Unite the left (and build a pipeline)

             I recently completed an online quiz to see which party’s platform I most closely adhere to.  Interestingly, my support for the NDP and Liberals came within one percentage point of one another.  One percent.  That means their policies are so similarly aligned, you might as well flip a coin as to who you’ll vote for (if those are in fact your two top choices, which in my case they clearly are not).
            The Green Party would have garnered the same percentage support except that I unequivocally support oil pipelines.  Yes, I’m a closet pipeline supporter (I guess I’m now out of the closet).  And as I’ve learned, I’m the black sheep in my family when it comes to this issue.  I do support the environment, but is there any reason to oppose efficient, well-built pipelines that transport our secure, non-terrorist nation’s sweet crude to the minivans of soccer moms around the world?
            But enough pipeline spin.  Other than the pipeline issue, the Green Party’s platform is also remarkably similar to that of the Liberals and NDP.  Elizabeth May, leader of our nation’s left-wing fringe party, won’t even suggest an increase to the GST to help meet our country’s environmental challenges. Corporations, yes, but middle-class Canadians are off the hook when it comes to addressing climate change Armageddon.
            While there is one wedge issue that divides the NDP and Liberals, that being whether the budget ought to be balanced sooner or later, it’s really window dressing.  We all know the NDP would favour this approach if it was their idea, but it wasn’t.  Justin Trudeau beat them to the punch and outflanked them on the left.  The NDP thought they would show Ontario they were good budgetary stewards and overcome their Bob Rae-created reputation as reckless spenders.
Unfortunately for them, it’s done nothing of the sort. Most Canadians recognize the need for more spending on infrastructure and that relatively small deficits at this time are not the end of the world.
            So the Liberals have moved to the left, the NDP has moved to the right, and voters of both parties are becoming more and more confused.  If you typically vote NDP, you might be considering voting Liberal this election, and vice-versa.  You might even vote Green, except that you worry your vote is wasted on a left-wing politician who has also committed to balancing the budget.
            There is no significant difference among the left-of-centre parties anymore, which begs the question: Why don’t they all just join up to defeat the right-of-centre Conservatives?
             It makes complete sense from an average voter’s point of view.  The problem, of course, is that politics is involved.
            Trudeau and Mulcair both have massive egos that are hard to deflate after two years of campaigning against one another.  The NDP is looking to finally turf those arrogant Liberals, and the Liberals are looking to restore their Chretien-Martin dynasty (back when the right was divided).  Both leaders will go to almost any length, including leaving their traditional stance on issues, to claim that top spot as prime minister of Canada.
            While they appear to be fiercely opposed to one another, I expect all of that to change once the election results are in, and they find themselves in a situation where the only way to defeat the Conservatives is to work together.  Their supporters may just demand it.
            Isn’t there an expression, “Politics makes strange bedfellows”?  Trudeau and Mulcair appear, at first glance, to be polar opposites.  One is fundamentally cerebral, an introvert with a beard and a bit of a hot head.  The other is charismatic, an extrovert with nice hair who’s prone to say silly things.
            So different, yet their views are so remarkably similar.