A ballot going into a box.
A ballot going into a box. Credit: Element5 Digital / Unsplash Credit: Element5 Digital / Unsplash

In a 1961 speech to Canadian lawmakers, US president John F. Kennedy declared, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” 

Kennedy attributed the quote to Sir Edmund Burke, as have many others. In reality, the famed Anglo-Irish journalist, politician and political philosopher is not on record saying any such thing. Despite the fact that Burke may never have uttered these words, people needed to hear them, which is why this apocryphal quote is now a part of the public consciousness, quoted everywhere from t-shirts in flea markets to memes on social media. 

But regardless of who did or didn’t say the above quote on the rise of evil, it rings true that the actions of good people are the antidote to the rise of any type of evil, perhaps especially fascism. And one action we hope all progressive Canadians take to keep evil at bay is to vote your conscience at the polls. 

We live in extraordinary times. Our neighbors to the south now intermittently refer to us as the 51st State, an unprecedented swipe at Canada’s sovereignty. Fighting the American neo-fascism that threatens to overtake our country is, however, just one of our many problems. 

In Pierre Poilievre, Canada has found its own facsimile of Donald Trump. A man so vain he may have photoshopped muscles onto his pictures. And a man both so small and so small-minded he cannot grasp the importance of protecting marginalized groups, from 2SLGBTQIA+ folks to Canada’s BIPOC communities. A man so small he feels threatened by the bodily autonomy of pregnant people, wishing to restrict access to abortions, should he become Prime MInister on April 28. But as small as this fascist wannabe is, we know his hateful Conservative perspective and policies would have a big impact.

Of course, the team at rabble.ca is heartened to see Canada’s voters have flocked to the advanced polls in record numbers. We hope that these electors are not voting for fascism. And while some news publications are issuing their official endorsements as we speak, we do not pretend to be psychic. When the survival of our way of life is at stake, this editorial team does not have the hubris to issue a prescription to ward off the likes of Trump across the border and Poilievre within it.   

Instead, we offer an anti-endorsement of sorts: do what your conscience tells you to do to resist the rise of a politician like Poilievre. 

At rabble.ca, we have long harboured progressive values, cherishing labour rights, championing environmental Issues, and amplifying issues that impact marginalized groups, including queer folks, disabled individuals, racialized communities, as well as women and non-binary people. We care about good outcomes for the stakeholders we cherish. But in this historic election, we cannot claim to know exactly how to create them.

When the concept of strategic voting came up at rabble.ca’s most recent Off The Hill Panel, poet, author, journalist and activist El Jones shared this with the audience: “I’m always hesitant to tell a young person to vote against their values and where they feel they’re best aligned.” 

El Jones went on to add that “it’s an alienating experience to vote against your values and then be repeatedly told to do that.” 

Fellow panelist Jennifer Arp also argued pressure external forces put on progressive people to use their vote a certain way is a serious problem in our system: “We spend a lot of time telling people to not vote their conscience and not vote with their values.”      

While we would never endorse strategic voting as the only path forward, this website also understands that many of our readers feel that to follow their conscience in this election means to vote strategically. We have read from those who believe strategic voting for the Liberals (even if that is not their first choice party) is what they must do to protect Canada at this singular moment in history. We understand this perspective and we would never judge any rabble.ca patron who feels this way.

We have also heard from community members who are committed to voting NDP, for fear a dissemination of this left-wing party would drag Canada’s politics further to the right. And of course, there are rabble readers whose hearts tell them that the Green Party’s platform is best aligned with their values, regardless of its small presence in Parliament. And we at rabble.ca respect all of your viewpoints. 

We urge our readers to use our website and the guides we have created that demonstrate where the major parties stand on key issues. Beyond that, we suggest you look into your heads and your hearts to decide – with full knowledge that we have an imperfect system – what decision feels truest to your values. After all, fascism is a far-right ideology that aims to eliminate choice and freedoms; as we at rabble see it, the ultimate antidote to fascism is when we analyse the information before us and proceed to vote our progressive consciences, whatever those tell you to do.

Of course, our team urges you to consider the rights of workers who are being penalized by tariffs, women and non-binary people who may need life-saving abortion care, the fates of migrants whose lives would be made immeasurably worse by a racist government, as well as the fate of our entire planet. And once you have done so, mark your ballot as you believe you should. 

Our publication believes there is no singular right way to oppose right-wing fascists. And that is why our 2025 endorsement is simply this: Dear reader, vote your values, vote your truth, vote your conscience.

See where each party stands on the issues of:

The climate crisis

2SLGBTQIA+ rights

Labour