Photo by A Disappearing Act/Flickr

The federal election debates are over, and one narrative is emerging among leading polling aggregators and pundits: Mark Carney’s Liberals have a strong lead over Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party.

It is now clear that the goal for progressives who want to defeat the Conservatives but still pass good policy should be to block a Liberal majority. This can be done by voting for NDP candidates (and sometimes others) in Liberal ridings where the Conservatives have no shot of winning.

Polling sites like 338Canada and CBC’s Poll Tracker both show Carney safely in majority territory. As of April 19, the CBC has the Liberals at 195 seats, 23 more than required for a majority and a whopping 73 more seats than the Conservatives.

Similarly, 338 has the Liberals at 188 seats, 16 more than required for a majority, and a healthy 65 more seats than the Tories are projected to win.

This electoral picture creates an opportunity for progressive voters who want to both defeat Poilievre and ensure the Liberals don’t land a majority government, which is more likely when the NDP controls the balance of power. We have seen throughout Canadian history that when the NDP holds the balance it leads to progressive outcomes. Indeed, medicare was passed under a Liberal minority with significant influence exerted by then NDP leader Tommy Douglas. More recently, Jagmeet Singh’s NDP scored many concessions from the Liberals like pharmacare, dental care, and anti-scab legislation, none of which likely would have happened if Justin Trudeau had a........

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