How can a socialist participate in the Canadian federal election?

It appears the Canadian government has fallen – although, unfortunately, not in a guerilla-marxist coup. The PM Stephen Harper decided to pull the plug on what has apparently been Canada’s longest-running minority government. There will be a federal election on October 14th, and since the parties were more-or-less expecting this to happen, I’ve already received about 15 e-mails from my former political home, the NDP.

Note that I listed the NDP as former; this election actually presents a unique situation for me. It will be the first election (provincial or federal) ‘after the break’, as it were. When I decided a little over a year ago to leave the NDP, it was on the tails of the 2007 provincial election. I had volunteered for the NDP during the campaign, although admittedly kind of half-heartedly. I decided shortly thereafter that my energy was far better spent outside of the party; volunteerng to fundraise for Gary Doer’s NDP is hardly going to effect radical change in the world!

The situation is complicated as I have been a member of the New Socialist Group for about a year now, who I became acquainted with during the spring and summer following the last provincial election. NS is currently discussing what our role during a federal election should be, and while I hope that we can have some positive effect beyond simply telling people to hold their nose and vote for a particular party, I think it is more effective for ourselves to only think of an election as an interlude between opportunities for real organizing.

There are two reasons for an ‘external’ group to become involved in an election:

1. to assist a political party be elected, in the hope that they help fulfill some part of the external group’s goals;
2. to assist the external group itself, such as in building capacity, recruiting, or reputation/influence.

There is, in my personal opinion, little use in a small socialist organization attempting to actually influence an election; I’m sure the parties we would critically support don’t particularily want or need our support, and thus, the first reason listed above cannot be reasonably fulfilled. As for the second point (involvement with the intention of building the organization/movement), that depends on a host of external and internal factors, including:

• The political networks in place: what political and personal relationships can the group rely on? A strong anti-sectarian network of those on the left is the best guarantor for advancing left politics. This is certainly improving in my hometown, but no where near what would be needed to effectively organize outside of official party structures.
• The willingness of the public to be politically active and militant: can we expect any genuine militancy or political action to be generated because of our actions? The neoliberal offensive over the past three decades or so has almost successfully crushed all belief in the power of collective action. Again, in my hometown, political energy is at a low ebb, and (somewhat counter-intuitively) is even lower during an election: after all, a campaign is no time to discuss serious issues.
• The organizational strength of the group: do we have sufficient organizational know-how and capacity within the group? Experience on the ground is far more useful in these particular circumstances than intellectual strength.

For these reasons, it seems clear to me that the role of a modern socialist organization in the Canadian Federal election is not to endorse a party (as the benefits to this are so minimal as to not be worth it), nor to organize an independent election campaign (which can be useful in some limited circumstances that do not currently exist in Canada as a whole†). The options above (endorsing a party or running a candidate for office) will not, in my opinion, be a satisfactory political option during this election; if I want to participate, an alternative must be found.

I do not know what that alternative should be. I do, however, think there are a few goals/criteria that any alternative should respect. Whatever actions or activities a socialist undertakes during the election, they should:

• be geared towards making a genuine impact;
• clearly represent the socialist political beliefs of the participatns, without making that represenation the overwhelming focus;
• support issues and organizations that are being ignored or are routinely marginalized by the various political machines;
• work towards an eventual goal of continued political work after the election;
• incorporate both a political theory and practice rooted in socialist politics;
• be wary of co-optation by existing mainstream poltical machines.

I plan to return to this topic again; certainly, the debate on this topic within my local NSG branch and the organization in general will inform my views, and I hope to direct my thinking towards some other questions, such as the value of abstention campaigns.

† One possible exception could be Quebec Solidaire, a genuinely left-wing political party in Quebec. However, they do not contest federal elections, and only operate in la belle province anyways.