Right of Reply Season 6: Foreign Affairs & Policy Issues in Canadian Federal Elections
Amanda Neves, External Affairs
November 11th, 2019
The month of October here in Canada has been all about the Federal election, with many people eagerly trying to decide where their vote lies. This was a particularly exciting time for many students here at Queen’s, who were gearing up to vote in their first federal election. The Queen’s International Affairs Association (QIAA) podcast, Right of Reply, covered many important factors of the election in their October episode.
The episode featured Alex Jerry from the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) and Bruce Baker from the Queen’s University Liberals Association. Alex, a 3rd year History student at Queen’s University, is the President of the People’s Party of Canada Students Association and also a founding member of the People's Party of Canada. Bruce, a 2nd year Philosophy Politics and Economics student at Queen’s University, is the Policy Director for the Queen’s University Liberals Association.
The first question asked during the interview channelled both parties’ overall vision for Canada on the global level, and why each candidate believed their’s was superior. On one hand, Bruce stated that while the Liberal platform is not very heavy on international politics, it does have important points. As an example, he discussed the Liberal search for the 2020 appointment to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as an objective on the global scale.
On the other hand, Alex discussed how the PPC alternately advocates for a ‘Canada first’ mentality. For example, he argued that Indigenous people in Canada should be prioritized before international foregin aid. He notes that some aid, like for the Island of the Bahamas who recently suffered from a natural disaster, should be given. However, donating to other causes such as the commnist regime of China may not be in Canada’s best interests. Therefore, the PPC believes that foreign aid spending should be reduced by a long shot and alternately focus on domestic affairs.
The Right of Reply directors also prompted questions on each candidate’s environmental policies and perspectives. Bruce discussed the Liberal perspective by explaining their current carbon tax policies. Alex presented the PPC perspective, noting that the party believes in the fact that climate change exists, however, doesn’t agree with the Paris climate accords due to many states not being able to meet the goals. He noted that since Canada only accounts for less than 2% of the total worldly carbon emission, their effort alone would not make a big difference world wide. Both parties, however, were in a consensus of wanting to see tangible change in order to improve current environmental affairs.
This episode of Right of Reply can be found on the CFRC website: https://podcast.cfrc.ca/2019/10/s-2-ep-1-foreign-affairs-policy-issues-in-canadian-federal-elections/