Is left-right ideology still relevant in Canadian Politics?

[freedogger]

I think the who said it best.

[llama64]

Frankly, I have zero respect for anyone who decides to break the world into right vs left arguments.

Reality is far more complex - if you need a two dimensional chart to figure out how you should vote, you shouldn't be voting in the first place.

Society should be pick the best solution for the problem right now and the problem 20 years from now. But thanks to the idiots who think politics is a team sport, we now have right vs left in short term useless, self-interested bursts.

Not to mention, there is no difference between a "Liberal" and a "Conservative" or an "NDP" anymore. They are all career political who just use a brand to gain power. It's pretty telling that people fall for this.

[Red Slinger]

I think that there is some truth to this for the 'average' citizen. However, I also believe that those that are most engaged, most excited, most involved and most vocal about politics are still firmly entrenched in the left/right dichotomy. Of course, this also changes based on the type of election. In municiple elections the average voter tends to go for the candidate that seems to be the most qualified to manage the municipality. At the federal level, we tend to look at the leadership qualities, trustworthiness and the impact that leader has on our particular region. At the provincial level it's somewhere inbetween and tends to favour incumbents heavily unless they have screwed the pooch.