SCHMIDT: Why I left the Libertarian Party and am now calling on others to follow suit

This week I resigned from my position as Executive Director of the Libertarian Party of Canada (LPoC) in order to join the People’s Party of Canada (PPC). Now I am calling on all federal political party members who know a desperate change is needed in Ottawa to do the same.

The difference between the PPC and the Libertarians is that Max enjoys popular support and the desire to build a broad coalition of voters that could actually see the party become a force for change on Parliament Hill.

When I left the CPC to join the Libertarians in 2014 I did so because I saw in that small party the reflection of what I felt, and what I believed others felt, was a burning desire for a return to principled politics. Canadians desire this not for the sake of romance and not just for the sake of transparency, but because they’ve become acutely aware that it takes principled politicians to stand firm against all the lobbyists and special interests in Ottawa that will lead them astray from those that elected them. The strong showing by Maxime Bernier in the CPC leadership contest and the rise of the PPC have shown me that my belief likely had some merit.

Maxime has popular support

The difference between the PPC and the Libertarians is that Max enjoys popular support and the desire to build a broad coalition of voters that could actually see the party become a force for change on Parliament Hill. There are good ideas shared by good people across the political spectrum that have so much in common if only united by the understanding that the job of the public servant is not to get re-elected, but to, well, serve the public. Through that revelation alone most Canadians can get behind policy ideas like ending corporate welfare and stopping boutique tax credits invented to buy votes. People would also support getting rid of cartel monopolies (e.g. dairy and telecommunications), and returning jurisdictional authority to the provinces so that they may govern their own affairs in a manner that is in keeping with the constitution. It’s been over a month since Max announced that he is leaving the CPC to begin his own party, citing his former home as “morally and intellectually corrupt.” Since then the offerings of the political pundits have been as numerous and radiant as their general misunderstandings of the present political reality. They continually cite the manner in which the PPC was founded as evidence of its inevitable failure, drawing contrast to the Reform Party, which was started not by a sitting member of parliament but as a grassroots endeavor to bring attention to Western misgivings.

There is no precedent for Bernier's current position

The same logic has been applied to what the commentators view as the exceptional case of Lucian Bouchard and the Bloc Quebecois. The regional nature of the party and its special interest enabled it to enjoy relative success. These pundits say that Bernier’s hope of guiding a national movement supported by a broad coalition of voters simply requires too much infrastructure and public engagement to be successful within any timeline that does not see Maxime fade from relevance. But what all of these commentators fail to acknowledge is that there is, in fact, no precedent for the current affair. The advent of the internet and our rapidly improving mediums of communication mean that ideas can be transmitted and organizational efforts made in a way that is cheaper, faster and more efficient than ever before. I experienced the consequences of this fact even as an executive of the small but fledgling Libertarian Party. We were able to build and maintain a national infrastructure in a way that would have been previously untenable. Also without having to rely on expensive traditional advertising we were able to spread our message broadly and at a cheap cost. Though it remains small, membership has risen steadily each year since I joined in 2014. The media’s failure to acknowledge these developments is something akin to 1914, when Europe’s senior military officers maintained that no modern fighting force can win a war without a good cavalry, while not giving the first thought to how the emergence of machine guns and artillery units may have changed battlefield tactics.

There is a pathway to success

Those paying attention know that Bernier has an avenue to success. Already, in only a few short weeks, PPC Electoral District Associations – the main bodies responsible for the recruitment, nomination process and fielding of local riding candidates – are being organized all across the country. The recent showing of the People’s Alliance Party in New Brunswick or the unprecedented election of the Coalition Avenir Quebec bears evidence that insurgent parties can find success in Canada and that there is a resolute desire for change. One of the most entrenched and formidable obstacles I’ve had to struggle with in my years as an executive of a small federal party was strategic voting. The idea that it’s better to vote for someone we don’t like rather than someone we do like, in the hopes of keeping the guy we like the least out of power. There’s a problem with that. Politicians, like all people, respond to incentives. That’s why they bribe voters with goodies from one basket or another – even if it is not in the best interest of the general public – and why they craft unfair legislation that takes from taxpayers in order to give to special interests or shuts out the competition. It’s also why mainstream politicians fail to take measure of the needs of their citizens and always careen towards the mushy and irresolute political center in good time. It’s why both Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives and Jagmeet Singh’s NDP have become so indistinguishable from Trudeau’s Liberals. One might suppose it’s a malignant characteristic of democracy when it becomes solitary and malnourished, despite all democracy’s benefits and triumphs. But that system of governance which has served us so well can be revivified when voters have the option to elect representatives that are unwavering in their commitment to strong principles that will drive the country toward unity and prosperity. I think Max is that guy. I think he has the ability to buck that trend.

Mad Max lands somewhere between a Roman cutlass and a beef butcher knife, the thing to cut up special interest groups or cut down a bloated government every bit as well.

All of this aside, no movement against an entrenched established interest can be successful without people behind it. This is why I have, along with Deputy Leader Darcy Gerow and other regional Libertarian leadership members, resigned from the Libertarian Party in order to unite with others who understand the urgency of returning principled leadership to Ottawa. This is also why I’m calling on Conservatives, Libertarians, and all Canadian party members who believe in principled politics to shed their previous party affiliations and help build the People’s Party of Canada into an effective federal option that leads with its ideas and seeks to govern for all Canadians, not just special interests. To liberally paraphrase one Jedidiah M. Grant: It will take great labour to explain The People’s Party and principled politics to voters, or to put them at their value. The leaders of the establishment parties in Ottawa are to me like ivory and pearl handled table knives...more shiny than tinsel; but with only edge enough to slice bread and cheese...and all alike by the dozen, one with another. Mad Max lands somewhere between a Roman cutlass and a beef butcher knife, the thing to cut up special interest groups or cut down a bloated government every bit as well. Now, all that remains is to wonder how one can make those that have grown accustomed to judging politicians by the handle and the sheath know a good Blade.