Strategic voting didn’t defeat Harper. Voter turnout did
Dems take note--turnout is everything
https://dogwoodinitiative.org/blog/voter-turnout-defeated-Harper
Long before Justin Trudeau ever contemplated a life in politics, his father stoked the embers of Western alienation that would give rise to the Reform movement. Driven by a fiery hatred for the legacy of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Reform MPs like Stephen Harper led the unified Conservative Party that governed Canada until Monday night.
Justin Trudeau turned the tables on Harper in the final weeks of the election campaign, but the groundwork for change was built meticulously over a period of years. Nowhere was this grassroots organizing more concentrated than British Columbia, where many voters carried the same bitterness toward Harper’s government once felt by Albertans toward Pierre Trudeau.
When the election finally arrived, turnout in B.C. surged from 60.4 to 70.4 per cent, outpacing Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. That’s what defeated the Conservative Party in B.C. – not “strategic voting”, but the appearance at polling stations of 471,397 citizens who were too young, not registered, or simply stayed home the last time. Together we elected the country’s most eclectic mix of MPs, including 17 Liberals, 14 New Democrats, 10 Conservatives and one Green.
Like in other parts of the country, thousands of British Columbians worked not just with parties, but with comedians, musical acts, trade unions, First Nations leaders, news outlets, community groups, campus associations, environmental, civil liberties and other issue-driven organizations – including Dogwood Initiative – to encourage people to register and cast a ballot.
At the same time, the Conservatives’ policy choices came back to haunt them.
This is the story of Dogwood Initiative’s role in that much broader push to get local people involved in the political decisions that affect them. First I want to outline the significance of the Conservative collapse in B.C., which has so far been overlooked by national media. Next we can delve into the “strategic voting” narrative that dominated the campaign and look at the role of opinion polling. Finally we need to talk about the art and science of getting out the vote – because that’s what truly defeated Stephen Harper.
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