Published Apr 13, 2025 • Last updated 18 hours ago • 4 minute readApril 28 is Election Day in Canada, where citizens across the country will be casting a ballot for their representatives in Parliament. Photo by Naveen Kumar /UnsplashI remember sitting in my grandfather’s kitchen when my boyfriend broached the forbidden topic of politics. My grandfather laughed when he heard the young man intended to vote for the NDP.“You’re throwing your vote away,” the older man chuckled. He likely was voting Conservative in whatever election it was, and had probably only ever voted red or blue. But I didn’t know for sure since, as I said, it was not considered polite to talk politics around the table.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentRecommended from Editorial Strategic voting in a federal election: Does it work? JOHN DeMONT: Getting the message out that voting matters more than ever It’s funny to think about that conversation now, some 30 years later, and how my grandfather was amused by my boyfriend’s voting intentions, but didn’t argue or try to change his mind. Nowadays, people on opposite sides of the political spectrum aren’t always so polite.Vote for candidateWhere my mother’s family probably usually voted Conservative, my father’s sister was a diehard Liberal. She was a good friend of John Godfrey, whom she worked for at the University of King’s College before he went on to become a Liberal MP, and proudly wore a Pierre Trudeau wristwatch with a red strap.My parents, however, were always the model non-partisan voters. No matter whether it was a municipal, provincial or federal election, they liked to know the person they were voting for and what that candidate purported to stand for. It never mattered what party the candidate was affiliated with. My parents probably voted for every party over the years as well as for an independent candidate that I’m aware of on one occasion.Article content Voters are reminded to make sure they have the right information before they cast their ballot Photo by Unsplash /Unsplash stock photoI remember with amusement the year my father told me he was voting NDP federally because he was mad at the Liberal government at the time for introducing a long gun registry that added a layer of bureaucracy for legitimate hunters like himself. I kept to myself the opinion that the NDP were probably as likely or more to add regulations to firearms. In that election, he was a one-issue voter. Again, he didn’t try to sway me one way or another and I didn’t argue with his rationale for casting his ballot one way or another.My parents never told me to cast a ballot a certain way, just be sure I did vote.Strategic votingI have voted in every election I could since I reached age 18, even for school board representatives back when they were elected and voter turnout for those elections was something like four per cent in P.E.I. My first election was for town council in Amherst, N.S., where the father of one of my friends was running for a seat. In the open ward system, there were something like 12 or 15 people running for 10 seats at the time. I didn’t understand I would’ve been doing my friend’s father a better favour if I had just voted for him and no one else, but instead dutifully picked out the 10 people I knew the best on the list for an X. Of course I knew 10 candidates; it was a very small town.Article contentI soon figured out what it meant to vote strategically. One of the next elections where I was eligible to vote featured a candidate who I did not want to see win, but my chosen candidate probably wouldn’t garner enough votes to stop him. So I did what many Canadians choose to do and opted for the person most likely to amass the largest percentage of the vote to make sure nothing split away from that likely victory and allow the unfavourable candidate a shot at coming up the middle and taking the win.Like my parents, I have probably voted for every political party over the years, but I still feel remorse about that one time I didn’t vote for the candidate I liked best and have never made that choice again. Though I certainly understand why people do it and why it is a valid exercise for them.Party faithfulOf course there are many in my profession who don’t vote at all. One of my former editors claimed she never cast a ballot so that when people accused her of political bias she could honestly say she didn’t support any party. Other journalists have a similar rationale and I respect them for it.Article content Signs outside of the Elections Canada local office at Charlottetown’s Confederation Court Mall. The GuardianFor me, however, casting a ballot is an important responsibility that I try to undertake without any blind affiliation to one party or another. I observe the candidates during media interviews and debates, read their platforms, inform myself on incumbents’ records and follow the news. I may only have one vote but I want it to count.That’s why, especially in Canada, I don’t get people who vote for the same party as their parents did just because that’s the way their family always voted. Or who claim they are a lifelong Grit or Tory or whatever and wear their party’s colours on their lapel — or wrist. Passively voting the same way every election doesn’t seem like the most informed way to choose the people who will govern us.Still, if you tell me that’s how you choose your candidate, I hope I will chuckle to myself and try not to argue. The most important thing is that you do go vote.Jocelyne Lloyd is the managing editor of The Guardian. She lives in Charlottetown.Article content
JOCELYNE LLOYD: Vote strategically or go with your gut, but whatever you do, vote
