Canada had a federal election this week. And while the ruling government lost seats in their minority government coalition, essentially nothing changed.

There are essentially six parties in Canadian politics, but only two of them had a chance of coming out on top: the current government’s Liberal party and the opposition conservatives.

The current government pursues a decidedly left of center path, plus imposing a draconian lockdown policy at this time. They are not shy about what they believe and want to do for that country.

The Conservative party, on the other hand. Well, actually there is no other hand. Because the Conservatives put forth a me-too agenda, promising virtually the same things as does the left.

And while Prime Minister Trudeau is intensely disliked in some Canadian circles, this wasn’t enough to remove him from power. I’ll leave it to others to discuss the minutiae of this election, but the Conservatives violated a cardinal rule of politics:
you can’t beat something with nothing.

This rule holds true in a lot of areas but especially in politics, where the public usually feels that when two candidates have the same plans, go with the incumbent.

Incumbency is not necessarily pretty but an incumbent is a known quantity, and if you have nothing better to offer, it’s preferable to just step aside and not run.

If you’ve got something different, make sure the public knows it. Emphasize your differences. Leave nothing to the imagination. Have a succinct platform, and repeat that platform over and over again. You know your platform? Great, but the public doesn’t. Don’t make voters guess where you stand. In the end, you may win or you may lose, but you’ll compete honestly, and you’ll have a better idea of why.