Sunday April 20, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
As election campaigns come down to the wire, more information will surface aimed at showing less than perfect or threadbare aspects of an opponent’s campaign or political history.
Such is the case with a recent stirring of the pot by NDP loyalists to make a point about the Liberal candidate in Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke.
A lawyer by profession, Stephanie McLean was a provincial MLA with the NDP in Alberta (2015-2019), but quit that party just ahead of the 2019 election. A few years later — in June 2023 — she is seen to have made a $350 donation to the Conservative Party of Canada. It’s a free world, people make choices. But now in 2025, McLean is running as a Liberal candidate in this federal election.
This sort of jockeying for a winning lane will seem savvy to some but brought forward in the light of a competitive federal election race is being painted by opposing forces as a failing. A similar overlay happened for former BC premier Christy Clark who donated to the Conservatives a few years ago but then hoped to run for Liberal this year.
The larger point here is about examining why people get into politics, how the system works, and how strategic choices can add up to what can produce a pitfall or failure. Not to mention the obvious osmosis between the two main political parties in this country.
It’s hard enough for parties to find candidates in today’s highly invasive toxic realm of public scrutiny. Every little move can end up being a killing political moment given particular circumstances. At the best of times, the vetting of candidates is a challenge for any political party to find the best possible candidates is a tough job; in this day and age of social media intrusion overlaid by uniquely challenging societal themes, it’s more difficult than ever.
In and of themselves, none of McLean’s party alignment choices warrant negativity — be a successful MLA with a provincial party including carrying two ministerial portfolios, donate to a federal political party, and run for a federal political party. All good. Except that switching lanes without what seems like a deeper regard for what three different political parties stand for is what irks the critics.
Focus on Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke:
Bringing this back to the moment at hand, it is the tonality of the four major party campaigns in Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke that makes most of this worth examining just nine days ahead of the 45th federal general election.
These are arguably challenging times in our country. Many people and political parties consider Election 2025 to be a consequential one at a turning point in both domestic politics and the role of this country in global affairs. Not to mention that Canada is at the crux of a threat to our very sovereignty as a nation.
In that context, one hopes or thinks that all the candidates across 343 ridings who seek to be part of leading this country for the next four years are in it for the best possible reasons. This is fast shaping up as a period that includes not just a trade war with the world’s strongest economic force but consequentially also some tough socioeconomic choices by households, communities and governments.
This year’s election in Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke is a crucible of political study as to what brings people into politics. Or more specifically, to represent their community in a way that will interact with larger forces and trends in this country.
- One candidate has taken the route of long-built local and regional community interaction (NDP candidate Maja Tait has been a municipal councillor and mayor);
- One candidate seeks to bring business expertise to the political playing field (Conservative candidate Grant Cool is a PhD-level aerospace engineer with strong business sensibilities);
- One candidate brings a facility for political connection (Liberal candidate Stephanie McLean is a lawyer who can make a case for community leadership); and
- One candidate brings that sense of hope for a future unfolding (Green candidate Ben Homer-Dixon is articulate beyond his years in terms of what be for Canadian society).
Locally for voters in the south Vancouver Island riding of Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke this is almost more a voting decision of conscience and leadership intention over party alignment. And all the smart or even nasty aspects of strategic voting may come into play.
But just as our country is at a crossroads of choosing a firm new vision for prosperity and security, so is this one riding in British Columbia at a pivotal moment where it might take a new course. Will voters continue with the long-held people-first footprint (NDP since 2011 and in many ways long before that under variable riding boundaries) or shift to something new?
Strong advance voting:
Voter participation has been brisk in the first two days of a four-day advance voting period (April 18 to 21 over this Easter long weekend). According to Elections Canada there were nearly two million votes cast on April 18 (with long lineups reported across the country). There is a sense that people are intent more than usual to claim a strong future for this country. They are ‘voting with their feet’ (i.e. by individual voters coming out in strong number there is a stronger message).
A voter’s ballot choice can be simple — they like the party’s platform or the candidate’s style or campaign theme. But ballot choices can be more complex and that does take more time and effort to know the issues and the stakes at play at this pivotal moment in where Canada’s economy and values are heading.
What might seem like a petty or partisan complaint about a candidate could be just that, and voters will want to see beyond that if their larger beliefs about a party prevail. Sometimes it does matter which party wins, and that leads to the question of how one chooses based on candidate or party.
There is no one right answer here. What colours a voter’s decision in Election 2025 could be held to the standard of what is right for the higher purpose of serving in public office. Whether a candidate brings particular skills or length of political service to the table, what might matter more than usual at this critical juncture in Canadian purpose is the debatable matter of soul. Where will this candidate or party take us over the next four years.
In the end, voting is as simple as marking an ‘X’ on a ballot. Hopefully for most voters it is an ‘X’ that carries behind it a consideration of many factors that will on election night produce a new and invigorated sense of leadership for this country.
Voters would be well-reminded that in Canada we do not elect a prime minister; none of the party leaders’ names are on the ballot except in their own home ridings. We choose a local candidate to take our concerns to the federal realm as a member of parliament. Their future work in the House of Commons relies on our choices in local ridings across the country.
Election dates and results:
Advance voting runs for four days through this Easter long weekend (Friday April 18 through Monday April 21). The 45th Canadian federal election is on Monday April 28.
Many people like to vote on the actual election day.
Final results might be quick, or take longer. Voting options like vote by mail, special ballot, and voting (by special ballot) at the approximately 500 electoral district offices across the country mean that a tight race could require waiting for all those ballot boxes from EDOs to be hand counted and tallied in with the rest of election night and advance voting day results.
If (based on 2021 statistics) about 78% of the current 41.5 million population participating as registered voters, that means as many as 32,370,000 ballots could be cast in the 2025 federal election. The day-one ballot count of about 2 million is about 6.1% of Canadian voters.
Strong stuff. Big decisions being made.
===== RELATED:
- NEWS SECTIONS: POLITICS | CANADIAN FEDERAL ELECTION 2025 | VANCOUVER ISLAND
- Federal leaders debates, Commission failures, & advance vote surge (April 19, 2025)
- Strong turnout on first day of federal advance voting (April 18, 2025)
- Victoria business leaders connect with federal candidates on key issues (April 18, 2025)
- Leaders debate in French at new time to avoid viewing conflict with NHL game (April 15, 2025)
- Five topics for federal leaders debates April 16 & 17 (April 14, 2025)
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