Monday April 14, 2025

Elections Day is set for Monday, April 28, 2025, two weeks from now, and I have been asked by friends who I’m voting for: Liberal or Conservative. My answer is consistently neither. My decision not to vote often draws the ire of acquaintances, so let’s discuss why I won’t vote and what strong arguments I make for you not to vote either.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney (left) and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre (right).

First, let’s take a look at the major parties running in this election and their respective leaders.

Liberals

From 2013 to March 9, 2025, the Liberal Party was led by Justin Trudeau. In his bid to become Prime Minister against Stephen Harper, Trudeau promised changes on 353 different issues. From reforming the electoral system, bringing affordable housing, supporting scientists, protecting our environment, empowering Indigenous peoples, legalizining marijuana, welcoming Syrian refugees, to not buying the costly F-35 warplanes, Trudeau made large promises to Canadians. After a decade of Liberal rule, Trudeau has failed to fulfill many of these commitments he made.

Failed Promises:

Canada's first-past-the-post system has long been under heavy public scrutiny for enabling parties to win majority governments without obtaining a majority of votes. Hence, a proportional system in Canada, using a ranked ballot system, has long been encouraged by the NDP and Green parties, who would both benefit from seeing more representation in governments formed through it. A ranked system would also resolve Canada’s issue of strategic voting, as voters could now rank their choice of candidates. Alas for Trudeau, who won a majority government despite receiving just 39.47% of the popular vote, decided not to change the first-past-the-post system after all.

Trudeau tweet from 2015 promising electoral reform, before backtracking after winning power.

When it comes to housing affordability, many Canadians seem to forget that already under Harper they were experiencing a crisis. In 2006, when Harper rose to power, the average single-family home cost Canadians $285,000. After 9 years of Conservative rule, the average Canadian home price went up 71%, to $488,000. Similarly, under Trudeau, the average single-family house price increased by 62%, to $791,000. Indeed, Trudeau failed on his promise to provide Canadians with affordable housing. But I drew statistics from his predecessor as a reminder that the Conservatives also failed to provide affordable housing and Poilievre would unlikely be different.

While Trudeau placed a price on carbon, he failed to protect the environment and to empower Indigenous communities. The state, under his watch, maintained the settler-colony’s oppressive and white supremacist policies of listing Indigenous peoples as extremist threats and squashing Indigenous-led protests against destructive pipelines, like in Wet’su’wet’en.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police violently stormed in to arrest 29 people who rejected the building of a 670-kilometre pipeline that would devastate Wet'suwet'en territory (SpringMag, 2021).

After Stephen Harper committed Canada to the purchase of 65 of F-35 fighter jets in 2010, a core promise made by Trudeau in his 2015 campaign was to not buy these jets from US-based Lockheed Martin. Trudeau opposed them for being too expensive and not suited for Canada's strategic needs. Miraculously, Trudeau's Liberals U-turned and announced in 2022 that they would purchase 88 F-35 fighter jets, about two dozen more than Harper had planned. While Carney recently raised a possibility of choosing an alternative fighter (after Trump’s annexation threats), there is very little reason to believe he is serious and would follow through.

The 2015 Liberals platform promised not to buy F-35 jets.

CONSERVATIVES

Stephen Harper endorsed Pierre Poilievre in his bid to become Conservative leader.

Poilievre Voting History:

Let’s take a look at Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s voting record. Pierre has voted against same-sex marriage, opposed free diabetes medication, pharmacare, increasing minimum wage, $10-a-day childcare, the child benefit, and dental care for children. He has also voted to ban abortions and in favour of raising the retirement age. In 2008, Poilievre spoke on radio exclaiming that Indigenous residential school survivors need to get over it and learn the value of hard work instead of requiring compensation for the genocide they endured at the hands of the settler-state.

Remembering the Harper Era:

It seems that Canadians have forgotten the gruesome Harper years, when housing prices soared, Canada dropped bombs on Libya, Afghanistan, and was relentless in its global imperialist ambitions. Harper’s government weakened food regulations to allow more poisonous US food products across the border. In 2007, Harper imposed a new rule on senior government scientists prohibiting them from speaking with reporters without government approval, hindering Environment Canada's engagement with the media on issues relating to climate change by 80 per cent. The following year, Harper eliminated the National Science Advisor position, augmented attacks on climate research institutions, and consolidated his grip on all information that reaches the public.

