Choices for Canada
Statement, Communist Party of Canada

After months of speculation, Prime Minister Paul Martin has 
finally set June 28 for his rendezvous with the history books. 
Not since 1988 — when four voters out of every seven were 
opposed to the Free Trade Agreement, only to get trumped by the 
minority — has a federal election been in such doubt.

As the campaign begins, Martin's Liberals are sinking into 
minority territory in the polls, dragged down by the Liberal 
premiers of the three largest provinces. Gordon Campbell and Jean 
Charest are detested by working people in BC and Quebec for their 
brutal attacks against social programs and labour rights. And now 
the Liberal "brand" has become further tainted in Ontario by 
Treasurer Dalton McGuinty's budget, ditching election promises 
still fresh in the minds of voters.

If the PM had an exit strategy from this election, maybe he would 
have used it. But at this point, postponing the campaign would 
have done the Liberals even more harm. Instead, Martin has 
decided to campaign boldly against the Americanisation of Canada. 
The irony is almost unbelievable.

Since 1993 — with Martin playing a leading role — the Liberals 
have done more to integrate Canada into the US empire than any 
previous federal government, despite increasing resistance from 
millions of Canadians.

Even as the Liberals claim to defend social programs, the 
Conservatives call themselves the party of "change." Both are 
liars, and both should be utterly rejected by working class 
voters. Despite cosmetic changes to election finance rules, both 
old-line parties remain creatures of the big corporations — US 
and Canadian — which have dominated Canada for decades.

Fortunately, there are other alternatives — the Greens and the 
Bloc Quebecois. Generally speaking, we urge all progressive-
minded voters to support candidates who have a proven record of 
working with the labour and democratic movements to advance the 
interests of the working class. The possibilities of achieving a 
better Canada will be improved if more such candidates are 
elected to the next Parliament.

But we also urge working people to give careful consideration to 
the candidates of the Communist Party of Canada. A higher vote 
for the CPC on June 28 will be an important step forward. During 
the 1940s and '50s, when Communists were elected to Parliament 
and to the Ontario and Manitoba legislatures, major social gains 
were achieved by the working class. When that happens again, 
politics in this country will undergo a dynamic transformation. 
Electing Communists as part of a progressive bloc in Parliament 
would give a voice to those with the most far-sighted vision of a 
new Canada, one in which working people, not big business, will 
control our destiny.

Your vote for a Communist candidate is not "wasted" — it's the 
strongest possible vote for your future!