Libertarian in Labrador (#HarrisRants)

This Harris rant originally posted here on May 11th, 2013

On May 13 the people of Labrador will go to the polls to vote for their representative in a federal by-election. Anyone who has been following the story this past month or so, have heard the names of Conservative candidate Peter Penashue - who triggered the election by resigning from his elected post after a spending scandal, just to run again - Yvonne Jones, the Liberal candidate, and Harry Borlase of the NDP. There is one name however, that we've not heard much about - Norman Andrews, Libertarian Candidate.

Norman was bit later than the previously mentioned three in tossing his hat in the ring. Most people didn't know he had until the deadline day for candidates. Perhaps Norman didn't even know for certain until that day, I'm not sure. None the less, the hat was tossed in time, and the fine people of Labrador have four choices when they head out to vote, not just the main three that everyone is talking about.

For me personally, though I'm not in Labrador, I'm extremely ecstatic over this development. Libertarianism is a set of political philosophies that I've come to identify with over the past number of years - though I do lean more towards Libertarian-Socialism over Anarchism, as a note. Not in my wildest imagination did I expect a candidate representing those ideals would pop up in Labrador, or anywhere else in the Province for that matter; not yet anyway. I do realize that Libertarianism is quickly breaking into the mainstream as more and more people are coming to find, and agree with, this set of ideals. I really didn't expect it to hit so close to home, though I'm extremely happy it did. Not only does it provide the people a brand new choice but, selfishly, it provides me with an extra boost to freely discuss, debate, and promote this set of ideals as well.

I'm sure I'll have far more to say on Libertarianism - either here or on my Liberty Manifesto Blog - but if you are reading this and interested in a new vision for our country, I do recommend you check out the Libertarian Party of Canada website. Their platform and any other information you may want to read is clearly listed there, and I suggest you follow that up with some research elsewhere on the philosophy. You may quickly realize that this set of ideals is somewhat unique, and the party that represents it in Canada is basically the only one in our country that has a completely different vision. The rest are all stuck in neutral, playing the same old tired politics that are obviously failing us all. If you happen to like what you read - and again, I don't suggest you stop with just that party website - give Norman Andrews a vote of confidence by selecting him and the Libertarian Party of Canada in the Labrador by-election. I certainly would at this point.