Two genocidal white-supremacist leaders, Stephen Harper and Benjamin Netanyahu.

Finally, Harper was obsessed with upholding the genocidal Zionist Entity: “Through fire and water, Canada will stand with [Israel].” According to Harper, “The people who hate Israel hate [Canada] too.” In 2014, he played the piano at an annual Jewish National Fund (JNF) dinner in 2014. The JNF is a terrorist organization that had its charitable status revoked by the Canada Revenue Agency in 2024 for funding infrastructure on Israeli military bases. Harper cut funding for UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East).

Poilievre, Harper’s “Attack Dog”:

Pierre Poilievre is no different from Harper. Like his Conservative predecessor, the current Conservative leader has been steadfast in his support for the genocidal Zionist regime. He has promised to follow Trump’s footsteps in recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, to move the Canadian embassy to Jerusalem, defund UNRWA, and to deport those who protest in support of Palestinian rights.

"We will lock up the antisemitic rioters. We will deport from Canada anyone who is here on a visa that breaks the law or commits a crime."

- Pierre Poilievre, March 24, 2025.

Melissa Lantsman, Conservative Deputy Leader.

Poilievre’s Deputy Leader has identified herself as a “hardcore Zionist.” Melissa Lantsman is anti-Palestinian, Islamophobic, and outright racist, claiming that Palestinians should be more like the "peace-loving Gulf states" who normalized with Israel. She has regurgitated lies of Hamas having burned babies in ovens and conflated Palestinians with rapists, all while wearing an Israeli military dog tag while sitting in Canadian Parliament.

NDp

Simply put, the NDP is another White-supremacist party upholding colonial institutions. The so-called “leftist” party, led by spineless Jagmeet Singh, supports imperialist NATO, supports increased military spending, is anti-Palestinian, and is Zionist. Only recently, has Jagmeet Singh called the war crimes that Israel has long been committing against Palestinians as a genocide. To add, Singh has previously stated that he would not intervene against Québec’s racist Bill 21 if elected, a bill that prevents Muslim women who wear the hijab or Sikh men who wear a turban, like him, from working in the public service. Not to mention, Singh notoriously spoke on the radio of CIJA radio, Canada’s top Israel lobby, to say that he opposes the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.

At the provincial level, British Colombia’s NDP Minister of Education, Selina Robinson, called Palestine a “crappy piece of land with nothing on it,” and resigned from the Party saying she did not receive its support following public outrage over her comments. The Ontario NDP, under the leadership of Marit Stiles, expelled Muslim MPP Sarah Jama for making a a bare minimum statement in line with international law, even after she shamelessly apologized for making it. Previously, the Ontario NDP allowed Doug Ford’s Conservatives to pass the anti-Palestinian IHRA 55-0. Not a single vote against the bill by the Official Opposition.

NDP and Conservative leaders stand next to each other at an event in 2023.

GreenS

The Green Party is another racist party led by Elizabeth May. The Party has went to total irrelevancy after preventing humanitarian lawyer-journalist Dimitri Lascaris from becoming leader in 2020. Instead, May endorsed staunch Zionist Annamie Paul and worked tirelessly to make sure she won. The party has never been the same since, and May remains the “co-leader”.

Indigenous Calls to boycott elections

Traditionally, many Indigenous communities on Turtle Island have boycotted Canadian elections: “Regardless of who First Nations vote for in any federal election, their voice makes no actual difference… When Indigenous peoples vote, they vote for their next oppressor. What is the core difference between past racist and aggressive governments, which didn’t give our lands back or respect our treaties."

- Pamela Palmater, Mi'kmaq activist, lawyer, and academic.

Conclusion

Heading into the upcoming elections, you get to choose between four White-supremacist parties who all serve to uphold this genocidal settler-colony’s institutions. By voting, similar to those who vote in Israeli elections, you legitimize this state as one that is democratic, peaceful, and representative of the people on the land. But Canada is anything but democratic, peaceful, or representative of the land and its people. In the end, it’s your call whether you decide to vote. I will heed the calls of Indigenous populations and boycott these elections. Besides, from Harper to Trudeau or from Carney to Poilievre, they are all ultimately genocidal and we need to find alternative strategies to bring about real positive change.

Why you shouldn’t Vote in the Canadian eLECTIONS