Surprise Party
How to plan a fabulous election
BY Dale Duncan
Photography by Christine Muschi
When you’re not the party in power, gearing up for the next election involves more than fundraising, keeping in touch with constituents and deciding which candidates to run. It involves speculation over when the election will be called, and, during a minority government, the potential for an election is almost constant.
Preparing for the mere possibility of an election requires an investment of time, staff-power and money—the kind of stuff the parties would be able to save if our elections had fixed dates. Former New Democratic Party leader, Ed Broadbent, says holding elections every four years, as they do in the United States, would increase transparency, allow more rigorous enforcement of pre-election spending, and take away the power of the governing party to set an election date that benefits them the most.
When it comes to election date doubt, a huge issue is having candidates who are ready to run a campaign on short notice. Director of communications for the federal NDP, Brad Lavigne, says uncertainty over when elections will actually be called discourages a lot of good people from running.
“This is a big issue for the candidates themselves. You have a career and family to run and you have to put things on hold for many months,” he says. “A fixed date would allow certainty to arrange your life.”
The NDP knows this all to well. It’s true that the election call was in Jack Layton’s hands, but no one could say for sure when they would have to spring into action.
“The only time a political party knows the date of the next election for sure is when it’s so late that if you’re not ready, you will be caught,” says Lavigne.
