Students at SFU Burnaby had the chance to see the candidates in their riding confront each other during the Burnaby North-Seymour All Candidates Debate, hosted by the Simon Fraser Student Society in the Saywell Atrium on Thursday, Oct. 1.
Carol Baird Ellan of the New Democratic Party, Terry Beech of the Liberal Party of Canada, Brian Sproule of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada, and Lynne Quarmby of the Green Party of Canada met to debate against each other and potentially win the support of voters in their riding.
The candidates were asked to comment on Aboriginal issues, gender equality, electoral reform, education, and the environment. Mike Little, candidate for The Conservative Party of Canada, declined to participate in the debate.
The event was held in order to engage young voters, who make up a demographic with traditionally low voter turnout. In the 2011 federal election, Elections Canada reported that just 39 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 24 voted — the lowest of any age group.
Although they disagreed on a wide variety of things, the candidates present all expressed their distaste for the current Conservative government, citing bill C-51 and the growing power of the Prime Minister’s Office. Quarmby went as far as to say, “Prime Minister Harper is essentially an elected dictator.”
However, the politics of how to defeat the Conservative party were contested. In response to Canada’s “first past the post” electoral system, strategically voting has come up in recent discussions of the upcoming election.
“Prime Minister Harper is essentially an elected dictator.”
– Lynn Quarmby,
Green Party candidate
Quarmby pushed against the idea of people voting for more popular alternatives to the current government than the Green Party. She expressed, “You’re going to hear that I should come back in four years when we have proportional representation. No. I’m here now, the climate can’t wait. We need change now.”
Ellan referenced the issue multiple times, at one point saying, “We’re stuck with [first past the post]. It means that if the vote is split, the conservatives win the riding.”
A short time after the debate, when the crowds had dissipated and the audience had time to meet with the candidates, The Peak caught up with moderator and SFU student Aleksandra Panić to get her perspective on the proceedings.
When discussing overall themes of the debate, Panić said that the candidates had to “respond to the idea of funding big plans.” Beech spoke to the merits of the Liberal’s platform and experts who support it, asking the audience to google “What do economists think about the Liberal Party plan?”, while Ellan accused the Liberal Party of having a track record for breaking promises.
Panić also offered that while some might perceive the push for strategic voting as a form of “fear mongering,” she pointed out that no candidate had dismissed it as an illegitimate strategy.
At multiple points throughout the debate, each candidate urged the audience to vote on October 19, stressing that this election is pivotal.
Ellan said, “This could be the most important election in the history of this country.” with Quarmby in agreement. Sproule also encouraged young people to become active in the election: “Democracy will come into being when the people empower themselves.”
