COVID Zero, NDP Majority

Since it doesn't seem to have received the attention it deserves, I'll take the opportunity to highlight what may be the most important suggestion of Canada's election campaign so far:

Thinking about it, the NDP should run on "we'll take control of health from the provinces and crush Covid."

It's a perfect vote splitter, the Libs and Cons can't run on it, so even if it's not majority pop, it's a winner.

— Ian Welsh (@iwelsh) August 16, 2021

With occasional exceptions, Canadian politicians have fallen far behind the public in their willingness to prioritize health and well-being over "business as usual". And people now facing a fourth wave resulting largely from the false declaration that the pandemic was over should be particularly receptive to the message that the national interest in an emergency should far outweigh the whims of irresponsible premiers. 

Of course, it's well and good to have the strongest message when it comes to the measures which are already under discussion by other parties. But we should expect the NDP's opponents to continue to lie through their teeth about its position in order to generate confusion - and that's fairly easy to do when the only question is who deserves the most credit for relatively similar positions. 

As a result, the best option for the NDP - both to set itself apart from a political standpoint, and to set the most positive possible direction from a public health standpoint - is to highlight how far that discussion lies from what can be accomplished by a government truly dedicated to the health of its population. And the end result could be to take the Libs' choice of ballot questions, and turn it into a winning issue for both the NDP and the country. 

[Edit: fixed typo.]