Early election call raising red flags

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This article was published 02/08/2015 (3746 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Welcome to the 42nd federal general election, easily the most cynical election in Canadian history.

Why cynical? For what appears to be purely partisan reasons, on Sunday morning Prime Minister Stephen Harper decided to drop the writ early for the October 19 vote. His decision makes this a 79-day campaign, the longest federal campaign in 140 years and easily the most expensive ever.

If only the cynicism ended there.

Harper repeatedly referred to the fact this election was consistent with the fixed-date election law his government introduced to eliminate political manipulation of election writs. Although the law does not preclude an early start, Harper’s decision to go now — in a bid to outspend political opponents — stands in utter defiance of the spirit and purpose of fixed date elections.

Finally, remember as well this campaign will be fought against the backdrop of the Fair Elections Act, a series of controversial changes to electoral law that will prevent thousands of Canadians from casting a vote thanks to stricter identification requirements.

It all adds up to this: an election campaign that will be twice as long and twice as expensive as normal, launched on the Sunday of a long weekend in the dead of summer with utter disregard for the spirit and intent of the fixed date election law and with the looming prospect that some engaged Canadians will in fact be prevented from voting.

Why so long?

Why go so long? Tory officials have stated on the record they believe a longer campaign is “good for democracy.” In his remarks on Sunday Harper, remarkably, said he felt compelled to start the campaign because opposition parties were using government and parliamentary resources for partisan purposes.

However, in more discreet back channels, Tory sources have said Harper’s rationale is to engineer a campaign so long and costly that opposition parties cannot fairly compete. By some estimates, the Conservative Party has more money in reserve than the Liberals and NDP combined. The longer campaign raises spending limits from about $25 million (for a normal typical five-week campaign) to more than $50 million.

This strategy has already raised some fairly prominent alarm bells. Former Chief Electoral Officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley, told the CBC the Harper Conservatives are “gaming” the electoral system to create an uneven playing field. “What you’ve done is that you’ve distorted the role of money in politics,” Kingsley said.

Outside Rideau Hall on Sunday, Harper denied he was engaging in the shameless political manipulation that Kingsley described, but by all reasonable analysis, he has crossed over several moral and ethical boundaries with the early election call. And in doing so, he has opened himself and his party up to the possibility this strategy will backfire.

Turnout key in tight race

A longer campaign is not only more expensive, it represents a greater opportunity for voters to dwell on the governing party’s dirty laundry. And the fact is there is quite a bit to dwell on.

From the conviction of Tory MPs and staff for violations of election financing laws, to the trial of former Tory Sen. Mike Duffy on fraud charges, there are some pretty messy Tory scabs for the opposition parties to pick at.

In addition, Harper goes into this election claiming the economy is still growing strong and he has balanced the federal budget, neither of which appear to be true.

If the opposition parties are able to keep the spotlight on the negative Tory baggage, it’s quite likely Harper’s message to voters to choose “proven leadership” will fall apart before election day.

There is also a chance voters will react directly and negatively to the inherent cynicism in the decision to call the election so early. If the early writ becomes an issue in and of itself, it could actually spur more Canadians to vote, something the Conservatives desperately want to avoid.

It’s a very tight race right now, and Harper will have to rely on some strategic vote splitting between the New Democrats and Liberals to engineer another majority mandate. If voter turnout surges, however, in response to the prospect of a change in government or anger over the early election call, no measure of vote splitting will be able to save the Tories.

‘Noble cause corruption’

Why would Harper compromise so much on moral and ethical imperatives with this early election call? In short, the Conservatives believe they have moral obligation to win this election.

In his opening remarks, Harper made it clear the plans offered by the NDP and Liberals were “risky” and would lead to the ruination of the Canadian economy and way of life. It’s certainly not unusual for an incumbent government to allege that a change would be disastrous; the Tories are neither the first nor the last to employ this hyperbolic tack.

However, in most instances this argument is just rhetoric, well contained within the confines of a campaign. This time, however, the Tories have gone beyond rhetoric and messed around with the very essence of fair elections.

Talking with Conservative sources, it becomes clear they honestly, sincerely believe they are the only people qualified to lead the country. And that as a result, they are obligated to do whatever they can to ensure neither the NDP nor the Liberals gain the levers of power.

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There is a term for this mindset. A 1991 Royal Commission in the United Kingdom that looked at a string of wrongful convictions coined a term for police and prosecutors that broke rules in pursuit of a conviction: noble cause corruption.

This is a desperate corollary of the old adage that “the ends justify the means.” For police and prosecutors, it manifested in hiding or planting evidence, eliciting false convictions or using crooked jailhouse informants to manufacture convictions. This philosophy was only revealed because, tragically, the corrupt behaviour resulted in a string of wrongful convictions.

In Canada’s current political context, it does indeed appear noble cause corruption is in play. The Harper Conservatives believe so strongly they need to rule the country that they are willing to manipulate the electoral system to create an uneven playing field. All done with the hope voters don’t spend too much time examining their approach.

That it is corrupt, there is little doubt. Whether or not that corruption is justified in pursuit of a noble cause is something voters will have to decide on October 19.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca

Dan Lett
Columnist

Dan Lett is a columnist for the Free Press, providing opinion and commentary on politics in Winnipeg and beyond. Born and raised in Toronto, Dan joined the Free Press in 1986.  Read more about Dan.

Dan’s columns are built on facts and reactions, but offer his personal views through arguments and analysis. The Free Press’ editing team reviews Dan’s columns before they are posted online or published in print — part of the our tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.