Interview with the Leader of the Libertarian Party of Ontario · 71 Republic - Brennan Dube:
November 11, 2018 - "The Libertarian Party of Ontario has seen impressive growth over the past several years.... The party only fielded 5 libertarians in the 2003 election..... In the 2011 race, the libertarians fielded 51 candidates out of a possible 107 and garnered 0.45% of the popular vote.... 2014, ... the libertarians ran 74 out of a possible 107 and scored 0.81% of the vote. [This year the] Ontario libertarians were able to field 117 candidates (94.3%).... Even though the party only got 0.75% of the popular vote, they nonetheless picked up a record high of 42,918 voters....
"I had the privilege of interviewing former deputy leader and now current leader of the Ontario Libertarian Party, Rob Ferguson....
"Ferguson: 'I grew up in a Conservative family and ... I can even remember our families home was turned into a campaign HQ on some occasions. As I grew up I decided to become a member of the New Democratic Party.... My stint with the party lasted less than a year.... I found myself then exploring the Family Coalition Party.... During the time leading up to the provincial election in 2011, ... I left the party and just hours later found myself in contact with some executive members of the Ontario Libertarian Party. I ended up coordinating and training 12 candidates in the 2011 provincial race, and I ran myself as well. I have always been about family values and the party’s positions on individual liberties, property rights and personal responsibility fit me perfectly....
"'From a philosophical standpoint, libertarianism is so unique and when you start to apply the basic principles of libertarianism to issues we see brought up every election you see that yes, this makes sense. The notion of personal responsibility and property rights are key points within the libertarian ideology. One of my biggest influences is former Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier. He is a prime exemplar of classical liberalism in Canadian politics. I also find myself often quoting Margaret Thatcher. One quote of hers I often find myself repeating is, "The problem with socialism is that eventually, you run out of other people’s money."
"'Allen Small did a ton for this party as its leader, and he has left us in a very good place going forward ... he was always on top of things and he put a ton into his job. Now that I have taken the mantle from him I think that the number one priority should be to amend our party’s constitution and make it more coherent with the digital age....
"'[I]t’s refreshing to see more and more liberty minded people putting their names out there.... However, I am skeptical of the [People's Party], what I say is simple, you can either join a new party that may or may not last or you can stick with a movement that’s been growing for 40 years and is seeing its absolute best growth now. I welcome Bernier and his new party to the table but ... as for me, I’m sticking with the Libertarian Party.
"'We’ve seen incredible growth; over the last few elections we’ve seen votes go up, membership go up and candidates go up. To maintain our growth, we need to continue to aim towards running full slates. By updating our party constitution and by-laws and fixing internal policy we can ... modernize the party. A few of the ridings that we weren’t able to fill candidates in were up in Northern Ontario and by targeting those areas in 2022 and continuing to run full slates we can continue to see solid growth and work towards winning seats in the next few election cycles....
"'In the age now of social media when you spread the message to a few it can reach many so just getting out and speaking to as many people as possible is truly the way to best engage voters. Here in Brantford I think I have succeeded in that, just recently I was out at a store and an individual turned to me and said, "hey, aren’t you Rob Ferguson?" and I laugh because my wife says it seems like we can’t go out anymore without people coming up to me or recognizing me.'"
Read more: https://71republic.com/2018/11/11/interview-libertarian-party-ontario-rob-ferguson/
'via Blog this'
November 11, 2018 - "The Libertarian Party of Ontario has seen impressive growth over the past several years.... The party only fielded 5 libertarians in the 2003 election..... In the 2011 race, the libertarians fielded 51 candidates out of a possible 107 and garnered 0.45% of the popular vote.... 2014, ... the libertarians ran 74 out of a possible 107 and scored 0.81% of the vote. [This year the] Ontario libertarians were able to field 117 candidates (94.3%).... Even though the party only got 0.75% of the popular vote, they nonetheless picked up a record high of 42,918 voters....
"I had the privilege of interviewing former deputy leader and now current leader of the Ontario Libertarian Party, Rob Ferguson....
"Ferguson: 'I grew up in a Conservative family and ... I can even remember our families home was turned into a campaign HQ on some occasions. As I grew up I decided to become a member of the New Democratic Party.... My stint with the party lasted less than a year.... I found myself then exploring the Family Coalition Party.... During the time leading up to the provincial election in 2011, ... I left the party and just hours later found myself in contact with some executive members of the Ontario Libertarian Party. I ended up coordinating and training 12 candidates in the 2011 provincial race, and I ran myself as well. I have always been about family values and the party’s positions on individual liberties, property rights and personal responsibility fit me perfectly....
"'From a philosophical standpoint, libertarianism is so unique and when you start to apply the basic principles of libertarianism to issues we see brought up every election you see that yes, this makes sense. The notion of personal responsibility and property rights are key points within the libertarian ideology. One of my biggest influences is former Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier. He is a prime exemplar of classical liberalism in Canadian politics. I also find myself often quoting Margaret Thatcher. One quote of hers I often find myself repeating is, "The problem with socialism is that eventually, you run out of other people’s money."
"'Allen Small did a ton for this party as its leader, and he has left us in a very good place going forward ... he was always on top of things and he put a ton into his job. Now that I have taken the mantle from him I think that the number one priority should be to amend our party’s constitution and make it more coherent with the digital age....
"'[I]t’s refreshing to see more and more liberty minded people putting their names out there.... However, I am skeptical of the [People's Party], what I say is simple, you can either join a new party that may or may not last or you can stick with a movement that’s been growing for 40 years and is seeing its absolute best growth now. I welcome Bernier and his new party to the table but ... as for me, I’m sticking with the Libertarian Party.
"'We’ve seen incredible growth; over the last few elections we’ve seen votes go up, membership go up and candidates go up. To maintain our growth, we need to continue to aim towards running full slates. By updating our party constitution and by-laws and fixing internal policy we can ... modernize the party. A few of the ridings that we weren’t able to fill candidates in were up in Northern Ontario and by targeting those areas in 2022 and continuing to run full slates we can continue to see solid growth and work towards winning seats in the next few election cycles....
"'In the age now of social media when you spread the message to a few it can reach many so just getting out and speaking to as many people as possible is truly the way to best engage voters. Here in Brantford I think I have succeeded in that, just recently I was out at a store and an individual turned to me and said, "hey, aren’t you Rob Ferguson?" and I laugh because my wife says it seems like we can’t go out anymore without people coming up to me or recognizing me.'"
Read more: https://71republic.com/2018/11/11/interview-libertarian-party-ontario-rob-ferguson/
'via Blog this'
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