I haven’t voted yet but my oldest daughter sent us a photo of her walk to her nearest polling station today. My youngest daughter lives at home and will either vote early or vote with my wife and I when we go. They have been going to the polls since they were in strollers. They checked boxes for us before they were old enough to vote themselves. And both of them have voted in every election since coming of age.

I don’t know who they have and will vote for, but I know who they won’t vote for. They did not, will not, vote for the Progressive Conservatives. Not because their parents told them not to, but because they agree with us that the principles of the party do not align with the free and open democracy we want to live in.

I am unapologetic for my influence on this.

The global conservative wave, literally at our doorstep, is not creating a political environment I’m comfortable with. Pierre Poilievre does not share social or political values that I have. I believe he will undermine Canada’s multicultural and socially progressive values and he will weaken our country.

I cannot stay silent. Decades of non-partisan promoting of voting as a civic duty are over. I’m not just saying ‘Go Vote’, I’m asking anyone who reads this to Smart Vote. Go to the polls, find your riding, and choose the party most likely to beat the Conservative Party in your riding.

The only party likely to beat the Conservatives in this election is the Liberal Party. I would love to see them win a majority because this is not the time for a weak minority government. However, if you are in a riding where the NDP is more likely than the Liberal candidate to beat the Conservative candidate, then vote NDP. Same for a Green Party candidate. Smart Voting.

I see some of the non-democratic decisions being made south of our border and they scare me. Pierre Poilievre is a populist, slogan peddling, empty-promises spouting lifetime politician who has done almost nothing to better Canada. He rode the right wing wave to the south and only started backpedaling when he realized that this was going to potentially cost him the election. Unprincipled, shallow, and weak. Not what our country needs right now.

I’m not planning on sitting silent and then wondering why our country voted the way they did. I can’t. I won’t.

Don’t just vote this election, Smart Vote.