Why Libertarians run: interview with Gene Balfour

Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock Provincial Candidates Coverage-Gene Balfour Libertarian Party | Kawartha 411 -  Pamela Vanmeer:

May 25, 2022 - "The provincial election is coming up on June 2, 2022. We asked each of the local candidates the same questions and are printing their answers in full in the order received. Here is [Gene] Balfour, Libertarian Party.

"I am a retired business professional with a B.Sc. in Kinesiology ... with a work history beginning in the health and physical fitness sector. My career also included 4 years with IBM Canada ... then the next 36 years as a professional recruiter in the IT sector.... In 2007, I joined the Ontario Libertarian Party (OLP). Since then, have been a Less Government Libertarian candidate in 8 federal and provincial elections and led the OLP’s efforts in the 2018 election as its Chairman; we fielded 116 candidates for the 124 electoral ridings under my leadership. 

"I continue to be a candidate in every election to ensure that all voters have a genuine option to vote for Less Government if they see the wisdom in that choice. Also, as a father of two extraordinary daughters, I ask what kind of a father would I be if I did not try to protect them from the long term burdens imposed on them by excessively large, expensive, impersonal and autocratic governments which have been creeping deeper into our lives for decades?

What are the three top local issues in your opinion?

"Government causes of inflation. The high and rising cost of living has its root causes in government policies and their enforcement institutions. 'Back off government' is a slogan you occasionally see on signs. It advises the best way to unshackle our businesses from government-imposed restrictions and to free up their entrepreneurial abilities to deliver goods and services in a cost-effective manner.

"Government disrespect for our citizens. Our Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms have been ignored repeatedly and we have no way to hold government authorities to account for these violations.  Too many past voters have chosen politicians who planned to expand the role of governments in our lives. This mistake has enabled elected politicians to assume far too much authority and non-elected bureaucrats like public health officials to have too much influence on public policies such as broad lockdowns as well as mask and vaccine mandates. The assumption of pandemic 'emergency powers' by Justin Trudeau and Doug Ford has highlighted the enormous current risks of too much government to Canadian democracy. Just ask a trucker if he thinks too much power resides in the public sector.

"Government’s compulsive need to indoctrinate everyone. It starts with our children in public schools. It continues with our adult population through legacy media and social media corporations. Our public health officials also stepped up to feed the government’s preferred fear-mongering narratives during the pandemic;  the public listened knowing that these officials hold monopoly control over all of the public health institutions upon which they depend exclusively. All of these institutions share two things in common: their funding originally comes from taxpayers;  the people who ultimately control their paycheques are elected politicians like Justin Trudeau and Doug Ford....

What is your stance on those issues and your proposed solutions?

"If Big and Bigger Governments are the root cause of most society’s ailments, then Less Government is the only realistic antidote. Libertarians would repeal every piece of legislation that has awarded monopoly powers to government services in Education, Media, and Health-related sectors. This will allow competition in these sectors on an unbiased playing field. The Libertarian Non-Government Options plan will establish a vibrant market of strong competitors in those sectors providing every citizen with the choice to patronize which of many governments and non-government service providers will meet their needs best and pay accordingly. This plan is described in greater detail here https://libertarian.on.ca/platform/2022."

Read more: https://www.kawartha411.ca/2022/05/25/haliburton-kawartha-lakes-brock-provincial-candidates-coverage-gene-balfour-libertarian-party/

13 candidates run for Libertarian Party of Canada

The Libertarian Party of Canada was hit by a double whammy this election: (1) a snap election call at the worst possible time, less than a month after a convention brought in a new leader and administration; and (2) the continuing Covid pandemic and government lockdown measures, which made it virtually impossible for candidates to collect signatures to get on the ballot. Despite this, 13 Libertarians managed to be nominated, and will appear on election ballots across the country.  

