My vote

Even from afar, the collective outrage and disappointment that is about to boot the Liberals out of office is palpable. It's difficult to imagine how so much goodwill and trust the Liberals earned through prudent fiscal management and technocratic and efficient administration during the 90s has been squandered. I left Canada in early 2002, before the Liberal government's worst excesses in corruption and arrogance were exposed, but even then it was apparent the rot had set in.

Maybe the Liberals do need to be punished for their adventures in creative accounting? Maybe they do need to be reminded that they govern at the electorate's pleasure and that their sense of entitlement is off-putting? And, maybe more generally, all governments need to be changed periodically to remind everybody that the democratic process requires regular reckoning to remain functional. But at what costs will these messages be sent?

On health care, I have yet to hear the Conservatives explicitly commit to rejecting the encroachments of the private sector and the de facto emergence of a two-tier system. In fact, the incremental compromises around the basic principles of health care allowed by Conservative governments in Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia suggests a federal Conservative government will only accelerate what has been a slow march to the end of universal health care.

On social policy, the vague and slippery evasions of Stephen Harper on gay marriages and abortion, for example, only inspire dread and fear of a polarizing debate at the least and more likely rollbacks in the historic gains made by women in their fight for control over their bodies and more recent gains by gays and lesbians to have their relationships legally recognized and socially respected.

And, on Canada's role on the international stage, Harper's unapologetic Americanism will only contribute to emboldening the obviously dangerous and shortsighted unilateral and militarily aggressive approach of the United States.

On every level, the price of sending the Liberals the message they deserve to receive will come at too high a cost. Unfortunately, the alternative of keeping the Liberals in government is equally problematic. I've weighed my options in a number of different ways, but in the end, my conscience overruled any strategic calculations.

When the polls were suggesting the possibility of a Liberal-NDP minority government, my first preference was to vote NDP to facilitate such an outcome. This would have achieved my ideal scenario, one that would have sent the Liberals a strong message chastising them for their ethical lapses and forcing a more progressive social agenda.

When the polls began to indicate the strong possibility of a Conservative-led minority government, I started to consider supporting the Liberals as an option to forestall a likely Conservative and Bloc alliance. The threat of such an unholy union between social conservatives and Quebec separatists made my calculus strictly strategic and the idea of marking my ballot in favour of the Liberals somewhat palatable.

But with the polls now suggesting the possibility of an outright Conservative majority government, the premise of my calculus has shifted from strategic to principles. If the Conservatives are going to assume power in Ottawa, then they need to know, notwithstanding their majority, that there is a significant constituency of social progressives that needs to be considered in any policy debate. In a Conservative dominated parliament, I believe the NDP will play a much more important role in opposition, regardless of their final numerical outcome, because it seems apparent that for the time being the Liberals have been discredited as a political force.

It's difficult to know how the public opinion polls will shift as election day draws nearer, but my decision had to be based on current trends because of the requirement to vote early. And, by all indications, it seems Canada is headed toward a Conservative majority and the inevitable and divisive debates over social policy that entails. If such a debate is going to take place, then I want a credible and sincere opposition to voice my objections at every turn. So, in the end, my vote went to the NDP candidate David Thomas in my home riding of Don Valley West in Toronto.

In past elections, I've voted Liberal, NDP and Green, depending on the dynamics of my local riding as well as national trends. In all the elections I've voted in, my priorities were to first preserve and then advance Canada's social and environmental agenda. Voting NDP in this election was an attempt to do the same.