Main parties indifferent to the city
If we keep electing the same people, we’ll keep getting the same result
Whether the final numbers from Monday’s federal election show that Ottawa voters predictably stuck with the Liberal status quo or boldly opted for one or two changes (results were still trickling in at press time), the end result will be much the same. Neither party with the potential to form a government has promised to do much for Ottawa, and they are sure to deliver.
Some races did pose a degree of interest. Ottawa Centre was set for a good fight between prominent Liberal Catherine McKenna and hard-working NDP candidate Emilie Taman. Suburban ridings like Ottawa- Orléans, Kanata-Carleton and Nepean all offered potential to the Conservatives and are the sort of ridings the party needed to win to form government.
Overall, this was a discouraging campaign for Ottawans, one that was nearly devoid of personality or local content. It was 40 days of listening to candidates repeat party talking points and give oblique answers on important local issues.
As the country’s capital and one of only a half-dozen cities of one million in the country, you’d think Ottawa would merit at least a bit of attention to our particular concerns. Not in this election, though. The big picture is clear. Ottawa doesn’t count for much with either the Liberals or the Conservatives.
Ottawa and Gatineau remain frustratingly off the radar of the Liberal Party, but we keep electing their candidates anyway. The Liberals are on to us. They know they don’t have to do anything to address our long list of capital city needs, because there is little electoral jeopardy for failing to do so.
After four years during which most local Liberal
MPs were next to invisible, one might have thought their party would reward our low expectations with a little love, but no. The big Liberal election promise for Ottawa was to “champion” turning the Prince of Wales Bridge into a cycling and pedestrian span. Not that they are offering to pay for it, mind you.
And what about the Conservatives? Have they given up on Ottawa? Some of their candidates were solid people who’d probably have done a good job as MPs, but their local roster was certainly star-free, with the exception of veteran Pierre Poilievre in Carleton, and he’s certainly not universally loved.
Mayor Jim Watson sent a questionnaire to candidates from the four major parties, and the responses were indicative of Ottawa’s political unimportance. Watson posed the questions that matter most to Ottawans. For example, did local candidates support the federal government paying 50 per cent of the cost of extending light rail to Kanata, Stittsville and Barrhaven? He also asked about climate change, infrastructure support and public safety.
Conservative candidates responded to all his questions with a stock answer saying they had to wait until the platform was out. Of course, the platform didn’t answer those local questions. The Conservatives’ one Ottawa-specific election promise was a plan to freeze the size of the public service and cut back on travel, hospitality, conferences and consulting. The public service has expanded greatly under the Liberal government and freezing it is a reasonable policy, everywhere but Ottawa.
The Liberals didn’t do much better. Their answers were also generic. Only Ottawa Centre candidate Catherine McKenna had the boldness to provide slight variations on the official party answers. The NDP and Greens did a little bit better. It helps if your party has limitless imaginary money.
While it’s fair to criticize the two parties capable of forming a government for not doing more to pay attention to Ottawa, the solution is ultimately in our hands. If we want them to listen, we need to fire representatives who do a weak job. The good news is that we will probably get another crack at it within 18 months.
Randall Denley is an Ottawa political commentator and former Progressive Conservative candidate in Ontario. Learn about his new book Spiked at randalldenley.com. Contact him at randalldenley1@gmail.com