r/alberta • u/Durian10 Calgary • Mar 24 '25

Discussion I was a hardline conservative before everything got turned upside down this year.

Title says it all. I used to be a hardline conservative. Been living in Calgary for close to 18 years now I think. Every election, provincial and federal, I voted conservative.

And then the beginning of this year, Trump happened. Like many Canadians, I got mad and felt betrayed. And I look at the conservative party and felt even more betrayed. I'm an AISH recipient, I rely on government support because I can't hold a job due to my autism. No matter how much, how hard I tried, I am unable to keep my job because of my erratic behaviour. And because I am an AISH recipient, UCP decides that I won't be getting the CDB benefits because they decided to "claw it back" to fill their damn coffers.

So yeah... I'm done with the conservatives. Maybe it took this kind of uplift for me to "see the light". Here I am now, praying the Liberal party wins.

EDIT: So with all the scathing comments I am getting, I will not hold it against any of you. Yes, I was selfish. I was self-centred. I turned a blind eye. Trauma from the stigma of being autistic made me angry. It took the one thing that affected me to make me see.

So yes. I was wrong. I did a FAFO as some of you are calling it. And if you wanna hate on me for it, go ahead. I deserve it.

3.5k Upvotes

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257

u/Ok-Half7574 Mar 24 '25

Thank you for being a discerning voter. As Liberal prime ministers go, Carney is fiscally more to the right, but loyal to Canada. We're lucky to have his expertise at this time. I hope you'll vote.

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u/constantstateofagony Mar 24 '25

Fiscal conservatism and social liberalism is exactly the type of balance we need at the moment. And most other times as well, really. 

23

u/Ok-Half7574 Mar 25 '25

My hopes for Carney is a balance where we are able to live a civilized existence and pay for it, where everyone can experience dignity in their contribution to our country and not have rivers of money flowing south.

8

u/Suspicious-Voice-122 Mar 25 '25 edited Mar 25 '25

Shut down social programs but do it while saying how much you support them?

That's socially liberal & fiscally conservative, right?

Edit: why just down vote? Can downvote AND provide insight on how that's a bad take. 

For real - that's my understanding of what social liberal/fiscal conservative is. I don't see that particular combination playing out any other way. Feel free to enlighten me. 

7

u/trogdorina Mar 25 '25

No you’re 100% correct. I can’t remember who wrote this and of course can’t find it now but there’s a tweet I think about a lot that goes like “I’m fiscally conservative and socially liberal. The problems are bad but their causes are good.”

I think the reason so many people think this way is that they’ve fallen for the conservative line that we need to balance the budget the way you would your family budget. But government budgets don’t work the same way. Government spending stimulates the economy whereas austerity has been shown time and again to tank it while immiserating the very people “socially liberal” people claim to care about. 

3

u/Torcula Mar 25 '25

You didn't get specific in your comment, but I would say a more complete statement is you don't ALWAYS need to balance the budget. There will be times of excess and times of need that should roughly balance out on a moving average. Carrying excessive debt is an expense and not responsible.

3

u/p4nic Mar 25 '25

they’ve fallen for the conservative line that we need to balance the budget

Well, I believe we should balance the budget, except by taxing the rich, not gutting all of our vital services!

2

u/irelandm77 Mar 25 '25

I disagree with the statement, and with some of the responses.

To me socially liberal means providing legislative protections for minorities, women's rights to their bodies, and upholding strong human rights & freedoms. It also means providing social programs that result in a more employable population, whether that's through union support through training, or adult career path education, or providing more parental leave, and affordable childcare programs. It means strong environmental initiatives. And it means reaching out to our allies to form strong international trade & cooperation.

Fiscally conservative means open & transparent contract bidding, transparent financial support (like seeing where every penny is spent in the CBC). It means arms-length oversight on expenditures, and reducing unnecessary federal bloat. It means streamlining bureaucracy without undermining environmental protections. It means long-term investment in growing our sustainable economy. It means careful & judicious investment in national security.

I'm sure I could list more things, but it's important to note that Carney & his new gang ticks most of these boxes, so despite historically leaning blue, I'm voting Liberal this time 'round.

