On Monday, January 23, Canada votes in a general election. It’s been a nasty campaign, with lots of mud-slinging and worse.
I want to extend a heart-felt “thank-you” to our own matt_mcl and the other 1,633 candidates who are standing for election to the House of Commons. Without them, and their commitment to our democracy, we wouldn’t be having an election.
It’s always the fashion to bash politicians, to question their motives and generally run them down. But it’s so easy to forget the deep commitment of time, and effort, and family support that it takes to stand for election. And, any candidate I’ve ever spoken to usually has a variety of motives for running, but there is one thing that I’ve always noticed - every one of them has made that commitment because they are convinced that they can make a difference, that they can make our country better, and they are willing to make the personal effort to achieve that. They are truly living up to the motto of the Order of Canada: DESIDERANTES MELIOREM PATRIAM (“They desire a better country” / « ils veulent une patrie meilleure »).
It doesn’t come easy. They need the support of family and friends, who accept that the candidate won’t be around much for two months, and maybe for four years, if successful.
They get doors slammed on them, and dogs barking at them. They sometimes break a leg, as our own lovable klutz, matt, did recently while campaigning. And they take an enormous amount of personal abuse, even to the extent (in one recent case) of being falsely accused of sexual assault.
And without them, I wouldn’t get a chance to put an “X” on the ballot on Monday.
So thanks, matt, and thanks to the other 1,633 of you. Regardless of political stripe, and regardless of whether you get elected on Monday, you’ve already helped to make Canada a better place.
