Monday, April 28, is Federal Election Day in Canada. I am voting in my sixteenth national election with pride. This article is about Canadian politics. If you are not interested, skip it.

Our national elections in Canada are pretty simple. One short ballot, as shown above right. Voting takes a few seconds.

We each live and vote in one of 343 electoral districts, or ridings. Our ballot contains only the names of our local candidates and their party affiliation, if any. Usually, that means candidates from each of our three major political parties, plus often a few others.

So, are we voting for a party, a party leader or a local representative? All three, actually. Whichever party gets the most Members of Parliament forms the government. More than 172 MP’s gets you a majority government, otherwise a minority which may or may not last its full term.

Most Canadians vote on Election Day, but many like me use the Advance Polls, which were last weekend. Each voter must provide ID, typically our photo driver’s license. We have virtually no drama or intimidation at our polling stations. Our ballots are hand counted by independent Elections Canada staff, watched over by scrutineers from each party.

Since most Canadians live in eastern time zones, here in Alberta we get the final results before bed time on most occasions.

Election Day in Canada – My Choice

According to polls, most Canadians prefer Mark Carney to become Prime Minister. I agree, even though I am a long-time conservative. Simply put, I prefer a 30 year career banker with a PhD in Economics, over a 30 year career politician with an undergraduate degree in bugger-all.

Actually, I could live with either a Liberal or Conservative Party government going forward. Their platforms are quite similar, even though their rhetoric is not. Carney has pulled the Liberal Party more toward the center, while Poilievre has pulled Conservatives more towards the right.

(As a western Canadian, I still have concerns about trusting the Liberal Party but believe Carney should prevail over his caucus. After all, he has rescued them from oblivion six months ago.)

My number one priority is improving our underlying economy, which has stagnated over the past forty years. For me, it’s time for much smarter government here in Canada.

If you are interested in learning more about Mark Carney, watch this video.