2021 Candidates | Libertarian Party of Canada:

Here is our list of confirmed candidates as of September 2nd. Congratulations to all our candidates who worked within a short timeframe under difficult circumstances to get on the ballot.

Atlantic

• Fredericton - Brandon Kirby

Ontario

• Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill - Serge Korovitsyn
• Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock - Gene Balfour
• London West - Jacques Boudreau (Leader)
• Ottawa—Vanier - Daniel Elford
• Thunder Bay—Superior North - Alex Vodden

Manitoba

• Winnipeg Centre - Jamie Buhler

Alberta

• Edmonton Centre - Valerie Keefe
• Edmonton Griesbach - Morgan Watson
• Edmonton Strathcona - Malcolm Stinson
• Red Deer—Lacombe - Matthew Watson
• Red Deer—Mountain View - Jared Pilon

British Columbia

• Vancouver East - Gölök Z Buday  

https://www.libertarian.ca/2021_candidates

Balfour backs Bernier in Haliburton

Balfour backs Bernier, runs for PPC - Chad Ingram, Haliburton Echo:

"September 17, 2019 - "Gene Balfour says his decision to run for the People’s Party of Canada in October’s federal election has a lot to do with the party’s leader, former Conservative cabinet minister Maxime Bernier.

"Balfour’s name may be familiar, as he ran in Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock for the Ontario Libertarian Party during the 2018 provincial election. This will actually be Balfour’s seventh run in the political realm, having run as a Libertarian candidate five times [at] the provincial and once previously at the federal level in 2015.


"'I was fully planning to run for the Libertarian Party of Canada,' he says. However, Balfour was in attendance at a Libertarian conference, “and the night before the conference kicked off, I met Maxime Bernier.' 'It seemed to me that Maxime Bernier was very much like me,” Balfour says. “He was a Libertarian conservative.'

"Bernier lost the bid for the Conservative Party of Canada leadership to Andrew Scheer in 2017, and quit the party in August of 2018, vowing to start his own party [s]aying he would run a candidate in all of the country’s 338 ridings.... 'I’ve never seen a leader like this in my life,' Balfour says. 'Here’s a man who goes from zero and he’s got 320 candidates registered. Who does that?'

"Balfour is a retired professional recruiter who worked in the IT industry and resides in Fenelon Falls. He promotes libertarian philosophies such as personal freedoms, fewer regulations, less taxation and smaller government....

"Balfour says that while knocking on people’s doors, 'the first thing they’re going to ask you about it is immigration. They feel the Liberals, they’re looking after other people, they’re not looking after Canadians.' 'We can’t help our veterans,' Balfour says, adding that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems to have money to give other nations for climate change initiatives. 'There’s a lot of anger out there against Justin.'

"On climate change, Balfour is opposed to any form of carbon pricing or carbon taxation. He says there are essentially two things any government can do. The first is pass legislation.
'The other thing they can do is ... throw money at the cause.' Balfour says the issue of climate change is too complex and far-reaching to be solved in this manner....

"In terms of himself, 'I have a background in economics,' Balfour says. 'All politicians must, in my view, look through the lens of economics.'

Read more: http://www.haliburtonecho.ca/balfour-backs-bernier-runs-for-ppc

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Gene Balfour declares for Ontario LP leadership

Leadership
by Gene Balfour

'Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results' is the definition of insanity - Albert Einstein 

I have been a libertarian candidate in six elections (2 by-elections) and have never attained more than 1.36% of the popular vote. Until December of last year, I planned to run my seventh for the Libertarian Party of Canada.

Today, I am one of 312 candidates for the People’s Party of Canada in the federal election. I have also registered for the November 2nd election for Leader of the Ontario Libertarian Party. I have been enormously inspired by the accomplishments of Maxime Bernier and the book Right Here, Right Now by Stephen Harper.

Max is a “minarchist” (Less Government) Libertarian like me. I am aligned with his policies and can confidently speak to the public about them. I see no conflict in being a Libertarian and running for the PPC.

