What may convince such people to vote at all, including for the candidate you favour, is seeing them at their door.
If you’re desperate to see Canadians vote the way you want them to, don’t just post on social media. Join a political campaign.
Many people care about this federal election but feel helpless to change the result. That’s not right. An election is a war. Some of it is won in the air (television), but much of it is won on the ground by reaching people at the doors.
Young Canadians in World War II didn’t tell themselves, “No point in me going to war, I can’t beat Hitler by myself.” No, they enlisted.
While some ridings have dominant support for one party or another, many elections are won at the margins. Any riding won by less than 200 votes could easily have been turned the other way if the second-place candidate had one more volunteer who worked full-time the length of the campaign, or a handful that worked part-time.
Some of you are wondering how the polls could say what they do. Part of the answer is that some have benefitted from a parasitic Canada that only benefits the public sector and the largest urban centres, and they see no great need for change.
Part of the answer is that many people, Liberal voters included, will vote for the same party their whole lives, and the most change you could convince them of is to not vote at all. It’s just like being a lifelong sports fan. You identify yourself with them and you’ll still cheer for them after you move.
Many people view politics in a way that’s very tribal. I saw it myself when I ran in a federal election. I had a great resume and a platform that should have played very well where I was running. I just couldn’t reach enough people to personally change their minds, something that is always an uphill battle. People make decisions emotionally, then justify them with reasons.
People have their biases, and those who don’t encounter other voices trying to give them one: mainstream media, unions, and academia to name a few. It might take a personal connection with a volunteer to change their thinking.
Those who have no political leanings present a different problem. If they choose to vote at all, their decision may come down to a certain issue here and there, their impression of a party leader, or any number of whimsical things.
A friend told me in one election she had my vote, but admitted she’d otherwise vote for NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh because he was funny in the recent televised debate. It’s a sad joke that people would vote for someone based on their sense of humour, but such is the mentality of those who may sway an election. They may even vote for who has the most election signs in their area.
What may convince such people to vote at all, including for the candidate you favour, is seeing them at their door. People have told me to my face, “You’ve got my vote because you’re the only one who came here.” That response is more likely if it’s the candidate themselves at the door, but volunteers can inspire it too. Most people don’t ask for a sign either. They get one because a volunteer asks them.
Unfortunately, some political campaigns discourage volunteers from trying to persuade people at the doors. They have little choice if there is a shortage of volunteers, because there are so many doors to hit in so little time, and conversations take that time.
If volunteers are free to talk, they can change a lot. I know a young woman in the 2015 election in Calgary who swayed common public misconceptions with a few facts. She could do it well because she was a political staffer. People even told her she had changed their minds. Given the narrow margin of victory, she might have tilted the entire riding.
If you live somewhere that votes strongly one way or another, you can still step up somewhere else. This may mean taking a weekend to stay with friends or family that live in a swing riding and hitting the doors for their local campaign. Or, you can offer to make phone calls from home for a campaign that may be a short or long distance away.
It’s easy to find out which ridings are in contention. Visit https://338canada.com/federal.htm and click on the province where you live. Scroll down the page and find your riding. If yours has a clear favorite, look for a “toss up” riding or one merely “leaning” one way. Usually, a simple internet search can reveal a candidate’s campaign email. Offer yourself to volunteer. If they don’t respond, find another one.
Canadians will decide this election and other Canadians can help them choose–provided they transition from complaining to doing. While past generations suffered and even died in wars for their countries, we could lose ours now from mere apathy. A vote makes a little difference, but rallying others makes many times more.
