By Mark Wente, Mope and Wail
January 21, 2014
“Out with the old, in with the new.” If that isn’t the Society of Toronto Yonge Street Leadership Elites’ motto, then it should be. STYLE, newcomers to the Canadian political arena, pride themselves on their young and enthusiastic caucus. A full 78% of their seats are held by first-time MPs. Certainly, this youth brings vigour and the opportunity for fresh ideas that are long overdue in Canadian politics. Similarly, STYLE’s high gender parity will finally bring more female voices to the political table. Notable STYLE MPs such as Toronto-Danforth’s Oliver Parker or Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock’s Morgan Bell, both in their first mandates as Members of Parliament, have shown strong initiative and social media presence, gaining support and popularity well outside their own constituencies. Young Canadians, who often choose simply not to vote, are nonetheless impressed by STYLE’s commitment to fashion, ethical food and indie music. Their position on foreign affairs and mail delivery are getting people talking in cities across the country.
And yet, there limits to how much faith we can have in these young whippersnappers. While STYLE far outnumbers CATS – parliament’s third party – in the House, they hold the least number of seats in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, and no seats at all in PEI. This regionalism is undoubtedly a product of many of their key platform points, such as their poor treatment of rural farmers and their suggested tax increases. Their proposed national light rail system seems strangely reminiscent of the IPP’s woeful trans-national rollercoaster.
The question now is how STYLE will straddle this line between refreshing new ideas and inexperience. The party has already proven that it isn’t afraid to take policy risks to suggest real, radical change for Canadians, but all of this will mean nothing if those policies stay on paper. STYLE supporters can only hope that their legions of newbie MPs have been reading up on their parliamentary procedure to be effective when the time comes to hold SWAG accountable in the House.
It remains to be seen whether STYLE’s small handful of political heavy-weights, notably Ben Martin (former IPP Minister of Finance and Defense), Cameron Pearson (former Minister of Public Safety under the FAC-TNP coalition government) and two-time Prime Minister Kelden Formosa (a recent party acquisition), will be able to lead the party to competency as Official Opposition and present a legitimate alternative to SWAG. If they cannot, we might just have to live with four more years of #SWAGROT.
Edit: It was originally reported that STYLE holds no seats in Newfoundland and Labrador. In fact, STYLE member Emery White represents Random-Burin-St. George’s.