Last month, I attended the first People’s Party of Canada Convention which hosted nearly 500 candidates and their riding association executives from across Canada. This event was superbly organized! The election training and workshops were excellent. The speakers were fabulous. Max’s closing speech was historic! He delivered it with such skill and passion that I got goosebumps. Every person I met  at the Convention was positive and energized to succeed. Max has convinced me that he is the best choice for Prime Minister of Canada by far.

So, why am I writing about my personal experience with the PPC and Max?

Speaking as an OLP member since 2007, I know clearly now what kind of leader I wish to follow going into the next provincial election. My wish list is a tall one, but I like the advice of Norman Vincent Peale: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.”

I want the next OLP Leader to inspire me to reach beyond my own limits in an effort to bring Libertarian principles and values to the residents of Ontario.

This Leader must:

• Lead by example - to demonstrate consistently that he or she has thoroughly  embraced our Libertarian Constitution and ByLaws,  and is committed to interact with every one of our OPM Members and the public in accordance with them. 
• Unite  all OLP members under a political platform of ideas that will inspire a commitment to Party goals. It is urgent that we put aside our differences and approach the next election in solidarity as ‘one voice’. 
• Inspire others to join the OLP Executive and Ethics Committees. Vitally important is the need for the Leader and Executive Committee Chairman to work closely and effectively in order to achieve consistent and steady progress towards preparing the OLP for its best ever showing in 2022.
• Build a large and engaged Membership community. To this end, the OLP Leader must become a recognized public figure. This means being publicly visible, attracting media attention, Internet followers and crowds of people at regular public events. 
• Become an expert fundraiser and magnet for volunteers. Every election campaign is constrained by funding and help. We can change this.

As of this writing, our Convention delegates will have 4 choices for Party Leadership as presented by Rob Ferguson, Keith Komar, me and NOTA (‘none-of-the-above’ has always been a valid option for electing OLP Party Officers).

May the words of Norman Vincent Peale guide your choice. 

Ont. Libertarian runs in Haliburton to grow party

Libertarian candidate hopes to grow party - Chad Ingram, Minden Times:

April 12, 2018 - "Gene Balfour is well aware his chances of becoming the next MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock are less than slim. 'I know I’m not going to Queen’s Park,' says Balfour, the Ontario Libertarian Party’s candidate for the riding.

"A recently retired professional recruiter, Balfour, a longtime Thornhill resident, now resides in Fenelon Falls with his wife, a retired school principal.

"Balfour was first introduced to the Ontario Libertarian Party more than a decade ago, when he crashed one of the party’s meetings.... He found that he agreed with the party’s ideals, and has now run half a dozen elections under its banner and is party chairman. Balfour is eager to share the Libertarian philosophy with residents of HKLB.

"The pillars of the Libertarian platform are personal freedoms, fewer regulations, less taxation and smaller government.

"'Libertarians defend and protect each individual person – that’s body, mind and efforts – and his or her property – that’s anything of value – from unwanted and intentional aggression or harm inflicted by others, including those in government,' Balfour says....

"Balfour says the mainstream parties are all the same, enticing voters with promises to fix the province’s problems, but never doing so, and in the meantime growing the size of government and racking up debt....

"Balfour points to the province’s myriad regulations, of which he says there are some 380,000, and stresses all of these regulations need to be enforced, meaning more and more people need to be hired... 'That’s doubled in the last 25 years,' he says of the number of regulations....

"What’s more, Balfour says many of those policies are in place to give the province a monopoly, not just over the sale of alcohol and soon, marijuana, but everything from education to health care. 'We have to eliminate regulations that provide power for government to run monopolies,' he says....

"To learn more about the Ontario Libertarian Party and its platform, visit http://www.libertarian.on.ca."

Read more: http://www.mindentimes.ca/libertarian-candidate-hopes-to-grow-party?id=875
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