An election looms north of the border, and Princetonian-Canadians take notice

What do stop signs and a hernia operation have in common? They both have to do with the upcoming Nov. 27 Canadian General Election — the nation's 37th since its birth in 1867.

The election will determine the new prime minister and decide which political party will take control of the House of Commons — the Canadian legislative body analogous to the U.S. Congress.

Some Canadian students attending the University have already cast their votes by mail. Others have until Tuesday to place a request for an absentee ballot, a service available on the Internet at www.elections.ca.

One of the main differences between this election and its U.S. counterpart is the variety of candidates and parties.

Five party leaders presented their platforms in a recent televised debate in Ottawa. The candidates were current prime minister Jean Chrétien of the Liberals, Stockwell Day of the Canadian Alliance, Joe Clark of the Progressive Conservatives, Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Quebeçois and Alexa McDonough of the New Democratic Party.

A number of other parties are also fielding candidates. They include the Marijuana Party, the Communist Party of Canada and the Green Party of Canada. The leader of the party that wins the majority of the 301 seats in the House of Commons will become the next prime minister.

One of the most publicized issues in this election is health care —specifically, whether private clinics should be allowed to coexist with publicly funded ones. Debates over the issue were recently piqued when Clark confirmed that he used a private clinic for a hernia operation in the late 1980s — an action which has been criticized as contrary to Clark's espoused views.

Sam Ault '02 — who is from Ontario — said he believes Clark's actions are "not a big deal" and plans to vote for the Progressive Conservatives in the upcoming election.

Ault, who helped his mother campaign for a seat in the House of Commons in 1993, said many Canadians "don't want the rich having an advantage" over those who cannot afford private health care.

Adam Peterson '04, who also hails from Ontario, noted that many Canadians view this trend as "Americanization," which will "leave people by the wayside" when they cannot pay for the medical care that they need.

According to several Canadian Princetonians, another important issue is the question of Quebec — a province in which a 1995 referendum for independence was narrowly defeated.

Victoria Taylor '03, a resident of Quebec, plans to vote for the Liberals, primarily in order to oppose the Bloc Quebeçois — a party that she believes would act to broaden support for independence in the province.

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"That scares me," she said. Taylor also said she was concerned about the province's laws restricting the use of English in schools and on billboards and street signs. Those laws have resulted in stop signs that read "arreter," the French word for "stop." Such signs are a curiosity because most signs in France read "stop."

Princetonian-Canadians have also voiced concerns about Stockwell Day, leader of the recently formed Canadian Alliance.

Ault said he believes Day is "unproven" as a leader. He added that Day has alienated some with his conservative Christian position.