Party Platforms

Every voter should read or better yet, get together in groups and go over before the election, each of the national parties' platforms. Perhaps arrange four separate evenings, to give each platform fair consideration.

The platforms represent the parties' intentions in writing on what policy they would introduce should they be elected to form the government.

Never mind what the leaders or candidates are saying - or writing on their blogs, for that matter. The talk that's most relevant is that written on paper, distributed to voters and hyped as the parties' commitments to the populace.

So here are the platforms put together in one handy place:

• Conservative Party of Canada - no platform released.


• Green Party of Canada (PDF, 8 pages, 300 KB). For supporting documents, including budget, visit the platform section of their website.


• Liberal Party of Canada (PDF, 76 pages, 2.8 MB).


• New Democratic Party (PDF, 46 pages, 620 KB).

I shall update this post and add the Conservatives' platform as/if it becomes available. Also, if anyone can tell me where to find the budget or costing info for the Liberal and NDP plans, I'll add the relevant links.

I'll not comment on my views of the platforms except to say that the Greens' platform document is a disappointment in terms of its size. At only eight pages, with large print on each page, clearly it is designed to work well as a short slide presentation, for wider distribution to voters, and to be a summary of a summary of the 160-page Vision Green document. Presumably, the latter is the entire platform, but one can't be sure.

Assuming my guess is correct, I wish the Greens had produced a more fleshed out encapsulation of Vision Green, because the eight pages just don't cut it. Further, I doubt the vast majority of voters would have resolve to wade through so much in the scant weeks before the election.

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