No Election Is A Waste

I just got back from casting my ballot in this, the 41st Canadian General Election. After starting out very boring (for lack of a better word), the campaign got really crazy really quickly. Now, I'm certainly not a fan of Jack Layton (this video/article shows why I'll never vote for a party led by him, petty as it may be), but I hold out great hope by the poll numbers the NDP has gotten in Quebec, especially since it seems to be mostly at the expense of the Bloq Quebecois. The sooner they're out of the federal election scene, the better.

One of the argument that was thrown around early on was the idea that this election was unnecessary and a waste, usually (and understandably) by Conservative supporters. My counter-argument is that no election is a waste, especially this one. This was the longest serving minority parliament in Canadian history, which seems to suggest that our political parties are adjusting to the new reality of minorities. If an election wasn't called now, it would be in a few month or a year at most. So, the expense of an election would just be spent then. Of course, over time, more money will be spent than if elections were held every 3 to 5 years. But it would maybe be one or 2 elections extra over 20 years and in the grand scheme of federal budgets, would be a drop in the bucket.

I love elections, but mostly election night. Despite if who I want to win actually does, seeing the numbers roll in and the seat counters at the bottom of the screen is just some sort of nerd crack to me.

Enjoy election day everybody.