An old saying goes that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.
However, insanity can sum up the federal election the nation finds itself in.
We have the front-running leaders, Mark Carney, Pierre Poilievre, and Jagmeet Singh on cross-country tours selling Canadians on why they should get their vote.
The problem? Not one is worth voting for.
While Mark Carney has seemingly reversed the fortunes of the faltering Liberal Party since his rise to the leadership role following the departure of previous Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he has routinely come under fire for his lack of consistency.
An avid supporter of the carbon tax for years, as he served as an advisor to the Trudeau Liberals, the first thing he did when he became leader of the party was remove it.
As part of the lack of consistency, Carney has been criticized for saying one thing in one part of the country and something in another, sometimes even hours later, as happened in March.
Carney said he would use federal emergency powers to get energy projects built, but the very next day, in a French language interview, he stated that Quebec would essentially have a veto. Which is it? Is he going to get projects built, or is he going to continue letting other jurisdictions keep Alberta energy land-locked?
If Canadians are going to vote for Mr. Carney, they deserve clear answers, not campaign trail sound bites.
About the only benefit of the Liberal campaign, and by extension Carney's, is that it has not been over abundantly filled with attack ads.
If Carney's message is murky, Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives' campaign is aggressive.
A few issues have arisen from the Conservative camp, including the overly aggressive tone of the campaign and the seeming decision to eschew mainstream media in favour of fixed messaging.
Normally during a campaign, journalists can travel with the party leader, at their own expense, as he campaigns across Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada has denied that long held tradition for this election campaign, instead taking a few questions from local media representatives at each of the stops.
In addition, Global News Edmonton reported during the first week of April that of nine Conservative Candidates contacted for comment about the election, only one responded, and this seems to be a trend across Canada.
While the Poilievre Conservatives have released a few positive policy releases to media outlets via email, such as the removal of GST on homes over a certain price point, and a bevy of policies designed to build homes and improve the economy, where it comes to the television, where the majority of Canadians get their information, the advertisements have been primarily of the "attack ad" variety, attacking Carney and the Liberals' record, with little of discussion of what they would actually do instead.
Speaking of media, another of Poilievre's policies, which his base eats up but which many in Canada disagree with, is the defunding of the CBC. While even those who support the CBC know that changes do need to be made at that venerable organization, fully defunding it isn't the answer and shouldn't even be a realistic consideration.
And then there is Mr. Jagmeet Singh and the federal New Democratic Party.
With his high priced outfits, career in politics and support of the Liberal minority government policies over the last few years, Singh has lost the ability to represent the voice of the working man.
While the last several years have been wrought with challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and sky-high inflation, some of the policies the Liberals contributed directly to the cost of living crisis Canada finds itself in, and they were done fully supported by Singh and the NDP.
The Canadian people know it, and based on polling, the party will be lucky to barely hold on to party status. As of April 11, the NDP is polling around eight per cent support, and projected to potentially win, maybe, eight seats.
So far, based on the campaign alone, Carney has proven himself to be the adult in the room, but his words lead one to wonder which actions are actually going to come to fruition should he be elected Canada's next Prime Minister.
Based on how Carney has handled Donald Trump and the non-stop tariff threats, he has shown he has the potential to be the leader Canada needs.
The fact that the liberal campaign has not been a 24/7 glut of attack ads has also been a breath of fresh air.
All that being said, despite Carney appearing like the adult in the room, given a choice between any of the three contenders for Prime Minister, "none of the above" is looking better all the time.
Despite the lacklustre options, voting is a privilege that Canadians have. Take the time, check out the candidates in your riding, and make your mark beside the one who is going to represent your values the best.
-Kevin Sabo is the editor of the Stettler Independent and a journalist for Black Press Media
