One of the most important actions you can take to support cooperation as an Individual is to vote for the Unity Candidate* in upcoming elections. In the absence of a Unity Candidate, support cooperation by voting for the progressive Candidate who has the best chance of defeating the Conservative candidate in your riding.**
To demonstrate your support for cooperation in the upcoming federal election please sign Cooperate for Canada’s National Voting Pledge.
*The Unity Candidate is the Candidate who has the best chance of defeating the Conservatives Candidate – identified by the leaders of progressive Parties or local Riding Associations, acting in collaboration.
**Use the most recent polling data to determine which progressive Candidate has the best chance of defeating the Conservative Candidate. Polling data is available for every riding in Canada on 338Canada.com, an independently owned site created and managed by Philippe J. Fournier. The data is updated on an ongoing basis.
Additional Context
Addressing Vote Splitting:
Under the current ‘first past the post’ voting system in Canada, splitting of the progressive vote between two or more parties has resulted in Conservatives winning many seats at both the federal and provincial/territorial levels – despite a minority of votes being cast for the Conservative candidate. Vote splitting can be prevented when progressives cooperate and vote as described in our Voting Pledges.
What Cooperation looks like:
Under cooperation the progressive Parties will:
- not compete with each other – focus arguments and debates exclusively on the Conservative party policies and platform
- designate a single progressive Unity Candidate to run in ridings where the Conservative candidate is vulnerable to a unified progressive vote
- withdraw other Progressive Candidates, or not hold a nomination meeting, or offer any other Candidate as a Paper Candidate
- organize and shift party support and resources (i.e. volunteers, funds and marketing) to the ridings where their Party’s Candidates have the best chance of winning
Why is cooperation good for the progressive parties as well as Canada and Canadians?
The analysis we have done indicates that with cooperation each progressive party could retain and win more seats – definitely more than they could win when competing against one another – the scenario which results in a loss to the Conservative candidate.
We recommend this article written by Cooperation for Canada member Kathleen O’Hara published in The Rabble: Electoral cooperation means defending your interests https://rabble.ca/politics/canadian-politics/electoral-cooperation-means-defending-your-interests/
Why is Cooperation Important?
The differences between the policies of the individual progressive parties are small compared to the differences between the progressive parties and the Conservative parties. The multiple crises we face require urgent action. Under Conservative governments, little or no effective action will be taken to address them – these crises may actually worsen. For this reason, upcoming elections must not be ‘business as usual’. It is critical for the progressive parties to set aside partisanship and work with each other for the benefit of future generations and the country.
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