It seems to me that most political leaders are so busy playing the dirty politics card that they don’t seem to address the real issues — like systematic discrimination. This negligence of the leaders has resulted in disappointing and shameful neglect of more important problems.

The 2019 election campaign has made it difficult for voters to make up their minds when it comes to choosing the best leader as candidates continue to try and get a leg up on each other. 

I would say that the current political scenario speaks for itself. The 43rd federal elections are nothing short of a blessing for Canadians — with Trudeau and Scheer being the only pragmatic possibilities, Canada will continue to exist as a centrist-governed state on the political map of the world. 

Perhaps there may be a few symbolic changes needed to win over some voters, but in the end, the stakes they are fighting for have been lowered by the current course of this hilarious election campaign.

Several skeletons have come out of their closet, with Justin Trudeau’s blackface and brownface scandal being the darkest of all. The blackface scandal, a loud message of intolerance and discrimination, is seemingly a facile opportunity for his counterparts to target his image.

Trudeau’s enemies are so focused on defaming him that they did not stop to take a look at their own reflections. The left-of-Liberal New Democratic Party is currently under pressure to remove candidate Miranda Gallo, who can be seen — in a screenshot pulled from a YouTube video — affixing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions labels to Israeli sourced merchandise on a store’s shelf.

Likewise, the Greens have been caught photoshopping a picture of Elizabeth May holding a disposable cup, replacing the offending item with a reusable cup and a metal straw. And Scheer, who now certainly seems to condemn Trudeau’s actions, has a questionable track record when it comes to social issues like women’s health and the LGBTQ community.

Earlier this year, an inquiry into Missing and Murdered  Indigenous Women and Girls was closed by a report determining the violence as an ongoing genocide. One might logically reason that an ongoing genocide within the Canadian borders is a far more important election issue than tax cuts. But it seems that Canadian politics cannot resist the forces of populism.

The leaders of every federal party are putting their best effort into coming up with content that brings in the most likes on social media before people move onto the Kardashians and Donald Trump.

In a nutshell, the election campaign — which could be more appropriately categorized as hashtag wars — is just another hour of toxic partisan politics for our candidates. 

The truth is that they are not ready to initiate a dialogue on critical issues which remain dormant and unsettled. The distressing turmoil of events happening in Canada is not only a shout-out to hilarious narrow-mindedness, but also a message that our leaders lack the vision to build a better tomorrow for us.

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Meghal Meghal

Graphic: Shawna Langer/ Graphics Editor