Good job, Mike

Well done, Mike. You looked at the issues..thought about it and voted accordingly. I wonder if I could ever vote NDP. They were the only party claiming to protect the Midicare system as it is and that was on my mind. Having a wife who has used the system extensivley during her battle with breast cancer I saw the need to protect "a" system whereby Canadians can have proper health care without bankrupting themselves. That being said I think the NDPs fiscal policies would bankrupt the country so I didn't vote for them.

Then came the Greens. Fiscally conservative, socially liberal and enviromentally conscious. Perfect! But, not a snowballs chance in hell of winning anything so I didn't vote for them.

Now the Liberals. During Mr Martins time as PM I thought he was an example of true incompetence and ineptitude. But I thought that may be a misconception so I paid close attention to his campaign. My suspicions were confirmed. Political campaigns are a reflection on the leader and I saw a reflection of someone who had no business being a national leader. I also saw a party that was "against" something but never told us what they were "for". That was the same mistake the Democrats made in the last US election. People vote for parties and leaders who tell us where they want the country to go not where they don't want it to go.

Then I looked at the Conservatives. What I saw was a professional, well run campaign. I saw a party that had moved to the centre away from the more controversial views of some in the party. I like my governments to work from the centre. The Tories spent their time talking about policies and plans for Canada. For Mr Harper to take two warring parties, PC and Alliance, and unite them into a cohesive force for change takes real leadership. Leadership is something that has been missing in Canadian politics for some time now. Do we have it now. I hope so but only time will tell.

If my Tories disappoint me maybe I'll join my son in voting for NDP. Now that would be a change, eh

On another note Olivia helped me hold the pencil when I voted. Does that count as her first vote?

See ya in Ottawa at Easter.

Dad

Decision Canada

Well, a Conservative government after 13 years.

The funniest thing is, I've been eligible to vote for 13 years and have always voted Conservative or whatever variation was in existence, and they always lost. Now, for the very first time, I did not vote Conservative, and they win. I guess I've always bucked the trends...

In recent years, I have been paying more attention to politics for social reasons, more than just true political reasons. I began to see that while fiscally I was in line with the Conservatives, socially, I was very, very Liberal. That in itself makes it hard to vote. Leading up to this election, I was starting to think that even with all the scandal and corruption, from a social perspective, I could only in good conscience vote Liberal.

I called dad just before going to vote in a bit of a panic. I spent some time earlier in the morning sifting through all three major parties platforms online hoping to get a good side by side comparison. I was very, very surprised to find myself being very interested in the policies of the NDP. While not sure I was totally convinced that we as a country could function best under the NDP, I was starting to think that they would at least be a good balance as an opposition.

Needless to say, dad was quick to voice his opinion on the ideas of the NDP, while at the same time encouraging me to do what I thought was right.

Maybe it's having a future wife and mother-in-law in the health care profession that's made me have a different perspective of the public vs. private issue, or maybe it's having friends with children and some being reliant on different forms of childcare and myself being a future father. Whatever it is, I saw some real alternatives in their platform.

So, in the end, with my hand trembling and my brow sweating, I marked a shaky X beside the name of the NDP candidate.

While I am now more in line with the Liberals social stances, I still think changing to a Conservative government is good, until the Liberals can re-energize.

In the meantime, I think some added support to the NDP will do good for our endangered health care system.

Thanks, dad for some wise old advice and opinions.

Hope everyone had a chance to express theirs.