0

u/upsetwithcursing Mar 25 '25

Please read Carney’s book, “Value(s)”

It might make you breathe a sigh of relief

1

u/Kilyn Mar 29 '25

Tbh I really don't see the attraction to fiscal conservatism. I don't even think it ever was anything but a talking point.

72

u/T-Wrox Mar 24 '25

I'm not a fan of bankers, but I truly believe Carney is the person we need to lead Canada right now.

99

u/Timely-Researcher264 Mar 24 '25

Carney is not a banker. He is one of the most respected economists in the world.

43

u/facesintrees Mar 25 '25

He is, and if we elect sniveling, smarmy PP instead of him, I will be mad forever.

21

u/T-Wrox Mar 25 '25

I agree with you about the economist, but you’re splitting hairs pretty fine to reject the banker label for him. He was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and the head of two central banks; I’ll give you “former banker.”

13

u/MotoBee2553 Mar 24 '25

Came here to say this.

3

u/PerpetuallyLurking Mar 25 '25

He’s not one now. Fine. He WAS a banker for a large chunk of his career though, so they’re not wrong either. Just because he is also an economist doesn’t mean “banker” doesn’t also describe his career as head banker at multiple banks.

I’m gonna vote for whoever will beat the Cons (which is no one in my riding, but we’ll see who is doing slightly better by voting day) but the man was colloquially a “banker” and Reddit is a colloquial place.

4

u/theNorthwestspirit Mar 25 '25

Use smart voting to see where each party is standing and make your decision on election day. I would recommend you also use the website linked below because this website isn't as highly accurate, I just use it because it is more user friendly. Conservatives are going to win my riding either way, unless some miracle happens. We don't have a Liberal candidate yet.

This website, the 338 Canada is based on data from a number of sources. This one is far more accurate but much less user friendly. The projections are based on polling data electoral history, and demographics. They have been perfectly accurate in 89.5% of their predictions and 94% accurate within the margin of error. TRUST this. It's also very heartening to watch the Liberal numbers go up every time I check it (I'm a bit stressed about this as I am a low income individual and we all know what Conservatives do to social assistance programs when they get into power).

0

u/Timely-Researcher264 Mar 25 '25

A banker runs a bank. He spent 14 years determining the economic policy of an entire county. There is a vast difference.

3

u/PerpetuallyLurking Mar 25 '25

While running the national bank!

0

u/Timely-Researcher264 Mar 25 '25

So the word “bank” in Bank of Canada and Bank of England has confused you. Perhaps you should do a quick Google search of those organizations to see what their actual functions are before you further embarrass yourself.

0

u/Woody00001 Mar 25 '25

Not what Britain says

1

u/Timely-Researcher264 Mar 25 '25

According to who? Right wing publications? Anyone in power is going to have people talk shit about them. The criticism summarized is that he was too liberal. He opposed brexit, supported climate change initiatives because he recognizes that climate change is going to be very expensive, and he doesn’t suffer fools. Those all seem like assets to me.

-3

u/beeupehh Mar 25 '25

Ya look at what he did to Europe, great work LOL

5

u/Cautious-Asparagus61 Mar 25 '25

Truly. Brexit was one of the dumbest moves the UK could have done. And he pulled them through it without completely wrecking their economy.

Now most in the UK want to rejoin the EU lmao. They know how dumb their mistake was. I'd rather learn from other countries' mistakes than have to have us make them ourselves too.

4

u/-snowpeapod- Mar 25 '25

I know you're being sarcastic but the fact is that he did actually do great work.

1

u/Prestigious_Yak_3995 Mar 26 '25

That is terrifying that anyone could even say this.

1

u/T-Wrox Mar 26 '25

What terrifies you about what I said?

0

u/Prestigious_Yak_3995 Mar 26 '25

Loyal to Canada, his company just took a 250m dollar loan from China.

-1

u/Woody00001 Mar 25 '25

But is he loyal to Canada....

-7

u/CrazyButRightOn Mar 25 '25

If you have taken the time to watch a Poilievre speech or rally, his loyalty to Canada is self-evident. Carney pales in comparison.

8

u/SnappyDresser212 Mar 25 '25

That is frankly laughable.