I look back on the first two posts of this blog and realize how much has changed since then.
Trudeau led a stupendous campaign, silencing all the critics, taking advantage of the NDP's attempts at being central, managing to become the living incarnation of the message of hope and optimism, and winning a well-fought election to become this country's 23rd Prime Minister. Stephen Harper's reign of nearly 10 years came to an end and Rona Ambrose was elected interim leader. Thomas Mulcair clings to power at the NDP while bringing back the party's narrative to fighting income inequality, standing up for Aboriginal rights & social housing, promising to keep a watchful eye over the Liberals and combat them on the TPP. The Bloc Quebecois made some gains but Gilles Duceppe failed to defeat Helene Laverdiere in Laurier-Ste-Marie, which meant that the Bloc ironically sent Mario Beaulieu, the former leader, unpopular for being too much of an ideologically-driven separatist, back to the House. The Greens sent Elizabeth May back to the chamber but failed to make the gains they needed on Vancouver Island, while Forces and Democratie only scraped a handful of votes here or there - problems of a party failing to define themselves well without any media attention.
As for me, I've evolved over the past few months. I volunteered for now-former Compton-Stanstead MP Jean Rousseau of the NDP. I learned a lot in that experience when it comes to the party leadership, local campaigns, the importance of grassroots supporters and fundraising, but also about the psychological effort candidates, staffers and volunteers have to put in. It was very difficult for me to see Jean lose to now Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. He was an honest, people-caring, enthusiastic, tells-it-like-it-is, relateable, principled man who did not lose because of unpopularity in his riding, but rather a combination of factors over which he had very little control.
I tried to get in to the Parlement des Jeunes, a youth parliament session at the Quebec National Assembly, but was unsuccessful. It was a bit of a blow to not be selected, but I didn't have any resources other than the rules and others had a bit of a leg up as they had either done this before or had far simpler ideas. Writing a bill about transgendered rights in schools where there was no precedent for this across the country which only 3-4 pages of resources and a handful of former bills relating to similar situations (notably Randall Garrison's private member's bill that died on the order paper) in a second language was probably a bit more adversity that I would have been comfortable with. However, I see some interesting personal opportunities for me in the future - notably the Forum for Young Canadians. Although it's too soon to apply this year, I feel like I have the resume and the political drive to write a good motivation letter, fundraise to pay off some of the 895$ and participate in the Forum.
As for this blog, I'm going to try to write more often, but school and other commitments take priority. It takes more time than I would like to get all the thoughts I have in my brain on paper, and when I have other things to do, blogging becomes a chore and not a pleasure, which is far from ideal. So I can't keep any promises but I will try to start writing more in the future. I've got several topics in mind, notably the rise of Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn in the US and the UK, and the lessons to be learned by the NDP in that regard, as well as some reflections on the Liberals' first few months in government.
So on that note, I hope to be writing again soon.
