by George J. Dance
June 2, 2022 - Today did not start well. I got no sleep last night, meaning I was dead tired and starting to nod off this morning, when my wife woke up and reminded me it was Election Day. Just what I needed! But we make it a point to vote in every election. In my younger days, I used to make it a point to run in every election, and while those days are long gone, I can still at least vote. But I was not looking forward to it this time.
The last federal election was brutal: we joined the tail of a huge line that snaked all over the property, doubling back on itself at least twice. Fortunately, because my wife uses a cane, we were taken pity on after about an hour in line and allowed to cut in. We decided to try to avoid that again by voting early, but we had no idea what to expect.
I also had no idea whom to vote for. I did not know who was running, or even what constituency I now live in. I knew the Libertarians were running only 15 candidates, so I did not expect one on my ballot. Nor would I vote for one of the BORG – Blue, Orange, Red, or Green – parties. My biggest issue this year was Doug Ford's Covid mandates, and I knew that all four of those parties had supported them. I had learned that there were at least four other parties campaigning against Covid mandates – New Blue, Ontario Party, Ontario People's Front, and Populist Party – but I knew little about what else each of them stood for. Nor did I know which if any of them would have a candidate on my ballot.
At the polling station, though, I had a couple of pleasant surprises. First, there was no lineup at all; we showed up and walked right in. Second, scanning the ballot, I saw the magic word "Libertarian". So my wife and I happily cast our votes for Serge Korovitsyn. (Later, when I got home, I looked his name up on the party website, and discovered that I still lived in Scarborough Centre.)
I cannot describe what a relief it was to see the "Libertarian" name on the ballot. Here was a brand name I could trust; not this year's new fad party, but a group that for decades has supported and articulated ideals I could proudly vote for. I do not expect Serge to win, but helping him get a higher vote was the most productive use of my ballot. More generally, I do not expect Libertarians to form the government in my lifetime; but we can get a high enough vote total that the BORG has to start listening to us and co-opting our ideas.
I would like to thank and salute all of the Libertarian candidates running in this election. Here is a quick list, alphabetically by riding. Highlighted names link to stories about them on the blog. Pictures and full bios for all 15 candidates can be found on the party website, libertarian.on.ca. May there be many more in elections to come.
Brantford-Brant: Rob Ferguson
Davenport: Nunzio Venuto
Don Valley West: John Kittredge
Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock: Gene Balfour
Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands & Rideau Lakes: Mark Snow
London West: Jacques Boudreau
Niagara West: Stefanos Karatopis
Nipissing: Michelle Lashbrook
Orleans: Ken Lewis
Ottawa-Vanier: Coreen Corcoran
St. Catharines: Judi Falardeau
Scarborough Centre: Serge Korovitsyn
Simcoe North: William Joslin
Sudbury: Adrien Berthier
Timiskaming-Cochrane: Eric Cummings
York-Simcoe: Zachary Tisdale
