In less than a week Canadians will be voting in the federal election.  While federal politics often seems remote, the outcome of the election will have an impact on your community.  The federal government provides funding to a range of programs and projects in our communities and has the potential to develop new community focused policy.  Plus, the federal government will have a major influence on Canada’s place in the global community.

Municipalities get a significant amount of funding  from the federal government, including investments into local roads, water systems, public transit and affordable housing.  And a number of the funding programs are set to expire in the next couple of years ( if they haven’t already like the Public Transit Capital Trust), which means that the next elected government will be making major decisions about what our communities looks like, how they function and what services are available.  As pointed out by the Canadian Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), different parties have different emphasis in their platforms on how they will support local governments across Canada.  The Conservatives have a focus on infrastructure funding, the Liberals on affordable housing, the NDP on public transit and the Green Party on urban renewal and the green economy.  You can read the full FCM comments on the party platforms and their own priorities for communities on their website.

While FCM has a lot of focus on areas that the federal government is already acting in, there is potential for the federal government to move into other areas that will benefit our communities.  The Canadian Urban Transit Association points out that Canada is the only country in the G8 without a national plan that provides long-term predictable funding and aims to reduce car ridership, increase transit ridership, and improve economic competitiveness, quality of life and air quality.  The People’s Food Policy Project goes beyond advocacy into policy writing, drafting the first-ever citizen-led national food policy that lays the groundwork for a Canada free of hunger, with decent livelihoods for food producers and sustainable environment for the future.  However, without a supportive federal government many of the solutions identified may never be implemented.  There are a lot of other areas where the federal government can take on a new or improved community building role, such as national daycare programs, preventive health care, and climate change planning (both mitigation and adaptation).

And while many of these close to home issues are important, there is also Canada’s place in the global community.  It doesn’t seem that long ago Canada had the reputation as an environmentally progressive and peacekeeping country.  Now it seems we’re  better known for our stable economy and as an ally to the US in Afghanistan.  A lot can change in a fairly short time.  And the outcome of the election can reinforce our current international role or place emphasis elsewhere.

So, even though I understand that our first-past-the-post electoral system can make the thought of voting frustrating, I think that if you are going to vote you should do it with community in mind.  Which party can help your local government deliver the services and infrastructure your community needs or wants?  Which party is looking to make creative and innovative investments into our communities that will make them economically, socially, culturally and environmentally better places to live?  Which party will make Canada a member of the international community that makes you happiest to call Canada home?