Hey Canada, Who Should You Vote For?
I know, I know. This is a science blog, not a political blog! But elections are quite important to the world of science as well and deserve attention.
Canada is headed for its 4th election in the last 7 years! It is getting a bit ridiculous, but then, so is the world of politics.
No matter what country you are from, when an election comes up people inevitably ask who you are going to vote for. The political diehards will urge you to “get informed!” and read up on the issues before making a decision.
If you are like me though, you leave this kinda stuff to the last-minute, maybe watch the debates and then vote for the same party you have the last few times. Admittedly, this is probably not the most, well, scientific way to go about things.
So if you need a bit of help deciding who you should vote for, you should try the ‘Vote Compass’ on CBC’s website.
The Vote Compass is a questionnaire of about 30 questions which ask you things like
Should Canada pull all of its troops out of Afghanistan immediately?
and then you simply answer using radio buttons for options like “Strongly Agree”, “Agree”, etc.
While certainly not rigorous, it is a good jumping off point to learn about the issues and get a sense of what political party’s views match up with your own.
My results, you ask?
My 'Vote Compass' Results
Taking into account the issues I find most important, my results (not surprisingly) put me closes to the NDP. If all issues were weighted equally, I would be closest to the Liberal party.
So in deciding who you will vote for, learn about the issues; you should also try to ignore the one thing Canadians hate most about election season. (Warning: You may only get this video if you from Canada. Enjoy!)
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A Quantum of Knowledge 
I found that avoiding the TV adds is the way to go. Like you said, find out what the topics are and where you stand. I’m just glad I don’t watch TV or I fear I would have to take a hammer to it too. And yes, 4 elections in just 7 years is kinda ridiculous. But I guess it’s better than the alternative (no elections or being stuck with someone like G.W.Bush for 4 years)
Thanks for the link. I did the test and tweeted it too. @leeleedigital
I will vote for the NDP. Just hope that after Jack is in office he will do everything he has said he would.
Thats a joke. A lot of noise and arguing, little substance and professionalism. Pay attention at who isn’t tearing apart the other parties, and who is focusing on wanting to help Canada be the peaceful and fair nation that it is.
I agree with the last comment. Let’s shed this posturing from grownup men. Whatever happened to science (old and new), technology, music and arts in the platforms, too? I was listening to CBC and there are more jobs in the arts and entertinment industry in Canada then all of the resourse industries combined. So you see arts supports alot people in our nation. So far what I hear from the party leaders is how they are going to buy your vote with token social welfare increases. I encourage everyone to look deeper.