TIPS for Novice Political Candidates

Support the CHARTER OF RIGHTS and FREEDOMS too!

TIPS for NOVICE POLITICAL CANDIDATES.

     It’s April 11, 2022 and an Ontario provincial election is scheduled for June 2.

      There are 23 political parties registered with Elections Ontario for this election and 124 electoral ridings in Ontario. Only the largest 4 of these registered parties have received government subsidies totalling tens of $millions over the past 4 years. Consequently, these are the only parties that command the financial resources and organizational depth to sustain expensive campaigns and garner widespread media attention. In every election and in every riding, it is a foregone conclusion that the winners will be Liberal, Conservative or NDP (and rarely Green) representatives.

What it takes to win

      In spite of overwhelming odds against success, the 20 small registered parties do their best to field candidates for all 124 ridings, potentially as many as (20 x 124) 2480 of them. Of course, none of these parties ever achieve a “full slate” of candidates province-wide and many of their candidates are novices to the process of planning, organizing and executing a campaign.

      I have been a  Libertarian candidate in 8 campaigns. I will never forget the words of Peter Shurman in 2011 as we waited to enter a Rogers television studio to participate in a televised All-Candidates Debate. Peter was the incumbent Conservative MPP for the Thornhill riding situated on the north border of Toronto. He asked me about the size of my campaign team and budget. I replied that “I am the team” and that the Ontario Libertarian Party (OLP) had raised a total of $35,000 to support our 51 candidates across Ontario. Peter laughed and said: “to win any GTA  riding, you need at least 30 people on your campaign team and $250,000 to fund it. Good luck.”

      After moving in 2016 to Fenelon Falls, a small rural town 150 KMs northeast of Toronto, I have run in the Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock (HKLB) riding 3 times. The Conservatives dominate this riding of 114,000 residents. Each time, the money spent by the winning Conservative campaign team exceeded $50,000. My campaign results as a Libertarian have never even reached 2% of the total votes count.

Why Do I Run?

      I am currently preparing to be the OLP candidate in HKLB again for the June 2 election. Some people ask why I keep running and my response is usually one of the following:

“I believe that an electoral democracy can only exist if every voter is provide the option to choose Less Government, not just More Government. All of the 4 government-funded parties have always presented the More Government options very effectively. I represent the Less Government option”.

“In every election, I offer a gift to the 114,000 residents in my riding. The gift is to represent the Less Government option on every ballot which would not exist if a Libertarian did not run. For many, this option serves as  a ‘protest vote’ that allows him or her to officially register opposition to all More Government alternatives. For other citizens, it injects a badly-needed topic to the public discussion about how much government is actually needed in our lives.”

“I support the CHARTER Of Rights and Freedoms as our  national Shield of Protection (see the logo).  In 1982, the CHARTER was signed into Constitutional Law to provide every Canadian assurance that there will always be limits to government powers. Unfortunately, these limits have been exceeded many times, especially in recent years by federal and provincial governments alike.

      Millions of Canadians now realize that we have allowed too much power to amass in our government institutions. A feeling of desperation has been growing as to what to do about it. The obvious answer is to repeal the exiting legislation that gives these government institutions the confident that they can run roughshod over our Constitutional rights and get away with it.

      Only Libertarians are serious about rooting out the offending legislation and restoring governance to our nation according to Freedom of Choice grounded in the Four Principles For Civil Society: Individual Freedom, Personal Responsibility, Fairness and Respect.”

My campaign playbook

As the only Libertarian option on the ballot, I play “defence” against the “offence” of the Political Power Cabal ( the Liberal, Conservative and NDP parties) to use a hockey analogy. I define “offence” as any attempt to “buy votes” with promises of “free” government programs. I also call out their attempts to pass legislation and create regulations that serves solely to extend government power and control over the informed and legitimate choices of individual citizens.

How do I play “defence”?

I write daily between elections and speak publicly during elections to reach as many people as possible to teach about the Libertarian approach to a fair and respectful Civil Society. My message can be summarized in the following statement:

“Libertarians defend and protect individual persons (their mind, body and efforts) and their property from intentional and unwanted harm and aggression imposed by others including those employed by the state or associated with any “collective” organization that acts to sway government policies to favour its own self-serving special interests at the cost to others. Such organizations may include a church, cartel, activist NGO or any state-privileged ‘for-profit’ corporation such as a labour union.”

It’s surprising how many people, after understanding this message, say: “I guess I have been a Libertarian all along but never realized it”.

My political future

At age 70, and happily retired, I have no illusions about building a long term career in politics. My approach to elections, therefore,  is much more conservative than someone who is much younger and who possesses genuine ambitions to become an elected MPP and to participate in law-making as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario at Queen’s Park. I would happily step aside and support such an OLP candidate in my riding if someone were to come forward with those ambitions and the long term commitment to stick to them.

Experience makes me realistic

As the Libertarian candidate in the HKLB riding, I know that success, as measured by vote count, will be negligible. This is why I no longer accept campaign donations or ask for votes unless those votes are cast in protest against the existing political hegemony.

Instead, I ask voters to consider the ideas that I represent, to discuss them respectfully amongst friends and family, and then to promote the ones they like to their elected MPP often over his or her four year term. Only by this grass roots ‘populist’ advocacy from many citizens will the desired changes have any chance of success.

Whether you like him or not, Donald Trump ran a populist campaign in 2016 that got elected to the office of POTUS against all odds. He capitalized on the widespread “Main Street” discontent against the “Power Elites” on Wall Street and in Washington DC.  Over half of America’s voters felt sufficient anger to oppose all of the More Government “  non” candidates who  possessed significant political and government experience. Trump rode that anti-establishment protest like a conquering Roman Consul astride a white steed galloping all the way to the White House.

Populism is on the rise in Canada too

In Canada, the same visceral discontent is felt by tens of millions against the prevailing Political Power Cabals that control our federal and provincial governments. These citizens are angry (quietly and vocally) about how they have were mistreated by our elected representatives and unelected government officials. This anger is a powerful force that must be harnessed by the ‘agents of populist change’ if real change is ever to occur.

STOP and REPEAL their abuse of power now.

In politics, “never let a crisis go to waste” has been the rallying call of the power-hungry elites who crave the expansion if their powers for personal and partisan gains. Let’s turn this call back on them because We The People are victims of a Constitutional Crisis imposed on every Canadian by those very same elites.

The Truckers took the first step towards addressing this crisis. Let’s continue to drive their movement forward.

Let’s establish once and for all that the Shield Of Protection - the Charter of Rights and Freedoms - is impenetrable and can actually protect us  from the overreach of the Political Power Cabal that threatens genuine democracy in Canada.

Every new political candidate needs a symbol to rally behind.

      Imagine if one symbol - the Shield of Protection - was shared by every candidate in every one of those 20 small political parties. The effect is sure to get as much attention as the Truckers For Freedom Convoy.

      It is my hope that all 20 party leaders will raise the Shield of Protection on their web site and throughout their campaign. Let’s  unite behind this important common cause even though we may differ on public policies.