016 from the GTA after completing a successful 40-year career in the Information Technology sector.  I had raised two daughters with my wife, a public school teacher and principal.

In 2007, I discovered then joined the Ontario Libertarian Party.  Previously, I had voted Conservative because it was my least bad ballot option but never what I wanted. Subsequently, I grew to become a tireless Advocate for Less Government and have promoted our  Freedom of Choice message in 8 elections. I also write often about public issues from the Libertarian perspective on Substack (RSS - gbalfour@substack.com).

Too much government is a serious threat to our democracy and prosperity. The excessive size, cost and scope of authority commanded by political and public officials harms society in very significant ways.

Our #1 election issue, the rising cost of living, is due primarily to excessive taxation, burdensome legislations, and numerous deterrents to entrepreneurial success, private sector employment and prosperity for everyone.

Another major problem is: Governments hold a monopoly on power in society and this power has been abused repeatedly with no means to hold the abusers accountable. Our Charter of Rights and Freedoms were ignored throughout the Covid pandemic.  Ford assumed prolonged and misguided emergency powers,  then imposed mass lockdowns and personal restrictions that failed terribly. The unconstitutional vaccine mandates and Ford’s shameful treatment of peacefully-protesting truckers have jolted many citizens into a state of disbelief that these actions were actually occurring in Canada.

The abuse of this power destroys public trust in our public institutions and each other. Less Government is the only common sense antidote to the ills of Big and Bigger Governments. I will continue to advocate for Less Government until voters take this choice seriously. I realize that a Libertarian government will not be formed anytime soon, but as Andrew Breitbart said “politics is downstream of culture”, this insight has sustained my desire to influence contemporary political culture.

Sound principles are a prerequisite for sound public policies. I support:  Individual Freedom, Personal Responsibility, mutual Respect and Fairness under unbiased legislation. The pandemic has clearly revealed that the adoption of  these principles is long overdue. Less Government and Freedom of Choice are finally beginning to make sense to many more citizens than just a few years ago. I hope this trend will be evident in the election results on June 2nd.